Parables of Lost and Found
Bible Text: Luke 15
In a nutshell: God always makes the extra effort to find the lost and welcome them home.
Big Question: Does God really look for everyone who is lost?
Key Words: LOST, FOUND, GRACE, FORGIVENESS, CELEBRATE
• The context in which these stories are told is important and demands that we look at the hard question these parables pose for the (supposedly) “non-lost.” They just might be the real intended recipients of the message in these stories.
• The parable of the prodigal son offers a beautiful picture of grace—the father running out to meet the son and putting his arms around him and kissing him before the lost son even has the chance to ask for forgiveness.
• We don’t often enough put ourselves in the place of the elder son. He is our prideful self, the side of us that not only thinks we can make it into the “father’s arms” on our own but privately thinks we already have.
• These stories are a call to celebrate God’s radical grace. God loves each of us because that’s who God is.
Most youth have done foolish things at some point in their lives; most adults have as well. Helping youth identify with one of the brothers will help them connect with the prodigal son story. A good question to ask is “When have you been the younger brother?” Then ask, “How did it feel?” You are incorporating two important factors of the learning brain: first, you help youth to personalize the story, connecting it to something they already know; and second, you engage their emotions. We know that learning is filtered through emotions. The more youth become emotionally involved in the story, the greater the learning and impact of the teaching will be. This particular story may touch off emotional reactions to the relationship the youth have with their fathers or mothers. Be prepared for some disclosures that may be revealing and may need to be debriefed further. This is a very personal story, because all of us at some point have played each of the parts in the story.
Parables of Lost and Found Student Sheet
