MAIN POINT:

All spiritual bondage starts with lies. When we recognize our need for grace and follow God’s truth, we are set free and we stay free.

ICEBREAKER:

Share a time in your life when you were involved in a surprise party for another person. What was the atmosphere like? What emotions were you feeling?

INTRODUCTION:

Many people are held captive by a past sin that either they committed or someone else committed against them. They believe that their sin is too great or they are too damaged for God to love them. This is a lie! One parable shared in the book of Luke by Jesus is the prodigal son. We see that he is ensnared by the lies in his life. Even though the story is focused mostly on the prodigal, we also see that his older brother is held down by very different lies.

ENCOUNTERING GOD THROUGH BIBLE STUDY:

Read Luke 15:11-17
1) What differences do you see regarding the two brothers?
2) What kind of lies did the younger son listen to?
3) At what point do you think the prodigal finally had a revelation of being in need of grace?
4) Why was the father so excited to see his son despite his wasting of the inheritance?

Read Luke 15: 25-29
5) What was the older brother’s reaction? Why do you think he reacted this way?
6) What lies did the older son believe?
7) What kind of lies have kept you from celebrating for someone else’s success or happiness?

LEADER NOTES

3) In the pigpen the younger son realized his need for his father’s love and decided to return to him. Notice the father’s reaction in verse 20.
4) The son wanted to repent of his sins. He stopped believing the lies of the world. That recognition and willingness to repent was all it took for the father to come running to him.
6) The older son claimed that his father had never given him a goat (v29), and yet when the father divided the inheritance the older son had received 2/3 of the estate (v12).
The father in this story is symbolically God, and we are the children. Like the father in the parable, God wants nothing more than to shower us with his love and gifts. Once we stop listening to the lies of Lucifer, we open ourselves up to receiving the gracious gifts God wishes to share with us.

In James 5:16, we are told to confess our sins to each other. Encourage your small group to develop accountability partners, someone they can confess and share with. If time permits, start this now by breaking the group into twos. Encourage them to pray for each other in privacy.