Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-24

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called the Gospel of Luke. Luke loved Jesus and wanted others to know and love Jesus, too. And the word gospel means “good news!”

We begin with Jesus teaching something very important. 


One day, Jesus told some people a story about a dad and his son. The dad had saved a lot of money to give to his son when the son was MUCH older. 


But, one day the son asked his dad to give him all the money right NOW. And the dad gave it to him. What do you think the son did? The son left. He took the money and went far away from home.


The son took his dad’s money and spent it on EVERYTHING! He bought fancy clothes. He ate really fancy food.


The son spent money with all of his friends and then . . . 


. . . whoops! The money was ALL GONE. There was NO MORE money. The son didn’t know what to do. 


He didn’t have a bed to sleep in or any food to eat. He was so hungry he even thought about eating pig food! Eew!


The son was really hungry, and he was so sorry for what he had done. The son wanted to go back home, but he didn’t know if his dad would let him. After thinking about it, the son decided to go home. 


And, when his dad saw his son coming, he was SO happy to see him. The dad ran to his son! 


The dad hugged his son, and he gave his son a new robe and ring and shoes. The dad loved his son no matter what. He even threw a big party because his son was home!


The dad loved his son so much, even though the son had made bad choices and spent all the money.


Jesus told this story because He wants to teach us something VERY important. He wants us to know that God loves US no matter what. I’m so glad Jesus teaches us important things. So, when someone asks you, “Who teaches you important things?” You can say, “Jesus teaches me important things!” 






Bible Paraphrase: The people were amazed at his teaching. —Matthew 7:28, NCV

Text Truth: Jesus teaches us that God loves us no matter what. 



Family Devotional

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
—Luke 15:21-24

In our Bible Story, a son was so hungry, he thought about eating pig food! Yuck! The son had gotten a job feeding pigs, because he spent all of the money his father gave him. What did the son do when he didn’t have any money and was hungry? The son went back to his father and said he was sorry. The father was so happy his son was home he threw a party! The father loved his son no matter what!

Jesus told the story about the father loving his son no matter what, because Jesus wants to teach us that God loves us no matter what too. Wow! That is very important! I’m so glad Jesus teaches us important things! Who teaches you important things? Jesus teaches me important things!

The people were amazed at his teaching. —Matthew 7:28, NCV

Jesus taught us something very important. Jesus taught us that God loves (say each family member’s name) no matter what! So, get a piece of paper and write down the name of every member of your family. For each family member, say, “God loves [name of family member] no matter what,” and have them draw a heart next to their name.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to teach us important things—like how You love us no matter what! You love (say each family member’s name), and me no matter what! That’s amazing! We love You, God! In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported license.
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