Bible Passage: Luke 15:11 32 (The Prodigal Son Returns) God Forgives REMEMBER VERSE

Transcription

1 date: Bible Passage: Luke 15:11 32 (The Prodigal Son Returns) God Forgives REMEMBER VERSE As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9. TruResources are developed in partnership with ROCKHARBOR Church and a national network of family and children s ministry leaders. All rights reserved.

2 Tru Mission Statement Tru helps kids and their families connect to God, find their place in His big story, and respond to Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. Lesson Path: Seeing the Mission Statement in a Tru Lesson Connecting leaders to God... Connecting children and their families to God... Inspire, Equip, and Support HomeFront Weekly Explore... And His big story... Discover... And inviting them to respond to Him... Respond... Through the power of the Holy Spirit. Bless Navigating Lesson Below you will find additional information to enhance lesson sections as needed. Explore Discover Respond Bless Practitioner Suggestion from Peninsula Covenant Church: We used props and they worked well to tell the story line. Each child went home with a plastic jewel ring to remind them of the lesson. Small Group Enhancements Premium, Unlimited, and Combo users can find a quarterly TruWonder Timeline and images of people corresponding to each week s lesson in the Resource Files. As you place the weekly people squares on the timeline, invite children to help you storytell. The provided questions will prompt further conversation about what children have been experiencing. They ll enjoy watching as the timeline fills from week to week and their knowledge of The Big God Story grows. HomeFront Magazine: A Spiritual Parenting Resource is a magazine that gives families ideas for creating fun, spiritually forming times in their homes setting aside a sacred space for family in the midst of their active, everyday lives! As the new issue becomes available each month, you may choose to print it for families or encourage them to visit to subscribe to have the magazine sent directly to their inbox. HomeFront is also available as an app for your iphone, ipad, or Android device. 2

3 Explore:: min. Small Group SECTION Focus Station 1: Where Did It Go? When God forgives us, He wipes the slate clean. He doesn t keep a list of our sin anywhere so He can look back and remember it. SUPPLIES (per small group) shaving cream (non-menthol) paper towels Note: Please check with parents for any potential allergies. SET UP Place a golf-ball-size squirt of shaving cream in front of each child. Welcome children to the exploration station. Encourage kids to play with the shaving cream. Ask: How does the shaving cream smell? How does it feel? Encourage kids to spread out their balls of shaving cream and draw in them on the table. Ask: When you wipe away your words or pictures, where do they go? If you wanted to remember something, would you write it in shaving cream? Why or why not? The kids loved playing and painting with the shaving cream. It gave leaders an opportunity to engage a bit more. Good Shepherd Church Kids loved the shaving cream activity. We had a good talk about forgiving and being forgiven. Maple Valley Presbyterian Church (Optional) Station 2: Tell Me a Story Children love to hear and tell stories. Encourage kids to explore the basic concepts of storytelling by building and telling a story with the picture cards provided. SUPPLIES (per table) Story Cards (see Resource Files) scissors SET UP Print two to three sets of Story Cards from the Resource Files. Use scissors to separate each set of cards. Place cards on the table. Welcome children to the exploration station. Invite them to look at and think about the Story Cards on the table. The idea is to use these cards to build your own story to share with us. You can use as many of the cards as you d like to get started. Feel free to place them in any order. Children may need help getting started. To facilitate this time, encourage kids to choose their first picture. Ask them what s happening in the picture. For example: A child chooses the picture of the little boy and little girl at the park. Ask: What are the children in the picture doing? Is anyone with them? Did they bring any toys? Interact with the child and his responses. Then invite the child to add to his story by selecting additional pictures. As he adds pictures, encourage him to tell you more about his story. Younger children may need you to ask questions about the picture and what s happening at each stage. Older children will sense the rhythm of the activity and continue storytelling on their own. Once they get going, you may suggest older children sit in pairs or small groups to storytell to each other. 3

4 Discover:: min. Large Group SECTION Ponder Point: God Forgives Chloe s Rules Mail Time The Big God Story Worship Response Wardrobe of Wonder SUPPLIES worship music (suggestions: Everybody, Everywhere, TruWorship Sincerely Yours and Dance or Child of God, TruWorship Songs from the Playhouse) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9 Motions As the Father: Point both index fingers to sky. has loved me: Point to chest. so have I loved: Cross arms over chest. you: Point to someone else. Now remain in: Move hands in circular motion, palms facing down. my love: Cross arms over chest. WHAT SIT: Big Shiny Ring After squandering his inheritance, the prodigal son found himself feeding pigs for a Gentile farmer. It was the lowest station for a young Jewish man to hold. Coming back to himself (to his senses), he realized the depth of his sin and decided to return home. The young man planned to plead for his father s forgiveness and hoped for, at best, a position as a servant in his father s household. Instead, the father received his son with extravagant grace and forgiveness and placed a ring on his son s finger. Rings were a symbol of position and authority. This action of celebration showed the restored relationship between the father and son and the young man s position within the family true forgiveness. DISCOVER QUESTIONS (Insert child s name), what did you find in the Wardrobe of Wonder? A big shiny ring! Wow! If this were real, it would be really expensive. Would just anyone have a ring like this? Allow children to answer. No! The person who would wear a ring like this would be very special! I wonder how this fits into today s portion of The Big God Story. I think it s time to find out because do you know what time it is? SUPPLIES What sit: Big Shiny Ring (see image in Resource Files) prop box with following items: paper money (see Resource Files), robe or other costume garment, big shiny ring (What sit), and shiny or fancy shoes PREPARE AHEAD Fill the prop box with paper money (see Resource Files), robe or other costume garment, big shiny ring (What sit), and shiny or fancy shoes. SUPPLIES worship song: Thank You, TruWorship Sincerely Yours optional: kids instruments Find more details for each section in the How It Works document in the Supporting Lesson Resources section of the My Lesson page. 4

5 The Big God Story Luke 15:11 32 Storytelling Technique: Props PRAYER OF RELEASE The Prayer of Release is a time for children and leaders to pause, be still, and ask God to quiet their hearts and minds. If you would like, encourage kids to hold their open hands in front of them in a spirit of releasing their worries and distractions, to better receive what the Holy Spirit might have for them. After the children quiet their voices and still their bodies, ask them to pray with you. Storytelling Suggestion Consider taking your shoes off and storytelling barefoot. You ll be putting shoes on when cued toward the end of The Big God Story section. Welcome children and lead them in a Prayer of Release. A long time ago, when Jesus lived here on earth, He would tell stories to help people understand the things that are true about God. All of these stories can be found in the Bible. Hold up Bible. The Bible is where we learn what is true about God. Today in The Big God Story, we re going to hear a story Jesus told to help us understand more about God s love and forgiveness. God rejoices when we come to Him. What do you think it means to forgive someone? Encourage children to share their thoughts; interact with answers. Good thinking. When we forgive someone, we re choosing to let go of the wrong, or hurt, they have done to us. We stop feeling angry or hurt by what they ve done. Like our shaving cream station earlier, we wipe away the bad thing that happened between us and another person. Let s take a look at the story Jesus told in the Bible. There once was a man who had two sons whom he loved very much. The youngest son wanted to leave his family and explore the world. Take paper money out of prop box. So he asked his father to give him all the money his father had saved for him. Storyteller begins stuffing paper money in pockets of pants, shirt, socks, or shoes. Although this made the father sad, he gave his son the money and the son travelled away. Not long after the young man left his father s home, he began to make some bad choices. Take money out of pockets and shoes; toss it to floor behind you. He spent all his money and now he had nothing left. He didn t have anything to eat, to drink, or a place to live. All he could do was find a job feeding pigs! What noises do pigs make? Encourage children to make their best pig noises. What do pigs eat? Allow children to answer. Yes, pigs will eat anything they can find. It wasn t long until the young man became very hungry. He even thought about eating the food the pigs were eating! Eeewww! No one would give him anything to eat. Having a stomach that was empty and growly made the son realize something. He realized he made some bad choices. He hadn t been living the way his father taught him to live. The young man was very sorry for his choices and wanted to go home. He decided to go back to his father and ask for his forgiveness. So, the young man left the pigs behind and headed home to his father s house. When the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran toward him. The father was so happy, he threw his arms around his son! The son told his father how sorry he was. He said, Father, I have sinned against you and against heaven. I m no longer worthy to be called your son. Before the son could say more, the father turned to his servant and said, Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Take robe or costume from prop box and wrap it around yourself. Put a ring on his finger (Tech: Cue Wardrobe of Wonder sound effect; put What sit ring on finger), and sandals on his feet! Put fancy shoes on feet. My son has returned! He lost his way, but now he is found! Then he told his servants to prepare a great big feast a party with lots of yummy food! It was time to celebrate. Did the father forgive his son? Children answer. Yes, he did! The father forgave his son, and he showed it by dressing him in new clothes, shoes, and a ring. Tech: Cue Wardrobe of Wonder sound effect again. Friends, what did we find in the Wardrobe of Wonder today? Children answer. A ring, that s right! What do you think is so special about the ring? Encourage children to share 5

6 their thoughts. This ring was one way the father showed his son he forgave him. He wasn t going to be mad that he left home and made bad choices. No matter what he did, the young man would always be his father s son! Friends, just like the father in this story forgave his son, God forgives each of us. Because of His great love for us, no matter where we go, or what we do, we can always, always, always come to God. That s what The Big God Story is all about! We get to be a part of it because God will always forgive us. Our storyteller chose a five-year-old boy to portray the son. All he had to do was stand there as she handed him various props throughout the storytelling. It went a long way toward keeping most of the kids focused. 1st Baptist Church of Hemet We loved the drama components of The Big God Story. The kids loved the money flying everywhere. We really feel they understood what forgiveness meant. Good Shepherd Church Worship Response Friends, God made everything! He made the world and everything in it. He made our friends, our families, you, and me. Because He loves us, He will always forgive us when we come to Him. Let s respond to God with our worship in a song of praise. We can tell God thank You for His love and for always forgiving us. Lead children in a worship song of response (suggestion: Thank You). Close with a corporate prayer of blessing and dismiss kids to small groups. Our large group time was amazing. We actually repeated Night Song [from last week] and asked the kids to tell Jesus thank You for providing a way for us to be forgiven. Kids were really engaged (hands up or open, on their knees)! Good Shepherd Church 6

7 Respond:: min. Small Group SECTION Connect: Come On and Celebrate! SUPPLIES (per small group) celebration song (suggestion: Celebration by Kool & the Gang) optional: masking tape SET UP Create a dance floor in your room. Consider using masking tape to mark the boundaries of the dance floor. Cue music. Welcome children. Encourage kids to sit on the lines of the dance floor. What did we hear today from The Big God Story? Engage children in a short discussion about the parable Jesus shared in Luke 15. Was the father happy or sad when his son came home? Yes, he was so happy. Did he forgive his son? Children will answer. Yes! You re right, he did! Then what happened? Encourage kids to answer. They had a party to celebrate! That s what we re going to do right now. We re going to have our very own dance party. God loves us so much and forgives us just like the father forgave his son! That s something to celebrate! Invite children to dance and share all their best dance moves as they celebrate God s forgiveness. Consider adding a round of freeze dance into your dance party. Create: Banner of Celebration SUPPLIES (per table/small group) butcher paper or fabric (3 ) masking tape washable watercolor markers yarn or nylon fishing line scissors or hole punch SET UP Secure the butcher paper or fabric to the table using masking tape. Scatter the washable markers down the center of the butcher paper/fabric. Use the yarn/fishing line and scissors/ hole punch to create anchor points for hanging the banner. Welcome children to the table. We ve been having so much fun celebrating God s love and forgiveness. What do you think about God and His forgiveness? Allow kids to share their thoughts with you. We re going to continue responding to God and all He is speaking to us. As a part of our time of response, we re going to make a party banner for God. You may choose to draw a picture for God or write Him a note (with help from Small Group Leader). You can choose to talk to God however you want. Whatever you do is from you to God. After we ve all finished, we can hang the banner in our classroom to celebrate God and His forgiveness. Then, each time we see it, we can remember Him! We used canvas to make our banners, so they would be a more permanent reminder. Good Shepherd Church Wonder Questions Today we heard a story Jesus told about a son who left home and spent all the money his father gave him. The young man was very sorry for his choices. He decided to go back to his father and ask for his forgiveness. Just like the father in this story forgave his son, God forgives each of us no matter what we do. I wonder What finally made the son decide to go home? I wonder Why did the father run to meet his son? I wonder How did the son feel when his father hugged him, and gave him the ring? I wonder Why does God want to always forgive us? I wonder What does it feel like to be forgiven? 7

8 Bless:: 5 min. EXPLORE DISCOVER RESPOND BLESS Small Group SECTION Today we heard about a father who forgave his son. Who remembers what the father did when he saw his son coming toward him? Allow children to answer. That s right! The Bible says, But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son (reference Luke 15:20). Today we re going to play a little blessing game. Have children pair up and stand on separate sides of the room. When I say go, you re going to run toward your friend, give her a high five, and say, Jesus loves you! Repeat a couple times. Children, may you know God s forgiveness this week. May you run to Him when you need Him and remember He loves you always. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9 WEEKLY Be sure to send home the HomeFront Weekly for next week s lesson! This preteaching tool for parents encourages families to spend time in God s Word together before children arrive at church. 8