The Parable of the Prodigal Son tells about a runaway who comes to his senses and returns home.  But the most important person in the parable is the father.  The son returns home not because of love or because he had the courage to make things right, but because he has a selfish personal need.  But the love of the father for both of his sons, even though they are both difficult for different reasons, shines through the parable.  There is nothing the sons could do that would make the father stop loving them.  The image we have here is of God’s love for each of us!  Jesus wants to teach us that God is love and His most important concern, His supreme joy, is to have us live near Him as His sons and daughters.

 Read Luke 15:11-32 in your New Testament.

 1.  What did the younger son do after receiving his share of his father’s property (vs. 13)?

 He _______________ his part of the property.

 He ________________ home with the money.

 He went to ______________________________

2.     What made him come to his senses (vs. 17)? ______________________________

 3.     On what terms did the younger son think he could return home (vss. 18-19)?

Father, I have _____________________ against God and against you.

I am no longer ______________________.  Treat me as _____________________

 4.     How did the father respond to the son’s homecoming (vs. 20)?

He _______________________him, while he was still a long way off.

His heart _____________________________.  He ______________to him.

He _______________ his arms around his son.  He _________________him.

 5. How did the father respond to the angry older son (vs. 28)?

He _________________________ to him.  He _____________________him to come in.

 6. What answer did the father give to his older son’s resentful complaints?

________________________________________________________________________________