Sermon Study Guide | Series: Hope For Everyone | Sermon: They’re Still Worth It | Scripture: Luke 15:20-24 | Date: November 23, 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.

Waiting is never easy, especially when it’s for something or someone we love. As we reflect on this week’s message, consider this: What are you currently waiting on God for? Maybe it’s a relationship, healing, provision, or clarity. In the parable Jesus shared, the father didn’t waste the waiting, he prepared. In the same way, this season might not be passive for you either. It might be preparation.

This week, allow your group to open up about what they’re hoping for and how God might be preparing their hearts along the way.

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 15:20–24 together.
  
  
  
  • What strikes you most about the father’s actions in this story?
    
    
  • How do his responses (watching the road, running to his son, throwing a celebration) shape our understanding of God’s heart?
    
    
• Read Galatians 6:9.
  
  
  
  • What does this verse suggest about the role of perseverance in our faith journey?
    
    
  • How does it connect to the father’s long, unseen preparation in Luke 15?
    
    
• Consider the phrase: “The father turned waiting into preparing.”
  
  
  
  • Where in your life do you feel God inviting you to prepare, not just wait?
    
    
  • What might “keeping the calf ready” look like for you practically?
    
    
• This story also reminds us that the older brother was just as lost in his own way.
  
  
  
  • In what ways can we be present in church and still drift from the Father’s heart?
    
    
  • How can we make space in our lives and our church for both the rebellious and the resentful?
    
    
• Hope is building the welcome.
  
  
  
  • How can our church community “leave the light on” for those who haven’t come home yet?
    
    
  • What are the small but faithful acts that can show others they’re still worth it?
    
    

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.

• Think of one relationship or area in your life where you’ve been tempted to give up hope. This week, take one intentional step toward preparation instead of passivity. Write a note, pray specifically, or make a plan.
  
  
• What part of your personal “home” (your habits, your priorities, your schedule) needs to be readied for the people God might send into your life?
  
  
• As Menlo Church invests in literal spaces for the next generation, consider: What does it look like for you to invest spiritually, emotionally, or relationally for those who aren’t here yet?
  
  
• If you made a Hope for Everyone commitment last year, spend time this week reflecting on what God has done since then. Has your faith grown? Has your heart been stretched?
  
  • If you haven’t made a commitment to give, serve, or pray, take some time to ask why? What is stopping you?
    
    

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.

Gracious Father, Thank you for never giving up on us. Thank you for waiting with eyes full of hope and arms ready to embrace. As we consider the ways You’re calling us to prepare—not just buildings but hearts—help us lean into the faithful work of the waiting. Give us endurance when we grow weary, and joy as we partner with you to welcome the hurting, the seeking, and the coming home. May our lives reflect the open arms of the father and the celebration of redemption. Let our church be a home for the lost and a place where the found come alive. In Jesus’ name, Amen.