Luke 15:11-32 Sunday School Lesson for Kids
“He said, “A certain man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them. Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living. When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He wanted to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”’ “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat, and celebrate; for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ They began to celebrate. “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants to him, and asked what was going on. He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’ But he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out, and begged him. But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’””
Scripture: World English Bible (Public Domain).
No matter how far we wander, God our Father is waiting to welcome us home with open arms.
Ask the class to raise their hand if they have ever done something they knew was wrong and then had to say sorry. Tell them today's story is about the best 'I'm sorry' moment in the whole Bible.
- The younger son took his father's money, wasted every bit of it, and ended up so hungry he wanted to eat pig food. Sin always takes us somewhere we never planned to go.
- The son 'came to himself' (v. 17) and decided to go home. Repentance means we stop, realize we were wrong, and turn around.
- The father saw his son 'while he was still far off' and ran to him. God does not wait for us to clean ourselves up before He welcomes us back.
- Why do you think the son was nervous to go back home? What did he expect would happen?
- The father ran to his son before the son even finished his apology speech. What does that tell us about how God feels about us when we say sorry?
- Is it ever hard for YOU to say sorry and mean it? What makes it hard?
Send them home with this thought: 'This week, if you do something wrong, remember the father in this story and don't wait to say sorry to God or to the person you hurt.'
Bible Context
Luke 15:11-32 is part of a trio of parables Jesus tells in Luke 15, each about something lost being found: a sheep, a coin, and a son. Luke records Jesus telling these stories in direct response to Pharisees and scribes who were complaining that He welcomed and ate with sinners (Luke 15:1-2). The parable of the Prodigal Son is the longest and most layered of the three, and the older brother storyline appears to address the attitude of those religious critics directly. Understanding that audience sharpens the whole lesson for teachers, because the parable is not just comfort for the wayward; it is also a gentle confrontation for those who trust in their own record.
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