A Rebellious Runaway (Bible Lesson of the Prodigal Son)
A Rebellious Runaway Bible Lesson of the Prodigal Son.
A rich man’s son envied his partying friends.
He ran away.
What do you think happened?
A Rebellious Runaway – Bible Lesson of the Prodigal Son
“I am sick of work! It’s all I ever do.”
The boy threw himself down in the shade. “I wish I could have some fun. I’ll go to the city. That’s where the excitement is.”
The boy went to the house. “Father, half your money will be mine someday, but I want it now! I’m leaving this stupid farm.”
The father listened with growing sadness. His son had never been on his own. It was too easy to waste money. And wicked people his son knew nothing about preyed on innocents like lions attacking mice.
The boy crossed his arms and tapped a toe.
At last the father spoke. “Okay, Son, I will give you your share.”
Throwing his things in a bag, the boy hurried out the door. The father watched his son disappear down the road. Tears tracked the grooves in his face.
The rebellious runaway boy came to a city.
He roamed the shops, always buying the best. People watched when he walked by, admiring his style. They invited him to their parties, and he enjoyed every minute. He had many new friends. This was the life!
Out shopping one day he spotted a beautiful ring. He took it to the merchant and reached into his pocket. Hmm, where was his money? Must be in his coat. He dug into another pocket. Nothing. He reached inside his vest and pulled out his leather scrip. It was flat. He turned it inside out – only a few coins fell on the table. “I will pay,” he assured the merchant.
He saw a friend on the street. “Friend, will you loan me money?”
His friend looked at him as if he was a stray dog.
The boy soon discovered that not one person would loan him money. The women lifted their chins when he came near. Soon no one asked him to their parties. Why? He had spent lots of money on his friends. Why did they turn away when his money was gone?
A famine came to the city, and no one had extra money or food. The boy could not find a job. He felt desperate. Hungry and alone, he walked into the country. He came to a pig farm. “Sir,” he said, “could I take care of your pigs in exchange for food?”
“You’re not asking for wages?”
“No. Only something to eat.”
“Okay,” said the farmer. “You’re hired.”
The boy raked husks, and shoveled them into buckets. He carried bucket after bucket to the pigs’ trough. It was hard work. The farmer couldn’t give the boy much food, and he was always hungry. He would gladly have eaten what the pigs ate.
One day the boy flopped onto a rock to rest.
The pigs grunted and snuffled around his feet. The pigs were happy; they got food. Even his father’s servants ate better than he did. If he only had a little bit of that inheritance, he could buy food. “I wasted my father’s riches. I’ll go tell him I am sorry.” The boy told the farmer he was going home.
Many days later the father saw the boy coming. He ran to his son and wrapped big father arms about the thin form and kissed the sunken cheeks.
The father forgave his runaway and planned a feast to welcome him home. The boy could not stop smiling. He felt so thankful, and yet so unworthy of his father’s great love and forgiveness.
From now on he would not waste his father’s riches on bad friends or wrong living.
The Prodigal Son Children’s Bible Lesson
Teacher Helps
Bible Lesson Background
Jesus told this parable to help the Pharisees understand themselves. In a way, the Pharisees were like the second son who isn’t mentioned in this story. They didn’t understand when Jesus asked if their works could save them. so Jesus told this parable. That’s how much Jesus loved the Pharisees. He wanted them to understand just as much as he wants you to understand.
Both sons in this parable needed God, and God (the father) was ready and waiting to love them. That means whatever side of the question we are on, God wants us.
The word prodigal means waster. In this story the rebellious runaway son wasted his father’s riches on wrong friends and wrong living.
It’s interesting that the prodigal son didn’t run home. He was repentant and hungry, but he was still so mixed up inside that he couldn’t decide to do the right thing. He made slow steps toward home. When you’re anxious for a loved one to return to God, remember, the prodigal plodded. The father ran to welcome him. The father. Not his friends. His friends waited for the father to do his work and then they came to the party.
Questions to Discuss
- Do you remember the story of the three little pigs? the gingerbread man and the fox? (Name a fable you read often.) These are made-up stories, but they have a lesson in them. The gingerbread man learned he couldn’t trust the fox. (Etc.) Our story today is a story Jesus made up. When Jesus made up a story it was called a parable. Parables teach important things in an interesting story.
- Use knapsack from below. a. The rebellious runaway son went away with a bag full of money and clothes. (Show knapsack) b. After he wasted all his money on wrong friends and bad living, his bag was empty. (Take out things and put in trash as you talk.) c.He never could fill his bag again until he went home to his father, and his father gave him new clothes and shoes and whatever he needed. (Put “God” balloon in bag to fill it again.)
- Have you ever picked garden peas? Did you eat the shell, or the peas from inside? People who have animals give the shells to them, while they eat the peas. The inside is best, but shells are edible, too. The husks in this story had good insides, but the pigs ate the outsides. The boy would have been glad for either; the farmer gave him very little to eat.
- Have you ever had to apologize to someone? Is it easy? How do you feel when you think of saying sorry? The prodigal son thought a long time before he went home to say sorry. He was hungry, living with pigs all day, and didn’t have any friends. Still, he didn’t go home, until one day he realized how much better his life would be if he said those two small words.
A Rebellious Runaway Bible Lesson Teaching Props
Children’s Fable Books:
- Children’s books like The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, any fable book with a moral.
- Use the books to demonstrate the meaning of parable in the first Question to Discuss.
Knapsack:
- Add items to a backpack that the Prodigal Son might take to run away.
- Air up a balloon and write “God” on it with a marker. Keep it hidden in another bag.
- Use these items in the second Question to Discuss
Prodigal Drawing Craft
What you need:
- Download the Parable page printable. Fill in the form at the bottom of the page to get the download, then print in color onto 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ white card stock.
- Pencil.
How to do the Prodigal Drawing Craft:
- For each letter in the word “Prodigal” draw parts of the story. For example, the “P” can become a boy running away. Give the P a backpack, legs, arms, the top circle of the letter can be the head. Give him a hat.
- Continue drawing the rest of the story with the remaining letters.
What you get with
A Rebellious Runaway Bible Lesson Download
Have fun studying A Rebellious Runaway 🙂
Until next time,
Love, Kim & Dorothy
Find more Children’s Bible Lessons here.
You can buy all the Faithful Friends Bible Lessons in a book/craft kit here.
All the photos used in this story are courtesy of FreeBibleimages.org. Thank you so much to this wonderful website for providing lovely Bible pictures for teachers everywhere!
