Unstuck – Week 2

We get stuck Relationally. 

We get stuck Professionally. 

We get stuck Financially.   

We get stuck Spiritually. 

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! Luke 15:1  

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! Luke 15:7  

In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. Luke 15:10 

Lost Sheep  

Lost Coin  

Lost Son  

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. Luke 15:11-12 

“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. Luke 15:13-14 

He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. Luke 15:15-16  

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, Luke 15:17-18 

and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Luke 15:19-20  

His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[b]’22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. Luke 15:21-22 

And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.  Luke 15:23-24 

Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. Luke 15:25-26 

‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, Luke 15:27-28 

but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Luke 15:29  

30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf! Luke 15:30 

“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ Luke 15:31-32 

Things to Remember When You Made a Mess 

1. No mess is too big for a miracle. 

have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. Luke 5:32 

2.  God always responds when we repent.  

3. When Plan A is wrecked, God has a Plan B. 

4.  God is waiting for us to come home.   

Three Lessons for the Older Brother: 

1. Beware of Pride and Self-Righteousness 

• The older brother was so focused on his obedience and hard work that he failed to see his own need for grace. Just like his younger brother, he was distant from his father—not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Pride can blind us to our own need for God’s mercy. 

2. God Wants Relationship, Not Just Duty 

• The older brother’s complaint revealed that he viewed his relationship with his father as transactional. He worked hard, expecting a reward, but missed the joy of being in the presence of his father. We too can get stuck in “earning” God’s love instead of receiving it freely. 

3. Celebrate God’s Grace for Others 

• The older brother’s refusal to join the celebration showed a lack of compassion and joy for his brother’s return. Instead of comparing our journeys to others, we should celebrate God’s grace when someone finds their way back to Him.