Luke 15:8-10
My Story
I have a cross necklace that is very special to me. It’s not very valuable, but it was given to me by my favorite aunt and uncle when I graduated from high school. I had it for seven years and then lost it in a move. I looked everywhere for that necklace. I have other necklaces of course, but that one was special. Then about 2 years later, I came across it in a pocket of a purse I hadn’t used in a while. Imagine my surprise and joy in finding that special necklace!
Your Story
Tell your children a story about a time when you lost something that was special to you and found it. You may want to even go a step further and tell them how God found you.
The Bible Story
Read Luke 15:8-10. Then say, “In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a woman who had ten silver coins and lost one of them. She searched everywhere until she found it, and then invited her friends over to celebrate! It didn’t matter that she still had nine other coins—that one coin was special to her.
Just as this coin was special to this woman, we are special to God. It doesn’t matter that God has millions (or even billions) of children all over the planet. Each person is special to God. Luke 15:10 tells us that “In the same way [that this woman celebrated over the finding of her lost coin], I tell you, joy breaks out in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life” (Common English Bible).”
[Options for Preschool and Elementary school children: Hide a coin and go on a mini scavenger hunt. You can ask your children, “If you were a lady who lost her coin, where would you try to find it?” You can look in a drawer, the closet, maybe the pocket of a pair of pants in the dirty clothes, outside in the grass, etc. After a few minutes of looking, lead your children to where you hid the coin. Then tell them that the Bible says that when the woman found her coin, she was so excited that she invited all of her friends over to celebrate!]Discussion Questions
• Is there something special you have lost? How did you feel when you found it?
• Talk about how we are sometimes like that lost coin when we stop listening to God, and how Jesus will always find us.
Action
As a family, talk about ways you have found God (or evidence of God’s work) this week. Maybe you saw God through a sunset or when a bird sang. Perhaps it was when someone was kind it you. Take a few minutes each day to talk about places you saw God that day.
Jessica Asbell is currently serving as the Minister to Children at First Baptist Church of Roswell, GA. She has worked with children in various capacities at several churches, including Winter Park Baptist in Wilmington, NC, First Baptist of Decatur, GA, and Highland Hills Baptist in Macon, GA. She has a Master of Divinity from McAfee School of Theology and a BBA from Mercer University. In her spare time she loves to read, watch movies, and of course spend time with her sweet kitty, Lucy.
Kevin Head began serving as Minister to Young Families at First Baptist Roswell, Georgia, in February 2012. He has pastored three churches in Kentucky and more recently served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Lumberton, North Carolina. In 2007, Kevin and his wife, Amy, began a ministry-based counseling practice called New Perspectives for Life in East Cobb, Georgia. He is a graduate of Furman University (B.A.) and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ph.D., M.Div.) in Louisville, Kentucky. Kevin was ordained by the First Baptist Church of Belvedere, South Carolina. His model of ministry is based on John 8 and the amazing, continual grace of Jesus Christ. Kevin and Amy have two children, Jenna and Joshua.
