Leader Guide
Teaching
- Bibles or the Superbook Bible App
- Signpost Card Patterns
- Lost and Found Challenge Booklet
- Lost and Found Challenge Scriptures
- Optional: cardstock—three pieces
- Model of the Discipleship Challenge craft from Lesson 1
- Scissors
- Optional: tape
Make one copy of each of the Signpost Card Patterns. Tape them to the wall or prop them up so children can see.
Copy the Lost and Found Challenge Booklet Pattern and Scripture Pattern for any children who missed the previous lessons.
Have a different child select each Signpost Card in order, 1–3, and read it aloud. Discuss the information below. Additional material is included for Grades 4–6 to look up and discuss.
Let’s discuss the Signpost video about the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Signpost 1 Pig—Lost
Why would a picture of a pig represent being lost? When the prodigal son ran away and lost everything, he was so desperate that he took a job feeding pigs, and he was so hungry that he wanted to eat their food!
The Pharisees and other religious leaders did not understand Jesus’ mission on Earth. They questioned why He would spend time with people they called sinners. The Pharisees were proud of their good works and trusted their self-righteousness to put them in right standing with God. They thought they were better than most other people. Yet they didn’t understand that they were sinners, too!
The older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son believed that all his good works and obedience to the father put him in right standing with his father—certainly much better than his younger brother! Both the Pharisees and the older brother were lost and didn’t even know it! They lacked the love that the father showed.
Jesus told His disciples to love one another. He said that the world would know they belonged to Jesus by their love! We need to show others God’s love too—especially the lost! Did you know that everyone is lost without Jesus?
Yes, the Bible calls us lost sheep that have strayed away! It doesn’t matter how many good deeds we do, or how good we think we are—we all have wandered away from God and need a Savior—Jesus!
Optional verses for Grades 4–6 to look up and discuss:
John 13:34–35:
34 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”
Romans 3:10:
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one.”
Isaiah 53:6:
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.
Signpost 2 Telescope—Found
A telescope is used to find and see something that is far away. In the Prodigal Son, the father didn’t have a telescope, but he was eagerly watching for his lost son to return home. Then, when he saw him approach from a distance, he ran to his son to hug and kiss him.
The father represents God, our Heavenly Father. He watches and waits patiently for us to repent of our sin and return home to be with Him! No matter what sins we have committed, no matter how far we have wandered away, He offers His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, and His love to us!
Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and He looks for lost sheep! Jesus said in His parable that if a shepherd has 100 sheep and one gets lost, the shepherd will leave the others and look for that one lost sheep until it is found! Every single one of us is important to Jesus! We are so important that He died for us!
Optional verses for Grades 4–6 to look up and discuss:
John 10:11:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep.
Romans 5:8:
But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Signpost 3 Sheep—Celebration
The sheep represents the celebration that was given by the father for his younger son. The father was filled with joy and thanksgiving that his lost son had finally come home to live with him again! Did you know that heaven celebrates when one of God’s children comes home?
Yes! The Bible tells us that heaven is filled with joy when one lost sinner who wandered away repents and returns to God! We are all invited to God’s party. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He died for us that we might return home and spend eternity with Him in heaven!
Optional verses for Grades 4–6 to look up and discuss:
Titus 3:4–5:
4 But—When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, 5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 4:17:
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Luke 15:7:
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application
Hand out the Lost and Found Patterns to any children who were not present for the previous lessons and explain how to make them at home.
Ask the children to discuss the answers to the second “Lost and Found Challenge” from Lesson 2. Challenge children to look up the third “Lost and Found Challenge” scripture at home, and then fill in the answers to the four questions and discuss them at home. If any child does not have a Bible at home to look up the scriptures, give them the scriptures on a separate page.