Prodigal God, Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The True Elder Brother

1. As the father is pleading with his elder son to come in, what picture comes to your mind of God?
2. Do you find yourself judging the judgers or grumbling about the grumblers? How is Jesus approach to the Pharisees so different than this?
3. “We will never find God unless he first seeks us” (p. 75). How has this been true in your own experience? Where in the Bible can we see this?
4. Quote from page 75: “How can you tell if he is working on you now? If you begin to sense your lostness and find yourself wanting to escape it, you should realize that desire is not something you could have generated on your own.” Can you describe your experience of knowing God is teaching you?
5. What is and is not repentance? (p. 75 and 76).
6. What are the spiritual problems of the Pharisee as described on page 77?
7. “To truly become Christian we must repent of the reason we ever did anything right. Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness too” (p. 78). How is this explanation different from the way most people understand repentance? How does this change the way you repent?
8. What would help you identify the “sin under all your other sins?” (p.78). How can you dismantle that particular sin under all other sins? (As a personal exercise, consider more fully the idols in your heart by thinking through the supplementary material at the end of the questions. Not necessarily for sharing).
9. Who should have gone out and searched for the younger brother? What are some of the characteristics in this person that kept him from searching? Where do you see these characteristics in your own life?
10. “Forgiveness always comes at a cost” (p. 83). How can this truth be seen in the parable? In your own experience?
11. What did it cost the father to bring his younger son home? What did it cost the elder brother? What did it cost to bring us home?
12. “How can the inner workings of the heart be changed from a dynamic of fear and anger to that of love, joy, and gratitude?” (p. 85).
13. If Jesus is our true elder brother, how does this change our relationship with him? Our worship? Our service? Our obedience? Our view of the service?
14. The author states on page 89 “To the degree, ‘we see his beauty’ we will be free from the fear and neediness that creates either younger brothers or elder brothers.” Describe what this means for you.
15. Action Item
Supplementary Material: The following is a list of questions from the Prodigal God discussion guide to help you discern idols/controlling sins:
1. What am I most afraid of?
2. What do I long for most passionately?
3. Where do I run for comfort?
4. What do I complain about the most?
5. What angers me most?
6. What makes me happiest?
7. How do I explain myself to other people?
8. What has caused me to be angry with God?
9. What do I brag about?
10. What do I want to have more than anything else?
11. What do I sacrifice the most for in my life?
12. If I could change one thing in my life what would that be?
13. Whose approval am I seeking?
14. What do I want to control/master?
15. What comfort do I treasure the most?