27/07/2026
"BACK AGAIN — BUT NOT BITTER"
Main Text: Luke 15:17-24 - The Prodigal Son
Supporting Texts: Jeremiah 3:22, Psalm 51:10-12, Lamentations 3:22-23
Note
* God doesn't just tolerate your return, He celebrates it
Everyone knows what it is to say "I'm back again." Back again to church after being away. Back again to prayer after being dry. Back again to God after messing up.
The enemy will tell you — "You are back, but God is tired of you." But this story shows us the opposite. The son came back guilty, but the father ran to him as if he never left.
There are 3 things that happen when you truly come back to God.
1. YOU COME TO YOURSELF (v.17-18)
"When he came to his senses..."
Before you come back to God, you must be honest with yourself. The prodigal didn't blame the famine, his friends, or his father. He said "I have sinned."
Returning is not about emotion, it's about honesty. God can't restore who you pretend to be.
Illustration: Many of us leave Kampala to go to the village looking for a better life, only to find the city is where our father left provision.
2. YOU FIND THE FATHER STILL WAITING (v.20)
"While he was still a long way off, his father saw him..."
He didn't come back to a locked gate. The father was watching every day. Your absence did not cancel His fatherhood.
Notice — the son prepared a speech about becoming a servant, but the father never let him finish it. You return thinking "Let me be a worker," God restores you as a son.
You are not back again on probation. You are back again in position.
3. WHAT WAS LOST IS RESTORED WITH HONOR (v.22-24)
The father gave him three things:
▪️A Robe - to cover his shame. God doesn't just forgive, He covers.
▪️A Ring - to restore his authority. Your mistakes don't revoke your calling.
▪️Shoes - servants were barefoot, sons wore shoes. You are not a slave in God's house.
He didn't just let him back in — he threw a party. Heaven doesn't whisper when you return, it shouts.
Maybe today you are the one saying "I'm back again." You've been cold, you've been far, you've been trying to fix life by yourself.
God is not saying "Where have you been?" He is saying "Welcome home."
Jeremiah 3:22 says, "Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding."
Let's pray:
Father, we come to ourselves today. We confess we left. Thank you that you never stopped watching for us. Today we receive the robe, the ring, and the shoes. Restore us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Dr. RoniSmith Nsubuga
Yeshua Discipleship
