The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son

1. The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son “Lesson 19: The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son,” Primary 7: New Testament, 63

2. I have a story for you about something I lost that was very important to me…

3. Jesus Tells Three Parables

4. One day Jesus was eating and talking with people who many thought were sinners. • Some Pharisees saw Him. • The Pharisees believed that good men should not talk to sinners.

5. They thought that Jesus was not a good man because he was talking to sinners. • The Savior wanted to help the Pharisees understand why He was with the sinners. • He told them three parables. The first one was about a lost sheep.

6. The Lost Sheep • A good shepherd had 100 sheep. One of them was lost. • The shepherd left the 99 sheep to look for the lost one. • When he found it, he was very happy.

7. The shepherd carried the sheep home. • He called to all his friends and neighbors to come and be happy with him. • He was very happy that he had found the lost sheep.

8. Jesus Christ told the Pharisees what the parable meant. • He said that those who sin are like the lost sheep. • Just as the shepherd wanted to save the lost sheep, Jesus wants to save those who sin.

9. Jesus said that was why He was talking with sinners. • And just as the shepherd was very happy when he found the lost sheep, Jesus is very happy when we repent.

10. The Lost Coin • A woman had 10 silver coins. • She lost one of the coins. • She looked all over the house for it.

11. At last she found the coin. • She was very happy. • She told her friends and neighbors. • They too were happy that she had found the lost coin.

12. Church leaders and members are like the woman in the story. • The lost coin is like a member of the Church who does not go to church or try to live the commandments anymore.

13. It is as if they are lost from the Church. • Jesus Christ wants Church members to find any lost brothers or sisters and help them come back to Him. • He is very happy when this happens.

14. The friends and neighbors in the story are like the angels of God. • The angels are very happy when a person repents.

15. Why was the shepherd so concerned with one sheep out of a hundred or the woman with one coin out of ten? • Let’s read Luke 15:4, 8

16. The people generally were poor and one coin or sheep was very valuable to them. • In the same way, all of Heavenly Father’s children are valuable to Him. • Why do you think each one of us is valuable to Heavenly Father?

17. How do you think the coin got lost? • How can we or someone we know be lost? • Why do you think the sheep got lost?

18. Being lost also refers to people who are not obeying the commandments and are doing things that make them unworthy to return to Heavenly Father.

19. What did the shepherd do with the lost sheep when he found it? • Let’s read Luke 15:5 • How did his actions show he loved the sheep? • Whom does the shepherd represent? • Whom do the sheep represent?

20. What did the woman do to find the lost coin? • Let’s read Luke 15:8 • What has Jesus Christ done to help those who become lost and do not keep the commandments? • Let’s read D&C 18:10–11 • How can we help those who may be lost?

21. What did both the shepherd and the woman do when they found the sheep and the coin? • Let’s read Luke 15:6, 9 • How would you feel if you had helped someone repent and come back to Jesus Christ?

22. Why do you think that heaven and the angels feel joy when someone repents? • Let’s read Luke 15:7, 10

23. The Lost Son • A man had two sons. • The man promised to give his money to them when he died. • The younger son did not want to wait. • He asked his father for his part of the money.

24. His father gave it to him. • The son took the money and left home. • He went to another land. • The son sinned again and again. He spent all of the money.

25. Finally the son had no money to buy food. He was very hungry. • He asked a man for help. The man hired him to feed his pigs. • The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pigs’ food.

26. He knew that the servants in his father’s house had better food to eat than he did. • He decided to repent and ask to be a servant in his father’s house.

27. When the son went home, his father saw him coming. • The father ran to meet his son. • He put his arms around him and kissed him.

28. The son told his father that he had sinned. • He felt he was not worthy to be called his father’s son. • The father told a servant to bring the best clothes and put them on the son.

29. The servant put shoes on the son’s feet and a ring on his finger. • The father told the servant to prepare a feast. • He wanted everyone to celebrate. • The son who had sinned had repented and returned home.

30. A servant told him that his younger brother had come home. • His father wanted everyone to celebrate. • The older son had been working in the field. • The older son was angry and would not go into the house. His father came out to talk with him.

31. The father was thankful that the older son had always stayed with him. • Everything the father had would be his. • The father also said that it was right to celebrate. • He was happy his younger son had repented and returned home.

32. Jesus told the Pharisees the three parables because He wanted them to know how much Heavenly Father loves everyone. • He loves people who obey Him.

33. He also loves sinners, but Heavenly Father cannot bless them until they repent. He wants sinners to repent and come back to Him. • And He wants us to help them do that and to be happy when they return.

34. What does prodigalmean? • To be wayward and wasteful. • What did the prodigal son do with his inheritance? • Let’s read Luke 15:12–13 • What do you think “riotous living” means?

35. Why do you think some people decide to live this way? • How do you think the father felt while his son was gone? • How would you feel if someone in your family acted like the prodigal son?

36. What did the prodigal son do to get food when his money ran out? • Let’s read Luke 15:14–16 • What does “when he came to himself” mean? • Let’s read Luke 15:17

37. How do you think the son’s suffering and sadness helped him want to repent? • Why do you think the son decided to return to his father? • Let’s read Luke 15:17–19 • What kind of master was his father? • Let’s read Luke 15:17

38. How did the father feel when his son came home? • Let’s read Luke 15:20 • What did he do for his son? • Let’s read Luke 15:22–24

39. How did the older son feel when he learned that his younger brother was home? • Let’s read Luke 15:28–30 • Why is it important to continue to love family members who disobey the commandments?

40. What did the father promise the older brother? • Let’s read Luke 15:31 • What example did the father set of how to treat those who have sinned but have repented? • Let’s read Luke 15:32

41. How do you feel when you see someone repent and turn from wrong to right? • How should we treat people who have not kept the commandments but who are sincerely sorry?

42. What are ways we can help a less-active child? • We can: • Be friendly • Be a good example • Invite them to Church activities • Do things together Enr. Act. 1

43. Story Time! • Ten-year-old Joshua Dennis went with his father and others to explore an abandoned mine. • He was careful in the mine but became separated from the other boys and was lost in the dark without light, food or water. Enr. Act. 2

44. When the others realized he was missing, they started searching for him immediately. • After a while hundreds of people came to look for Joshua. • Thousands of others fasted and prayed that he would be found safe. The searchers looked for five days, but they couldn’t find him. Enr. Act. 2

45. An expert who knew the mine heard of the search and volunteered to help. • He knew the mine so well that he found Joshua in a place the others didn’t know existed. • When he found Joshua, he couldn’t begin to describe the joy he felt. Enr. Act. 2

46. All of the people at the mine and thousands of others cried with relief and joy when they found out that Joshua was alive and safe (see “Making Friends: Joshua Dennis—A Treasure of Faith,” Friend, Nov. 1990, pp. 20–22). • What is the difference between being physically lost and spiritually lost? • We must work just as hard to rescue those who are spiritually lost as those who are physically lost. Enr. Act. 2

47. Time to Play Search and Find! • I need a volunteer! • Think of a place where you could get lost and write it on a piece of paper or whisper it to the teacher. • Everyone else will ask “yes” or “no” questions to determine where the location is. Enr. Act. 3

48. It takes time and effort to find someone who is lost… especiallysomeone who is spiritually lost. Enr. Act. 3

49. Let’s memorize D&C 18:10: Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God Enr. Act. 4

50. I know that Heavenly Father loves each of His children and that we are all important to Him. • Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to help those who are lost come back to them.