Devotion Time - Day 17

...and here is Day 17! I might even be about to finally get further ahead like I had hoped to be this whole time!! Enjoy!!


Day 17


Luke 15:11-32
“The Prodigal Son” p. 397 in The Beginner’s Bible


Treasure Hunt Resources: Small paper plates and other craft bits and pieces that you can use to make a pig’s face with the plate!


Beginning Activity/ Chat: After the treasure hunt have a look at all the craft resources you have and ask the children what they think they might be making! Explain to them that with the plates you will be making pig faces! Use the materials to help each other finish a pig face and put it to the side for later on!


In today’s true story from the bible we are going to hear another story that Jesus told. In this story a man decided that he is better off without his dad and his family and takes everything he has and leaves home. Pretty soon things are not going well for the man and he needs to go home and apologise to his dad and his family for the bad choices he made. His Dad forgives him and throws a party for his son! Just as Jesus celebrates when we apologise for doing the wrong things that make Him sad too.


“The Prodigal Son” in The Beginner’s Bible p. 397
THIS TRUE STORY FROM THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT GOD IS SO HAPPY TO FORGIVE US WHEN WE COME TO HIM AND APOLOGISE FOR THE WRONG THINGS WE HAVE DONE.


Questions:

1.        Did the son want to stay at home with his dad at the beginning of the story? (No)

2.        He enjoyed himself at the beginning, but was he happy when he was feeding the pigs? (no)

3.        How did his daddy feel when he came home and said sorry for all his bad choices? (Very happy!) God is like the dad in this story when we say sorry to Him.

“Jesus told people this story to show them what God is like. And to show people what they are like. So they could know, however far they ran, however well they hid, however lost they were – it wouldn’t matter. Because God’s children could never run too far, or be too lost, for God to find them.” The Jesus Story Book Bible, p. 278


Prayer:
Dear Father God, Thank you that you are so happy to forgive us when we are sad and sorry about our sin. Please help us to remember to say sorry to you when we do the wrong thing and make you sad and please help us to learn to always try and do the right thing each day. Amen.

Memory Verse Activities

Continue to practice the song/actions.

Write the memory verse by words or sections onto paper and stick it along a wall. Put the pig faces above the words/sections. Practice saying the verse while pointing to the words and gradually take words/sections away. Once they are all gone bring out cards shaped like food scraps you feed a pig – pea pods, carrots, bread etc. These cards have the same words/sections of the verse written on them. Each child takes a turn to choose a “scrap” to feed to the pigs. They have to listen as you read the word/section and try and figure out which pig they need to “feed” it to, to put it back in the right order! 

Written and Compiled by Kate McIntosh, March 2012.

Some inspiration for this lesson from "Danielle's Place"