Aim

To help children to begin to understand the Christian belief that God is willing to forgive. To become familiar with the parable of the Lost Son.

Preparation

Before the lesson read parable (Luke 15:11-23).

Lesson

Begin lesson by discussing the children's self-monitoring from last week.

Which of them succeeded in acting upon their promise? Which of them did not?

Ask the former group their opinions on how you should deal with the latter.

Before making any final decision, inform the children that Jesus told another story about two sons. While one of them was a 'good' boy, who always did what his father asked, the other was always getting into trouble.

Christians call this story The Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-23).

Share the parable with the children.

Christians believe that God is eager to forgive people who are truly sorry for not keeping His rules.

Activity

Use worksheet to explore the point of view of each character in the parable.

Conclusion

Conclude lesson by encouraging children who did not succeed in acting upon their promise to try again.