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PREPARATION
You will need: simple ‘party bags’, a big bag of Skittles (with green ones taken out), some objects that correspond to the story and appropriate worship music.
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
10 mins
When they come in, tell the young people that you ‘have been given a budget for this session and so you have divided up everyone’s share equally, which you will be able to have at the end of the session as a sort of party-bag to take home. (These do not necessarily have to cost money if you do not actually have a budget and my personal view is that it should not just include ridiculous amounts of sugar!) If you can write their name on each bag all the better; if possible prime one person to ask if they can have their rewards early. Say yes to that person but no one else. Allow them to eat, play with and enjoy their party bag in front of everyone else – they should not share it with anyone else.
Later, or at the end of the session, as you are about to dole out the party bags – make a big deal of how that one person has ‘squandered’ theirs, and an even bigger deal of taking an item out of everyone else’s and putting it into their empty bag. Ask everyone how this scenario has made them feel and relate it to the story.
SNORT GAME
5 mins
Sit in a circle. Everyone must assign themselves a short funny noise. The game is to pass a pig ‘snort’ around the circle. To pass on the snort you must do three things: a pig snort noise and the noise of the player it is coming from; then another snort and your own noise; and finally a third snort and the noise of the player you would like to pass it to. To make it competitive give everyone three lives and remove lives for laughing while snorting, for taking too long to pass the snort on or for getting a noise wrong – it works best as a fast paced game. To make it extra hard add actions to your noise.
FIND THE GREEN SKITTLES!
10 mins
Buy a big bag of Skittles and take out all the green ones. Put the rest in a small bowl and add one green Skittle. Challenge a young person to find the green one and suck it out of the bowl with just a straw! If they manage it they can eat it.
Explore the idea of lost and found – what was difficult and frustrating about finding it? In what ways are people lost these days? How does it feel that God wants to find you? Why do you think you are so precious to God? Have you become lost, spiritually? In what ways might God be searching for you?
THE PARABLE VIDEO
5 mins
Use the video at this point in the session as a way of introducing the parable and creating an opportunity for discussion and conversation around it. The video is available at premieryouthwork.com/parablevideos
NAME THAT STORY
25 mins
Read Luke 15:11-32 and then ask what this story is really about. We are probably over-familiar with the name of this story, and yet ‘prodigal’ is not a word we use very often. What other names could we give to the story? Have them list other words with a similar meaning (e.g. ‘reckless’). Now think of newspaper headlines: what would make a more sensational title? (e.g. ‘pig-boy back from the dead!’) Encourage the young people to get a bit more creative and offer a small prize for the three best suggestions. Spend a few minutes trying to come up with some really brilliant ones.
Now split the group into three and allocate a character to each: the prodigal son, the father, and the sensible son. Ask each group to read, discuss and make notes on that character for between five and ten minutes, and then present their particular story back to the whole group in their own words – using drama if they would like, perhaps like a video diary. Ask them to mention how that character would be feeling at each point in the story.
Discuss each group’s contribution: what are the points Jesus was trying to make? Can you think of a modern equivalent or example?
KEY POINT
This parable sits alongside others in a series. Interestingly however, unlike them, this one only appears in Luke. In the first two parables (the sheep and the coin), the owner goes out to look for what was lost, whereas in this story the father waits eagerly for his son’s return. This parable is less about God taking his love to sinners who don’t yet know about it - and more about believers coming back into fellowship with him. There is a progression through the three parables from the relationship of one in a hundred (Luke 15:1-7), to one in ten (Luke 15:8-10), to one in one (Luke 15:11- 32). Perhaps this shows us something about how God’s active love and grace is for both Christians and non-believers.
GRACE AND MERCY
5 mins
If you haven’t already taught them this, it may be a good time to go over the difference between grace and mercy. Here are two helpful definitions: grace is receiving things we don’t deserve, mercy is not receiving things (punishments) we do deserve.
RESPONSE
15 mins
Collect together a series of objects that reflect the story: sandals or slippers, a (gold) ring, a nice coat, something representative of pigs or feeding pigs and something to represent celebration. Put some relevant music on. ‘I’ll wait for you’ by Phatfish (from album Heavenbound) is one of the most powerful prodigal son inspired songs. Invite the young people to stare at the objects in silence and ask God what he wants to say to them through these objects – is there a character they most identify with? In what way do they need to respond to God directly right now? Is there anything practical they need to do or change as a result of this session? Pray together to finish.
