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PARABLE: The "lost" stories

 {PARABLES} The “lost” stories_ 

Luke 15:1-32 

 
“If people really knew me, they would reject me.” This is something I’m sure we’ve all thought / said before. So, to avoid this possibility, we often try to wear masks to help us ‘fit in’. We hide who we really are. We can often feel this same way about God. We can feel as if we are rejected and condemned, rather than accepted and loved. So we do our best to please God... but feel as if we never measure up. 

 
[Group activity starter] Make a collective list of descriptive words that paint an image of God as punitive and harsh. Now read aloud Luke 15:5 & 20. Make a contrasting list of descriptive words that illustrate this portrait of God. Think about the thoughts and feelings that you have as you look at these two contrasting images of God. 

 
In these three parables about lostness – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son – Jesus sets us straight about God’s attitude towards sinners. The result is a startling picture of God... 

 
[Read Luke 15:1-32] 

 
In these three parables, compare the way the Pharisees see “sinners” to the way that Jesus says that God sees them. 
 

 
Imagine yourself listening to these stories as a Pharisee. If you were able to hear Jesus, what thoughts and feelings might you have in response to these stories? 
 

 
Imagine yourself listening to these stories as one of the people the Pharisees called a “sinner”. If you were able to hear Jesus, what thoughts and feelings might you have in response to these stories? 
 

 
When reading stories or parables, it helps to imagine the sights, sounds, smells and feelings. What comes to mind when you read / hear the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin (verses 4-10)? 
 
Who is represented by the central characters (or objects) in each three parables? 

 
 

How do you account for the intense reactions of the shepherd, woman, and father to both their losses and their discoveries? 
 

 
Describe a time when you lost / misplaced something valuable to you. 
How did you feel? 
 

 
Let’s look more closely at the third parable. 
How might the Pharisees and teachers of the law have felt about each of the actions of the younger son (verses 13-16)? 
 

 
How might the Pharisees have expected the father to respond when the younger son returned home? 
 

 
What do the details in verses 20-24 reveal about the feelings of our Father in heaven? 
 

 
How can this portrait of God help us to feel fully accepted by the Father – in spite of our sin? 
 

 
Instead of concluding the story in verse 24, Jesus goes on to describe the reaction of the older son (verses 25-32). What additional point do you think that Jesus wants to make to the Jewish leaders, and why? 
 

 
How can this parable motivate us to love those who are lost? 

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