Monday: Understanding
Pray: Begin by making the sign of the cross and calling upon God's name.
From God to us, from death to life, from me to you …
in the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O God, be with us now as we read our Bible story. Help us to understand how much you love us, and show us how to extend that love to others. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Listen: Pay close attention as these verses from the Bible are read aloud.
Luke 15:11-24
Jesus also told them another story: Once a man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, “Give me my share of the property.” So the father divided his property between his two sons. Not long after that, the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country, where he wasted all his money in wild living. He had spent everything, when a bad famine spread through that whole land. Soon he had nothing to eat. He went to work for a man in that country, and the man sent him out to take care of his pigs. He would have been glad to eat what the pigs were eating, but no one gave him a thing. Finally, he came to his senses and said, “My father’s workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death! I will go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.’”
The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him. The son said, “Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son.” But his father said to the servants, “Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found.” And they began to celebrate. (CEV)
Engage: Talk about the Bible by having parents respond to children’s questions.
Child: This story is often called, The Prodigal Son. A “prodigal” is someone who spends money very foolishly. Have you ever wasted money, and later learned a lesson from that?
Child: If you were the older son, how would you have felt about your younger brother’s behavior?
Affirm: Pray for God to put his Word into action in your daily life.
Heavenly Father, we all make bad choices at times, and we often come to regret those. Help us to learn the lessons we need to learn, so that we can grow into the people you want us to be. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Have each person in the family bless one another with these words:
May you always know where you belong! Amen.