PARTY
WELCOME TO WEEK 4
What is the biggest party you have ever had? How many people were there? What did you do? What made your party big? Having a great party is a lot of fun, it’s important to celebrate. Did you know God celebrates with us? This week we will read a parable that describes the Father celebrating.
BIBLE STORY
How do you celebrate a big win or a party? Do you have noisemakers that you like to use? Find a noisemaker or create your own for this activity. It’s fun to celebrate over big and small accomplishments. Make a noisemaker such as: 2 paper plates stapled together with beans inside, a small can filled with beans covered with aluminum foil, or a kazoo from 2 popsicle sticks rubber banded together at the ends with paper and toothpicks in the middle. Use your noisemakers to help me celebrate the following things.
-I won my basketball game!
-It’s my birthday!
-I ate all my food!
-I got a 100 on my test!
-I made a new friend today!
-I found my lost toy!
-I won a prize at school!
-I found my lost pet!
-I won the spelling bee!
-I won the relay race!
All of those are wonderful things to celebrate. Did you know that God celebrates with us? He celebrates when we celebrate, and He celebrates when a lost child is found. He wants all of His children to know Him and trust Him, and when we do, He celebrates! This week we will hear a parable about the lost son. This son left his dad and went out on his own not wanting to have anything to do with his father anymore. When he ran out of money and was desperate, he remembered his father could help him. When he came back home, his father was not angry but welcomed him home with open arms. He even threw a party to celebrate his return. God celebrates with us too! Even when we mess up and do wrong, God is willing to forgive and celebrate our return! Let’s read about the story in the scripture for today.
Read or listen to the scripture Luke 15:11b-32
How many sons did the man have (2 sons)
What did the younger son ask the father? (For his share of the estate)
After he received the money what did he do? (Set off to a distant country to squander his wealth in wild living)
What happened to the country while he was there? (There was a famine)
Where did the young son go to work? (In a field to feed pigs)
What was he tempted to do since he was so hungry? (Eat the pig’s food)
What did he remember before her ate pig slop? (That his father had hired men with food to spare)
What did he decide he would tell his dad? (He sinned against heaven and him, he wasn’t worthy to be called his son, and if her could be hired as a servant)
What did the father do when he saw his son coming? (He ran towards him and threw his arms around him)
What did the father tell the servants to do? (Get him the best robe, a ring, and sandals. Kill the fattened calf and prepare a feast to celebrate the sons return)
How did the older son feel about the party? (Angry and refused to go in because he had been loyal to his dad and never received a party)
What was his fathers response? (We had to celebrate and be glad because your brother was dead and now is alive, he was lost but now he is found)
BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY
Activity
Show your child several objects and then tell them to close their eyes. Hide all of the objects around the room when your child is not watching. Open your eyes and see if you can find all of the objects I hid around the room. Was it easy to find all of the objects? When we lose something, we search for it, we want to find it again. When we find it, we are excited and want to rejoice with our family and friends. God is excited when we are found after being lost. He celebrates with us because He loves us so much, he doesn’t want us to wander away from Him. God wants his children to be with Him and follow Him!
Materials: small objects to hide
Alternate
Allow time for each person find and bring 5 objects that belong to them, or that they have created. Take turns describing why their objects are important to them. Are all of these objects the same? Do they have to do anything to make you want or enjoy them. Some of our objects mean something to use because we have created them and some are important because we really enjoy using it. God takes please in us and celebrates us because we are His. He doesn’t need us to do anything special, perform any huge task, or be perfect. God just loves us because we are His. The father in the story loved his son, even though he made mistakes, because he was his son and he loved him. God celebrates us because we are his.
Materials: objects of importance
Independent activity:
Find someone you can celebrate. Think of why they are important to you and how you want to celebrate them. Write a card or write a poem (acrostic) to describe how you want to celebrate them and why. Use their name to create the acrostic poem and fill in a word or two that describes them starting with the letters of their name.
Materials: White sheet of paper, white crayon, colored crayons or water colors
ARTS & CAFTS
CRAFT 1
Coloring page
Materials: Various household items, string, scissors, glue
Craft 2
Coloring page
Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons
FOLLOW-UP
Have you ever celebrated something?
What did you do to celebrate?
What are some things you celebrate over?
What does God celebrate over?
How did the father celebrate over his returned son?
Have you ever had a friendship that was broken?
How did you reconcile, or fix your broken friendship?
Is our relationship with God ever broken?
How can our relationship with God be fixed when broken?
Practical Application at Home
We all make mistakes, we all sin and fall short. Sometimes we lose our way and follow a path that God has not set for us to follow. Sometimes we only think of ourselves and don’t behave in a way that shows we follow Christ. Even when we do all of these things, God has made a way to be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ. Think of some of the ways you make mistakes and complete the following sentences, remembering you have been reconciled to God from our sins.
Complete the following statements:
Although I _____ I am reconciled to God through Christ.
Even when I ________ I am reconciled to God through Christ. through Christ.
Sometimes I _________ but I am reconciled to God through Christ.
When I feel _______ I am still reconciled to God through Christ.
Additional Resources
Outings to Reinforce Lesson
Enjoy the warmer weather and take a nature walk. Observe the things God created and how they work together in His plan. What part do each of us play in God’s plan for us?