Wednesday, June 24, 2026

• July Break

Connect Groups will take the month of July off, so tonight is the last Connect Group until August 12, 2026. This break is intended to give everyone an opportunity to rest, reset, and enjoy time with family while remaining connected to our church family.

Connect Group Leaders:

While regular Connect Group meetings will pause, leaders are encouraged to stay connected with group members and consider planning an informal gathering in July (i.e., cookout, pool party, coffee meetup, game night, or other opportunity to build relationships and community). Consider pairing up with another Connect Group.

• Pray for Youth Attending Ignite

Please join us in praying for the students attending the Ignite Summer Youth Trip. The group leaves this Friday morning for Panama City Beach.

This year’s theme is Imago Dei (Image of God) as students explore what it means to be created in God’s image and how biblical masculinity and femininity reflect His design.

Specific prayer points for Ignite have been added to the end of each daily devotion from Tuesday through Sunday in this week’s New Covenant Prayer Guide.

Please encourage your Connect Group to:

1. Visit prayer.nccvaldosta.org

2. Click "Access the Prayer Guide"

3. Scroll down and open today's devotion (Wednesday)

4. Scroll to the bottom of Wednesday's devotion to see the IGNITE PRAYER FOCUS

Using Wednesday's IGNITE PRAYER FOCUS, please take a few moments to pray during your Connect Group tonight, and encourage everyone to continue praying daily throughout the week using the prayer guide.

Sunday, June 21, 2026 Synopsis (Detailed)

Jesus came to reveal the Father. Throughout the Gospels, Christ consistently pointed people beyond Himself to the heart, character, and nature of God the Father (John 14:9–10; John 17:25–26). Yet many people struggle to approach God because they view Him through the lens of their earthly experiences, wounds, disappointments, or misconceptions. As a result, they expect rejection, condemnation, or distance when God is actually inviting them into relationship.  

The parable commonly known as the Prodigal Son is ultimately a story about a father with open arms (Luke 15:11–32). While much attention is often given to the younger son, Jesus places the focus on the father. The younger son gradually walked away from relationship, seeking fulfillment apart from his father, only to discover that the things he pursued could never truly satisfy. His hunger eventually awakened him to the reality that what he needed most could only be found in relationship with his father.  

When the son finally decided to return home, he expected judgment, rejection, and punishment. Instead, the father saw him from a distance, ran to him, embraced him, and welcomed him back with joy (Luke 15:20–24). The son’s understanding of the father was completely wrong. Jesus reveals a Father who is not looking for reasons to reject His children but eagerly desires their restoration. God’s response to repentance is not reluctant acceptance but joyful embrace. Even when we come broken, ashamed, or feeling unworthy, He invites us to come as we are.

The older brother reveals a different danger. Although he remained physically close to the father, he viewed the relationship through the lens of performance, comparison, and self-righteousness. He believed blessings were earned rather than received through grace. The father reminded him that everything he had was already available to him through relationship. The kingdom is not built on striving to earn God’s approval but on living as sons and daughters who have already been welcomed by grace.  

The father’s heart is also seen in his desire for reconciliation and unity. While the older brother sought to distance himself from the prodigal, the father reminded him that they were still family (Luke 15:30–32). God’s heart is always moving toward restoration—both with Himself and with one another. As those who have experienced the Father’s grace, we are called to carry His heart into our families, relationships, and communities.

Sunday, June 21, 2026 Synopsis (Concise)

The Father’s heart is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. In Luke 15:11–32, Jesus tells a story about a father whose love, grace, and compassion are greater than either of his sons realized. While the younger son sought fulfillment apart from his father and the older son related through performance and comparison, both misunderstood the father’s heart. The Father is not looking for reasons to reject us but inviting us into relationship through grace. As sons and daughters, we are called to receive His love, extend His grace to others, and pursue reconciliation within the family of God.

Discussion Questions

• SEEING THE FATHER CLEARLY

Jesus said that anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father (John 14:9–10). The father in the parable welcomed his son home with compassion, grace, and restoration (Luke 15:20–24).

• How does the father’s response challenge some of the ways people commonly view God?

• HUNGER AND HOMECOMING

The younger son eventually realized that everything he had been pursuing apart from his father could not satisfy him (Luke 15:11–19).

• What are some things people look to for fulfillment, security, identity, or purpose that ultimately leave them empty?

• How does relationship with God meet those deeper needs?

• GRACE, PERFORMANCE, AND FAMILY

The older brother remained close to the father physically, but his attitude revealed a heart shaped by performance, comparison, and resentment rather than grace (Luke 15:25–32).

• • • How can believers drift into a performance-based relationship with God?

    • What changes when we begin to live as sons and daughters who are accepted by grace rather than trying to earn God’s approval?

Weekly Prayer Guide

This weekly prayer guide is designed to be simple, accessible, and meaningful for every household, helping us stay united in prayer and focused in vision.

prayer.nccvaldosta.org

Planted (Discipleship Book #1)

“Planted: Discovering Your New Life in Jesus” is a discipleship resource that equips believers to walk with others in growing their relationship with Jesus. It provides a simple, Scripture-based pathway for spiritual growth and is best used in one-on-one or small discipleship relationships to help disciple others in a personal and reproducible way.

Planted: Discovering Your New Life in Jesus

Rooted (Discipleship Book #2)

“Rooted: Growing Deep in Christ” is a discipleship resource designed to help believers move beyond the beginning stages of their faith and develop deep spiritual roots in Jesus. Through Scripture-based teaching and practical application, it equips disciples to abide in Christ, grow in spiritual maturity, and remain strong and fruitful through every season of life. It is best used in one-on-one or small discipleship relationships to help believers grow deeper in their walk with Jesus.

Rooted: Growing Deep in Christ

Inner Healing

Please share this link with anyone you’d like to refer for an inner healing session. Once submitted, the information goes directly to our inner healing team, and a prayer minister will reach out to schedule the session.

nccvaldosta.org/innerhealing