What is your story of grace? How far from the Father did you wander until you came to your senses? Do you remember the moment the Father ran to you, embraced you, and called you His son or daughter? Take a few minutes to answer these questions to yourself and express your gratitude to the Lord for His saving work in your life. Then enjoy sharing the parable of the prodigal son with your child(ren) this week through the following activities.
HIGHLIGHTS from the Weekend…
This week your child learned about the prodigal son. A man had two sons. One of his sons asked for his inheritance and soon after left for a far-off country. There he spent all his money in wild living and had to find a job. He ended up feeding pigs but didn’t make much money for clothes or food. He was so hungry himself that he longed to eat even what the pigs were eating. Eventually, he came to his senses and decided to return home and ask his father to forgive him and let him work as a hired man on the estate. As he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” The father called his servants to put new clothes on his son and throw a party in his honor. When the older son found out, he was angry. His father responded, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”(Luke 15: 11-32)
Teaching Truth:
- God is always ready and happy to forgive us of our sins.
Memory Verse
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."
John 14:6 (NLT)
3 Activities that Help Us Learn This Week's Teaching Truth:
1. Maze
Help your child create a maze throughout the house using furniture, pillows and blankets.Have the starting and the ending point be the same place since the son left and then came back to his father’s house. Once your child makes it through the maze, talk with him about the parable, Prodigal Son, by using these questions:
Who was the story about?
One son stayed home with his father, where did the other son go?
What did the father do when the lost son returned?
How does Jesus feel when we do wrong things?
What does Jesus do when we tell him we are sorry for the wrong things we have done?
2. Create Puppets
Have your child act out the parable of the prodigal son using dolls or stuffed animals. Choose three stuffed animals and assign them parts of the parable, father and two sons. Select a part of the room for the father’s house and another area for the pig sty. Act out the story using the stuffed animals.
3. Blackout
Grab a white sheet of paper and have your child color the paper completely using different colors. While your child colors the paper, talk about what each color could represent, like red for love or green for growth, etc. Once your child has completely colored the entire sheet or half sheet of paper if that is easier for your child, have him color over the paper with black crayon.Using a coin or craft stick scratch the word forgiveness into the black crayon on the paper. Talk with your child about how asking for forgiveness lifts the sin (the black) in his life to reveal a brighter life.
Pray
Thank God for teaching us His truth this week. Thank Him for His willing forgiveness of our sins and that He is always with us and there for us.