MENU

Parables: The Prodigal Son

To Remember: God rejoices when sinners repent

Vocabulary   
   repent
- to turn away from sin
   squander
- waste
   prodigal
- recklessly wasteful

Lesson
Luke 15:11-32

SING: The Prodigal Son, by Sharon Broome (click for lyrics)

Activity: Reinforce the idea of repentance being to turn around. Have students line up. Ask review questions. If the person answering gets it right, everyone moves forward. If the person gets it wrong, they have to face the back wall. If the next person gets it right, declare: REPENT, and everyone turns forward again and gets to move one step up. (Don’t use repent to face the back - reinforce the idea that you turn away from wrong and toward right). You can even put a smiley face at the front of the room and a frown at the back.

Life of Jesus Bingo Worksheet: Hand-out for the prodigal son lesson.

Craft: Make a pigpen from craft sticks. Have students cut out pink pigs from construction paper. Use strips of brown paper to be straw. Label each pig with a sin that led the young man to the pig pen.

True or False
  1. The young son wanted to live life his way.   T
  2. The older son was obedient and helpful to his father.  T
  3. The father held a grudge against his son.     F
  4. The son expected to be accepted back into the family.    F
  5. The older son cared about his brother deeply.  F
Review Questions (can be used with gameboard)
linguistic questions
  1. What book is this parable in?
  2. Which other book in the New Testament did this author write?
  3. Who told this parable?
  activity questions
  1. Act out the scene where the father welcomes the son home.
  2. Act out the scene where the brother refuses to come in.
  3. Draw a picture of a hog.
  emotion questions
  1. What bad feelings was the son having while he was tending the hogs?
  2. What feelings was the father having before the son came home?
  3. What feelings did the brother have against the son?
application questions
  1. How should we feel towards sinners?
  2. What can we expect from God if we repent?
  3. Why did the father welcome his son back?
fact questions
  1. Who does the father in the story represent?
  2. Who does the son in the story represent?
  3. Who does the brother in the story represent?
review questions
  1. What had the son done to hurt his family?
  2. Name 2 sins the son committed.
  3. What did the father do to celebrate his son's return?
Memory Work
  • Luke 15:21"The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son."
  • 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
  • Luke 15:7 "In the same way heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"