GoldenBells

Stories Jesus Told

A Certain man

had two sons...

#420

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There was once a father who had two sons, but the youngest son was a very bad boy. He had a good father,

a good home and a good life but he just did not want to be good.

One day the bad boy said to his father ‘Father, give me my inheritance.’ What a terrible thing to say! He was talking about the money he would get when his father died. Inside his head, the bad boy had bad thoughts…

Amazingly, the father gave his son just what he wanted.

So the son took his inheritance (and everything else he could get his hands on) and ran down to the bank to trade it all in for solid cash. Wow! You should have seen his pile of money!

Then the son walked away… He went to a far country… Away from his father…

Very soon, the bad boy become worse! He was awful! He spent and spent and kept on spending. He bought fancy clothes, cars and houses. He made friends with evil men and wicked ladies. He had wild and naughty parties. He did lots of things which are too terrible to tell you about.

But one day all his money ran out. Very soon the bad son lost all his things and all his

Kids StoryThe Prodigal Son

I wish dad was dead… I want my money right now… I have plans for my life… I want to be free to live my way!

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friends. He lost everything! To make it worse, there was a terrible famine where he was living. The bad son re-ally needed a job. But the only work he could get was feeding pigs!

It was dirty and stinky in the pig pen. The bad boy sat with the pigs. His clothes turned into rags, his shoes wore out and he got very skinny. He desperately wanted to fill his tummy

with pig food!

Then one day (for the first time) he started thinking seriously. Inside his head the bad boy had good thoughts…

Then the son walked away… He went home… Back to his father...

While he was still a long way away, his father saw him and came running! Was he angry? No. He was full of kindness. The father threw his arms around the bad, dirty, stinky boy and hugged him as tightly as he could.

The son said, ‘father, I have sinned… I am not wor-thy…’ But he could not finish what he had to say, because his father interrupted. He called to his servants and said, ‘Bring some beautiful clothes, a precious ring and some new shoes. Kill the fatted calf. We are going to celebrate! My son was lost and now he is found!’

Then there was food, music and dancing and so much happiness in that house. The father was rejoicing because his son had come home.

There is plenty of food back at home. Even the servants have enough to ear. I will go back to my father and I will say, ‘father I have sinned against heaven and before you… I am no longer worthy to be your son… Make me one of your servants instead.’

Father, I have sinned...

I am not worthy...

The sinner confesses

what he is and what he has

done

The sinner turns their back on God

the Father

No RespectNo Thanks

No Obedience

The sinner starts to think...

...They face the ugly truth

...They remember God the Father

They leave sin behind and go to serve God.

Isaiah 55:7Matthew 9:10-13

Psalm 51

They live to please

themselves. They live

without God. Repentance

Away

FromGod

Back

To

God

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You can also read...

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Bible BitsRead the originalLukeChapter 15 [NKJV]

1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

......

11 “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his liveli-hood. 13 And not many days af-ter, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that coun-try, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself,

he said, ‘How many of my fa-ther’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’”

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his ser-vants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”

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Have you noticed how fat this Golden Bells is? That is because there are 4 more pages! Golden Bells is getting bigger… and hopefully bigger means better! :-). You are going to get 8 magazines this year, and since this is the first, you should get the last one sometime in November… DV

#420 is the beginning of a mini series called “Stories that Jesus Told.” Here’s what to expect in the bigger better Golden Bells...................

Claire’s Column(This is where I keep in touch with you - points updates, competitions,

winners, photos, the Golden Bells team, questions and comments, a bit

of everything...)

Points#421 Ideas Letters Emails Marking Diary

(DV means Deo Volente which means‘God willing’. It sounds weird but it is a good thing to say because only God knows the future).

Hello everyone! Welcome to 2010.

Kids StoryKids LessonsYCPBible BitsActivitiesBack Page

The story Jesus told

Lessons from the story

Harder lessons if you’re up for it!

The Most Important Page

+ Curly’s Colouring: Rip out and send in for points and Prizes

Memory Verse - Learn it

P1-2P3&12P13-14

P4

P7-11

P15

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Competition Corner

Readers

Comments

Marty

To appear here in #421, send in your photo or something you would like to say about Golden Bells… maybe something you

have learned or enjoyed…

Have something

to say?

The stories Jesus told are really called ‘Parables’.

What is a parable?Send in your definition in less than 25 words.

Competition closes 25th FebruarySerious prizes to be won!

Hi everyone! I’m Marty, the designer of Golden Bells (aka computer nerd, tech head, pixel brain or whatever the team are calling me today).

I think this story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most amazing Jesus ever told. It teaches me that the Lord Jesus loves sinners! When I was designing this #420, I could not help thinking of my favor-ite verse in the Old Testament…

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

(Isaiah 55:7)

Meet the Team...

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repent

____________________ ____________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ____________________ ______________________ ________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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ActivitiesHow many words can you make using the letters in the wheel? Can you make a word using all 8 letters?

[Note: You cannot use a letter twice in one word]

Score: 1-5 WordsNice Start

6-10 WordsMoving Along

11-20 WordsRacing Ahead

21+ WordsGENIUS!

TrickyQuestionThe son in the story teaches us what true repentance is.

Read page 3 of the magazine and try to explain “repentance” in your own words.

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Help the Prodigal Son get Home

What did the father do when the son

came home?(a) Ignored him(b) Slapped him(c) Hugged and

kissed him

What 3 things did the father give the son?(a) Robe, ring, shoes

(b) Harp, crown, jewels

(c) Sword, shield, armour

How many sons did the father have?

(a) One(b) Two

(c) Three

Which son ran away from home?

(a) Older(b) Younger

(c) Both

What did the youngest son want from his father?

(a) A Party(b) A Coat

(c) His Inheritance

What job did the son get?(a) Tax collector(b) Pig feeder(c) Fisherman

What did the son do with his inheritance?

(a) Wasted it(b) Buried it

(c) Put it in the bank

When the son was starving, he wanted to:

(a) Eat a pig(b) Eat the pig food(c) Lie down and die

Trivia Challenge

Scor

e:

8109

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L M P D O S R F YD O A D A D O S CE N R A L I N N TN E T T N E P E RN Y Y R E H T A FI L F O R G I V ES D I S O B E Y SP I G S U H T A F

FatherSonMoneyPigsDisobeySinnedForgiveRepentComplete the word search, then unscramble the

highlighted letters and complete the verse:

“I came not to __ __ __ __ the righteous, but

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ to repentance.”

Search and Decode

WordSearch

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About Usgoldenbellsmag.com.au is a free, online kids Bible teaching magazine and a

resources website for religious education teachers.

If you would like to order printed copies of this magazine, please contact us (minimum quantities apply). We also welcome your ongoing feedback.

goldenbellsmag.com.au

mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au

In the story of The Prodigal Son, the father represents God.

God the Father is good. He loves us. He gives us everything.

When we reject Him... Ignore Him...

Disobey Him... Sin against Him...

God does not disown us or punish us as we deserve. He waits and looks for

sinners to repent.

God gives us the best of everything He has. God rejoices and heaven celebrates when one sinner repents.

God runs to welcome us! He immediately accepts us.

He fully and freely forgives us.

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God of Grace

Also Read: Psalm 103:8-14Micah 7:18-19

2 Peter 3:9John 6:37

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When we have wasted everything He gave us. In our

sin we are hopeless and helpless...

Before you read this article, read Luke chapter 15 (see page

4 of the magazine).

The Lord Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son to illustrate and explain: 1. The way sin works in our lives to take us away from God and 2. The attitude of God and His kindness in receiving repentant sinners.

The Son Rebels (v11-13)

(1) He does not want to obey(2) He does not want to be held accountable(3) He does not want his father’s authority

The son wants everything for himself. He says, ‘Give me now.’ To ask for his inheritance before his father had died was like wishing he was dead already. He was totally rejecting his father.

The Son Leaves (v13)(1) No one made him go

(2) There was nothing wrong with his home (3) It was his deliberate decision

......The son did not care how his father felt. His father would have been rejected, distressed and insulted. The son was living for the present and living only for himself. He knew what he wanted without any thought of other people or the consequences.

The Son Lives (v13-16)(1) He lives a life without his father

(2) He lives for the present with no thought for the future (3) He lives sinfully

......Jesus says this is a picture of our own lives as sinners. All of us have gone our own way. We have rejected God, resisted His authority, disobeyed His word and excluded Him from our thinking and plans. God is LEFT OUT of our lives and sin LEFT IN. God then sends the famine. The son becomes desperate because he is facing starvation. As we read the story we think, “Surely he will change…?”, but to our dismay he persists in doing it his own way and finds a job looking after pigs.

Young Christians Page

- With Dr Paul

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In fact he even lives with them! He is starving and miserable, nobody gives him anything, and yet he still persists in doing it his way. Sin is like that. It is not just what we do; it is also the driving force behind what we do. Rebellion is in our heart and sin is in our nature, driving us to go on sinning.

The Son Returns (v17-21)(1) He changes his thinking (2) He changes his behavior

(3) He changes his opinion about himself ......

Finally, the son comes to himself and faces reality. He thinks correctly about his behavior, ‘I have sinned’. He thinks correctly about himself, ‘I am no longer worthy’. In the light of returning and meeting his father he also thinks correctly. He remem-bers his father’s kindness. Everything changes when we put God into our thinking.

The son turns around and changes his course. His old sinful lifestyle is left behind completely and he returns to his father. This is true repentance. A sense of guilt, sorrow, a change of mind, a change of behavior and a turning to God are all seen in the son at the end of the story. Without this repentance, with all of these features, no sinner will ever find God. It is the only way of freedom from the power of sin. It is the only way to forgiveness.

The Son is Received (v20-24)(1) The father runs to meet him

(2) The father embraces and kisses him (3) The father forgives him

......The marvel of the story is that the father does not reject the son. In fact, we discover he is actually looking out for him and runs to welcome him. He does not humiliate him, refuse him or even put him on probation. The father demands nothing other than his repentance, his return and the confession of his sin. The prodigal son is welcomed, forgiven and accepted. He is given his place in the family with shoes to prove it, a robe to wear to make him fit to enjoy it and a ring to show the family authority. He was given all of this because his father was good. The son deserved none of it and he certainly did not earn it.

So it is with God and the sinner. The sinner deserves nothing, but the goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). He is a God of grace, of kindness, love, mercy and compassion. If it were not so, the sinner would have no hope. God the Father has done all that is necessary and provided all that is needed through the Lord Jesus Christ. He forgives sins. He receives and welcomes the sinner who repents.

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The Back Page“I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who

repents.” (Luke 15:10)

About Us...

mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au

goldenbellsmag.com.au is a free, online kids Bible teaching magazine and a resources website for religious education teachers.

If you would like to order printed copies of this magazine, please contact us (minimum quantities apply). We also welcome your ongoing feedback.

goldenbellsmag.com.au

mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au