Sermon Tone Analysis

Now let’s look at this parable, most of us are familiar with the story and recognize the younger brother who sinned and came back.

This is the typically way we look at this and the typical way it is preached.

We are going to look at this a little different today.

How many sinners are mentioned in this parable?

We have the obvious sinner- the younger son.

Is there any other sinner here?

What about the older brother?

The younger brother demanded his inheritance before it was time to receive it then squandered everything on foolish living.

Again we recognize this man as the obvious sinner of the story.

He is the type of person many Christians today would look down on and shrivel in disgust when they come into the church because they smell literally or they smell of their sin.

We have to recognize the older son as a sinner as well though as well.

He never demanded his inheritance early and he lived under his father’s rules according to verse 29.

Yet even though he never left the father and spent time under his rules he was angry when he found out the celebration was for his lost brother who had been considered dead to his father.

This man did not have the heart of the father.

We may not be sinning outwardly like the younger son but as sons and daughters of God we have to know that it is not just living under God’s rules but having the heart of the father and make sure we are not sinning on the inside.

Just like the repentant sinners , the younger son turned 180 degrees back to home, back to the father.

That change for them is not just a stopping of the bad living they are doing in their life styles but a change in their heart as well.

The older brother proclaimed his righteousness, pushed judgement on his brother and never lifted a finer to bring back his little lost brother.

We cannot be like the self-righteous brother against any man.

Luke 15:1-7

God has already rejoiced when you came to him but God is going to not worry about his children who is already safe while he reaches out with open arms to the lost so they are too saved by grace.

How often do we talk badly about the people around us or even leaders in the church or even politicians?

What would happen if we spent as much if not more time praying over the people instead of talking horribly about them and cursing them because of their actions and lives and decisions they make?

How would our lives be different if we had the heart of the father toward lost children rather than the heart of the older son?