At a glance: this is a 8-week study and discussion guide for The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller, with 63 questions organized by reading assignment. Week 1 is free to read, with no card required.
Timothy Keller's The Prodigal God is built on a startling claim: that we have been reading one of Jesus' most familiar parables with one eye closed. Most of us know the story of the prodigal son — the younger brother who demands his inheritance, squanders it in reckless living, and crawls home to a father who runs to meet him. But Keller argues that this parable has two lost sons, and that Jesus told the whole story primarily to confront the older brother — the respectable, religious, rule-keeping son who never left home and yet was every bit as far from the father's heart. The book's title is itself a clue: "prodigal" means recklessly extravagant, and it belongs not only to the younger son but supremely to God, whose grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic is scandalously lavish. By recovering the older brother's story, Keller argues, we recover the very heart of the gospel.
This study guide is designed for use over seven weeks — one week per chapter, plus a final week of review and reflection. Each week, read the assigned chapter before your group meets (or before your personal study time). Take notes as you read, and if possible journal your responses to the questions before discussing them with others. The questions move from comprehension (making sure you understood what Keller actually argued) to application (where does this land in your own life?) to theological reflection (how does this connect to the gospel?). Don't rush. The parable is short; the implications are deep.
By the end of this guide, you can expect to see yourself more clearly in both brothers, to understand the difference between religion and the gospel at a level that goes beyond slogans, and to be genuinely moved by the extravagance of a God who runs toward prodigals of every kind. Whether you come to this book as a skeptic, a lifelong churchgoer, or someone who has quietly suspected that Christianity is mostly about being good, Keller's reading of Luke 15 has something to say directly to you.