1. The Prodigal Father needing to return to the Ideal Father
Jeremiah 47:3; Psalm 106:35-39
Philippians 4:20; Matthew 5:28

2. The Ideal Father Loves His Children
1 John 3:1
2 Thessalonians 2:16
Romans 5:8
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

3. The Ideal Father Knows the Needs of His Children
Matthew 6:7, 32

4. The Ideal Father Supplies the Needs of His Children
Matthew 6: 26-39
James 1:17
John 6:32-33
Ephesians 1:3; 6:4
1 Timothy 5:8

5. The Ideal Father Disciplines His Children
Proverbs 3:12; 13:24
Matthew 6:14
Many fathers in todays world are wasting their opportunities and neglecting their duties. They are prodigal fathers! God is the perfect Father, and human fathers would do well to learn and return to His ways – loving their children, knowing and supplying the needs of their children, disciplining their children and forgiving their children.

6. The Ideal Father Forgives His Children
Acts 8:22
Matthew 6:14-15
Proverbs 10:1, 5; 19:26