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Leader Guide

Teaching

Make a copy of the Welcome Mat Pattern, if a real welcome mat is unavailable.

Copy the Lost and Found Challenge Pattern, one per child, plus extras.

Copy the Lost and Found Scripture Pattern, for any children who may not have Bibles at home.

Place the small items—coins, pebbles, beans—in the pillowcase or bag. 

Have you ever thought that something you did was unforgivable? Have you ever thought that God couldn’t forgive you?

The truth is that God is always ready and willing to forgive us, even when others may not! Let’s say our SuperTruth together. “Our heavenly Father is always ready to forgive.”

Was the older brother ready to forgive his brother? No!

The older brother was bitter, angry and hurt. He could not understand why his father would not only forgive the other son, but actually celebrate his homecoming!

Have you ever felt resentment or anger toward someone you thought should be punished and instead was forgiven and given a second chance?

Yes, that can be difficult to understand, but the beautiful message of Jesus’ parable today is that God’s love is unfailing and He is always ready to forgive us. Listen to what the Bible tells us about our heavenly Father:

Read Psalm 103:8:

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

Was the older brother compassionate, merciful, loving, and slow to anger?

No, he reacted like we often do, especially when we follow the rules and others don’t, right? I am glad that when I make a mess of my life, God does not treat me like the older brother would—or how I might treat others by being angry instead of forgiving!    

The Prodigal Son would normally have received his inheritance after his father died—yet he demanded his inheritance while his father was alive. That was rude, wasn’t it? By doing that, he was almost telling his father, I wish you were dead! Hold up the bag, shake it, and act like it is heavy to lift.

The father granted his request even though he did not agree with his son. Why would the father do this, knowing it was the wrong choice? The father represents God, who gives everyone a free will. Our free will means that we can choose to trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior and serve Him, or we can choose to go our own way. If we choose to walk away from God, it grieves Him because He loves us and wants only what is good for us. Yet He didn’t pre-program us like robots—He gave us the choice of whether we want to love and serve Him, and He is delighted when we make wise choices.  

The father in our story did not force the son to stay with him. The son left home with his inheritance and traveled to a distant country. He then wasted all of his father’s hard-earned money on foolish living.

Empty the contents of the bag onto the floor and drop the bag to the floor. “Prodigal” can mean extremely wasteful. He didn’t save or invest the money—he totally wasted it! With his inheritance gone, he had to find a job. And the only work he could find was feeding pigs! Jesus was telling this story to Jewish people, who would have been horrified at the idea of that particular job. That’s because pigs were considered unclean animals, so to work with pigs would have been very embarrassing.

So here is the Prodigal Son—dirty, poor and hungry. He was so hungry that even the pigs’ food looked good to him, but no one would give him anything to eat! When he was growing up in his father’s home, he had taken a lot of things for granted—such as food, a roof over his head, clothes, and someone to care about him. Yet he had despised all of that to run away. Suddenly, everything he had taken for granted at home looked very good to him. The Bible says this is when he came to his senses! Now, by the son’s will, free will—he freely chose to return home to his father—it was his choice! The son hoped he might be allowed to work as a servant in his father’s house. Yet he realized that he had acted so selfishly and disrespectfully, perhaps his father would not allow him to return at all, even as a servant.

Optional: Let’s read what happened: Read Luke 15:17–24:

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”

Hold up the welcome mat and place it on the floor in front of you. Much to his amazement, his father welcomed him home—not as a hired servant, but as his dear son! Before the Prodigal Son could say a word, the father hugged and kissed him! Then the son confessed his sin, which was not only against his father but his heavenly Father, God! And what happens when we confess our sins to the Lord?

Read 1 John 1:9:

But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

The father told his servants to bring the son a ring, sandals, and a robe; and he called for a celebration feast! This showed the father’s total acceptance and forgiveness, restoring his son as a member of the family again!

Sometimes, when we sin and disobey God, we feel ashamed and think we can never have the relationship again that we had before. But because Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross, we can be cleansed from our sin and restored to a right relationship with God, our heavenly Father! 

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Now it is time for our Discipleship Challenge that we will work on for all three lessons.

Give each child a pattern for the Superbook Lost and Found Challenge Booklet. Have them fold the booklets and put their names near Gizmo on the front. If you have time, children may color Gizmo, if desired.

Look up the first “Lost and Found Challenge” scripture at home, then fill in the answers to the four questions. If you don’t have a Bible at home to look up the scriptures, I will give you the scriptures on a separate page. Next time, we’ll talk about your answers.