Gods Unconditional Love

Story

I have two dogs back home Molly and Bo, I love these dogs so much. I want nothing more than for them to come up to me on the couch and sit by me so that I can pet them. But often while i’m sitting there petting them my dad ends up calling for them to come sit with him. But that doesn’t stop my love for them whenever I see them again I call for them again wanting them to come and sit with me. My love for them is unconditional because how much I love them and I want to spend so much time with them. But one day I left my AirPods sitting downstairs at my house, I went to bed and when I woke up I went downstairs to look for them and they were chewed up. Molly ate my airpods, and I no longer loved my dogs. I got upset because my exspenisve headphones were now ruined and I no longer wanted anything too do with the dogs. My love wasn’t very unconditional after all, once it got tested it went away. Tonight we are going to be talking about a perfect unconditional love that never leaves. One that no matter what we do it never gets upset and always is there for us no matter what we do.

Transition

Today we are going to talk about an unconditional love one that never fails us or changes

Read

Luke 15:11–32 “He also said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.” ’ So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he summoned one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. ‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ “ ‘Son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ””

Explanation

11-13 (Asking for estate, spending it all)

He asked his father for his part of his inheritance

After his dad would die it was tradition for in this case with two sons that he would of Gotten 1/3 of everything after the father died

He asked for it before his father died essentially disowning himself from the family.

After he got all of his portion of his fathers estate he left and spent it all on foolish living. Meaning buying expensive food and throwing big parties

14-16 (His situation went downhill)

Once he lost it all a famine hit meaning the country he was in didn’t have money

So he became a hired worker feeding pigs and was so hungry he was willing to eat the food that pigs ate

17-19 (His situation was bad, Prepared a sSpeech and went back to his dads house)

While he was working he started thinking about how even his fathers servants eat better than he did

So he got himself ready to go see his dad and prepared his speech like what we do when we get in trouble

Then he decided to back to his dads house

20-24 (Dad meet him halfway and brought him back into the family)

When he went back his father stopped him before he could even make it back too his house ran too him meeting him where he was at and hugged him

He gave him a bunch of things to celebrate his return

The best robe

ring on his finger

sandels on his feet

A party with a fatten calf

This brought him back into the family celebrating his return

25-32 (Older son was upset at him for bringing him back in)

Then the Older son came and heard the celebration and was mad

He was mad because the younger son who dishonored the family got all these things even though he left his family

Then we see a role switch where the father then had to go after the oldest son to try and get him to come back

Message

Gods unconditional love gives us Freedom

God loves us so much that he gives us freedom to leave

Like the son in this story he has freedom to chose to stay in his fathers house or to go and leave

The son made the wrong decision deciding to leave and he lost everything that he had’

In our life sometimes this freedom causes us to make the wrong decision leaving the safety that God has given us.

We make the wrong decision and we sin against the law that God has put into place for us

We might disobey our parents

It might cause us to lie

God’s unconditional love also gives us freedom to come back too him

We have the option that when we use our freedom wrong and leave the position that God had given us we still are able to come back and ask for forgivness

God want’s to forgive us when we make mistakes

He wants to except us back into his loving arms

Gods freedom allows us to chose to love him desiring a relationship with him

Gods Unconditional love chases after us

There is two examples in this story of the Father chasing after his son

The Youngest Son

In this story here we see the Father meet his son halfway

You can vision the father eagerly waiting for his son to return, it tells us that he was still a long way off when his father saw him and ran too him

He wasn’t told by others he didn’t hire someone to watch for him, he waited eagerly for his son to return and when he did he ran, wasn’t made or upset but instead embraced him with open arms

The same thing happens with our Father, when we sin against him or do something wrong he is waiting for us

As soon as we make a step towards him he comes running with his arms wide wanting to restore us back to where we are

The Oldest Son

The Father chasing after the son isn’t only a model with the youngest son but the oldest son too

The situation is different with the oldest son, he doesn’t take any of the fathers things, he didn’t lost all of his estate but yet he still leaves He is upset that his brother was excepted back into the family

The oldest son thought that he didn’t do anything wrong he was working for his Father the whole time and didn’t think it was fair that the youngest son was restored

Sometimes we think that we aren’t wrong and look to others to say that we aren’t that bad when in reality comparing ourselves to others sin is still sin

The son left because of how upset he was at his father for taking back his son, but his father still runs after him

The story of the older brother shows us that we have too do something terrible and fully leave for the Father too chase us. When we are upset or feel wronged he will still chase after us showing us his love

Gods Unconditional love is restoring

The Fathers Reaction

The Fathers unconditional love for his son restored there relationship and put him back into the family

In this we see the father do a couple things to bring him back into his familly

We see the father give him a robe to wear covering his dirt and filth from being a hired servant shoes for his feet showing he is no longer a slave, as most slaves didn’t have shoes to wear and lastly a ring.

This ring is significant because it is the seal of the family, this allows him to make decisions on half of his family and pay for things

Having this ring is a stamp of approval from the Father that you can make decisions on his behalf

We see a party thrown by the Father and with the people around him

Not only the father was happy of his return the people around him celebrated with them with the fattened calf

This calf would be saved for the biggest celebrations as it was expensive

When the son tried too give his speech that he messed up his father didn’t wait for him to finish he already embraced him in a hug the father didn’t care what he said but just wanted him in his presence again

The father didn’t hold any grudge or resentment too his sin but instead was full of joy that his son came back too him

Gods Reaction

Sin Separates us from God

Sin is anything we think say or do that displeases God

Because of our sin we are separated from God

The idea that there is a grandcanyon between us and God and there is no way that we are able to jump across it or work our way back too God

Just like the Father when we leave God hurts, he is sad that we aren’t with him any more

God also is just as excited when we come back

God doesn’t hold a grudge and keep things from us

God doesn’t lower us in his eyes or make us work back to being restored to a relationship he instantly brings us back to a relationship with him

Gospel Presentation

The reason why we are able to have a restored relationship with Christ is because he loved us so much that he sent his one and only son to die in our place

Closing the distance between us and God restoring the relationship with him so that we are able to be in right standing with him

All we have to do is pray to God asking for forgivness for our sin and what we have done against him and he runs after us with open arms hugging us putting us back into a relationship with him