The Lost Sheep; Lost Coin; Lost Son

Wednesday, January 30th & Sunday, February 3rd

Key Passages: Luke 15:1-32

Basic Truth: God is love.

Memory Verse: For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost. Luke 19:10

Think about it:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”  (Titus 3:3)

Consider our condition without Christ…

Pray for students to clearly understand how lost and unworthy they are.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” (Titus 3:4-5a)

Praise be to God who seeks us!

Ask It:

All Levels
Q: What does it mean to be lost?
A: To be lost is to be separated from someone you are supposed to be with. Jesus seeks those who are separated from God. 

Grade 1-2     
Q: What do the parables of lost things teach us about God?
A: God loves us and sent Jesus to rescue us from being separated from Him.
Q: What separates us from God?
A: Our sin makes us unacceptable to be with God. Unless our sin is taken away, we are lost because we're separated from God.
Q: In Luke 15:7 it says there will be rejoicing in heaven over every sinner who is rescued. Why would God rejoice when a sinner is saved?
A: He loves us and doesn't want anyone to be separated from Him. 

Grade 3-4
Q: Why does God love us?
A: God loves us because God IS love. We are precious to Him- not because of our value or worth- but because of His grace.
Q: In what way are sinners lost?
A: Sin separates us from God. Because God is Holy (set apart; totally separated from sin) He cannot tolerate sin. We are separated from God, unless that sin is forgiven. 
Q: How are all 3 of these parable alike? And how do they help us understand God?
A:  Something is lost, the thing is found, then there is rejoicing. God loves and seeks sinners who are lost. He forgives sinners and rejoices when one repents. 

Grade 5-6 
Q: How would you describe God? {Make sure answers are Biblical} Why can it be hard to describe God accurately?
A: He's so much greater than we can understand or describe! It's easy to misunderstand God because He is so unlike anything on this earth. God doesn't act or think like anyone you know. That's why we have to make sure that our ideas about God come from the Bible. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Q: What do you do when someone rejects you or treats you like an enemy? 
A: get angry, be mean to them, don't want to be with them or be their friend.
Q: When we sin, we reject God. We act as His enemies by disregarding what He says. Does Jesus get angry with us?
A: No, he seeks us! He wants to forgive us so we can live with God forever. Not what you would expect right? That's because we don't deserve it, and its not how we might act. 
Q: Why is God's love so hard to understand?
A: God doesn't think or act the way we would expect. God's undeserved love for sinners is beyond our understanding. 

Family Activities: 

1) Play "I Spy": Take turns hiding an object while the rest of the family is out of the room. During the "seeking" have the one who hid the object say the first half of the memory verse when anyone gets close to the object. Say the whole verse when the object is found. 
2) Pray for someone you know who is "lost" (unsaved). Ask God for an opportunity to share God's truth with that person.