Sermon Study Guide | Series: dAdvice | Sermon: Wisdom From The Trenches
Scripture: Luke 15:11–32, Proverbs 3:11–12, Ephesians 6:4, Psalm 103:13
Date: Father’s Day: June 15, 2025

CONNECT - “A Personal Reflection”

This section is designed to help you relate personally to the theme of the sermon. It encourages you to reflect on your own life experiences and how they connect to the message.

This week, we heard from several dads in our community, sharing stories about the beauty, the burden, and the unexpected blessings of fatherhood. Whether you’re a parent or not, chances are you’ve experienced—or needed—the love of a father figure.

Think about your own experience. Who has “fathered” you in life—biologically, spiritually, or emotionally? What’s one moment where someone showed you strength, mentored you, or showed gentleness in a way that reminded you of God? Share with your group

ENGAGE - “Exploring the Scripture”

This section invites you to dive into the biblical passage, discuss its meaning, and apply it to your life through thoughtful questions.

Read Luke 15:11–32, Proverbs 3:11–12, Ephesians 6:4, Psalm 103:13

Read together and discuss:

• Luke 15:11–32 – the story of the Prodigal Son.
  
  
  • How does the father in this story reflect God’s character?
    
    
  • What do you notice about the way he waits, welcomes, and restores?
    
    
    
•  Psalm 103:13 – “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”
  
  
  • How do you experience God’s compassion in your life today?
    
    
  • What does this verse say to people who may not have had compassionate earthly fathers?
    
    
    
• Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
  
  
  • What do you think it means to “provoke” someone to anger? How might impatience, control, or harshness play into that?
    
    
  • In contrast, what does it look like to “bring them up in the Lord”? What does spiritual leadership in the home practically look like—for fathers, mothers, or mentors?
    
    
  • If you’re a parent or caregiver, where do you feel tension between discipline and grace? How do you sense God guiding you in that balance?

APPLY - “Putting the Scriptures into Action”

This section challenges us to take what we’ve learned and implement it in practical ways in our daily lives.

1. Reflect on this: Whether you are a dad, a parent, a mentor, or someone being mentored—what’s one area where you can be more intentional this week in showing up with the love of the Father?
   
   
2. Choose one of the following to focus on this week:
   
   
   1. Be present with your kids or loved ones—even if only for five uninterrupted minutes a day.
      
      
   2. Reach out to someone who has spiritually fathered you and say “thank you.”
      
      
   3. Ask a dad you know how you can pray for them, then do it.
      
      
   4. Set aside time to pray with or for your children—modeling dependence on God.
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3. If you are navigating a broken or strained relationship with your father or your children, what would it look like to take one small step toward healing this week?
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PRAY - “Seeking God’s Guidance”

This section offers a short prayer to help us center our hearts and invite God to work in our lives through his scripture.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being the perfect model of compassion, strength, and faithfulness. For those of us who are fathers, help us reflect Your love in the way we lead and love our families. For those of us missing a father, grant healing and comfort. For those who feel the weight of parenting or mentoring, supply Your strength. We ask that You continue shaping us to be thoughtful witnesses, sacrificial developers, and unhurried friends—especially with those closest to us. May our lives point our children and communities back to You. Amen.

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