Lesson video

Hello, my name's Ms. Rivers and I'm looking forward to learning with you today.

I'm glad you chose this lesson, we're going to have a good time working together, so let's get started.

Welcome to today's lesson.

The lesson is from the unit, "Stories: how do different people find deeper meanings?" This lesson is called, "The Story of the Lost Son." By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to retell the parable of, "The Lost Son." You might already know some stories with deeper meanings or hidden messages.

Today's learning is about an important story with a hidden message.

Today's story is important for Christians.

Some of today's learning will be new for everyone, so we'll need to work really hard, but I'm here to help you and we'll all learn together.

The key words we'll be using today are, "Parable," that means, "A story with a special meaning," "Lost, something that cannot be found easily," and, "Forgive, putting aside anger towards someone because of something they've done or said." Some of these words might be new to you, so let's practise saying them together.

I'll say the word and then you say it back to me.

Parable, lost, forgive.

We'll be exploring and using these words all through the lesson, so listen carefully for them, see if you can spot them, and see if you can remember what they mean when you hear them.

In the first part of the lesson, we'll be learning about special stories called parables.

What is a parable? Look at this special book on a stand, it looks very important, doesn't it? It's called, "The Bible," and it's an important book for Christians and it's full of all sorts of stories.

Some of the stories are about Jesus and some of the stories in, "The Bible," are stories that Jesus told.

Jesus told lots of stories, some of Jesus' stories are called, "Parables," that's a story with a special meaning.

And some of Jesus' parables have been collected together and written down in, "The Bible," and Christians like to read them and think about them.

Do you know any fables? Fables are stories with a hidden message, like, "The Hare and the Tortoise," or, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," and a parable is a bit like a fable.

A parable is a special story, but it's a story with a hidden message or a deeper meaning and it's an important story for the person who listens to it because they're listening out for that deeper meaning or that hidden message.

I wonder if you recognise this parable.

This picture is from the parable of, "The Good Samaritan," and you can see the Samaritan helping the injured man and caring for him.

And Jesus often used parables to make his listeners think about how they should behave, so this parable reminds people that they should be kind to everyone, even people they don't know.

The parable of, "The Good Samaritan," is all about caring for others and Jesus wanted the people who listened to him to care for other people just like the Samaritan in the story.

So here's a quick check to see what we've learned so far.

What is a parable? Is it A, a story about caring for others, is it B, a story with a special meaning or is it C, a story in, "The Bible?" Pause the video and think for a moment about your answer.

That's right, the answer is B, a parable is a story with a special meaning.

Well done if you remembered that word and what it meant.

Christians like to read Jesus's parables to help them to think about how they live and the choices that they make and when we learn about Jesus's parables, it helps us to understand what's important to Christians and Christians like David and Fiona like to read parables and think about them.

David says, "When I read Jesus's parables, I try to find the deeper meaning so that I can understand more about God." Fiona says, "When I read Jesus' parables, they remind me to make good choices in the way I live my life." One of Jesus's parables is called, "The Parable of the Good Shepherd." This is a really well known parable and lots of Christians will know it.

The parable is all about a shepherd with lots of sheep.

Can you see him there in the picture? He's looking at the sheep and counting them to check that they are all there.

In the parable, one of the sheep gets lost and the good shepherd searches and searches for the lost sheep.

Can you see him looking and calling out for that sheep that has wandered away and got lost? So the shepherd searches and searches for the sheep and he is so happy at the end of the parable when he finds the lost sheep, he carries it safely home and he tells all his friends that he's found the sheep that was lost, and it's a happy ending to the story.

So let's see if you were listening carefully to the story.

Here's a question for you, "What did the shepherd do when the sheep got lost?" Was it A, he searched for it until he found it and took it home? Was it B, he left it behind and took the other sheep home? Or was it C, he found the sheep and told it off? Pause the video and have a think about your answer.

That's right, the answer is A, he searched for it until he found it and took it home.

The good shepherd didn't leave the sheep behind, he looked for it and he found it.

Well done if you chose the right answer.

So we've already learned that a parable is a story with a deeper meaning and the parable of, "The Good Shepherd," has a deeper meaning.

Christians know this story really well and sometimes they use their imagination to think really carefully about the story and think what it means to them and what they can learn from it.

So many Christians believe that Jesus told this parable to show that God is like the good shepherd.

It shows that God is kind and loving like the shepherd who looks after his sheep.

In the parable, the shepherd was kind, wasn't he? And he looked for the sheep that was lost.

He didn't forget about it, he searched and searched until he found it.

And when Christians think about this story, it helps them to understand that God is a bit like that.

Sometimes Christians use their imagination to think about the deeper meaning of the story.

They might think about how the shepherd feels or they might imagine what it's like to be one of the sheep.

David and Fiona have different ideas about the deeper meaning of the parable of, "The Good Shepherd." They've been thinking about it and thinking what it means to them.

Fiona says, "I think the deeper meaning of the parable is that everyone is precious to God, even the ones that get lost and wander away." I think Fiona has been using her imagination to imagine what it must be like to be one of the sheep in the story.

David has been thinking about the parable too.

He says, "The parable shows me that God does not give up on people.

He keeps calling out to them because they are valuable to him." I think David has been using his imagination to think about how the shepherd feels in the story and how he cares for the sheep and calls out to them.

So it's time for another quick check to see if you've been listening carefully and remembering our learning today.

This one is true or false, so you need to get your thumbs ready to show me true or false.

"Christians might find different meanings in the same parable," is that true or false? Have a think.

That's right, it's true! Christians believe parables have hidden meanings and Christians might find different ways to understand and learn from parables.

Well done if you chose the right answer.

Here's John, John knows that a parable is a story with a deeper meaning and today he's using his imagination to explore the deeper meaning of the parable of, "The Good Shepherd." He says, "I think the sheep was feeling scared because it got lost.

The sheep would feel safe when the good shepherd found it." Can you see that John was thinking about how the sheep might be feeling? So it's time for you to do some work now and I'd like you to use your imagination to write about the parable, but I would like you to write a sentence about the shepherd and how the shepherd is feeling.

So think about the story and think about all the thoughts and ideas that the shepherd might have about the sheep and think about why the shepherd decided to go and look for the sheep that was lost.

So pause the video while you do your thinking and your writing and I will look forward to seeing what you've written later on.

So I wonder what ideas you came up with about how the shepherd was feeling in the parable.

Here are some ideas that you might have thought about.

"The shepherd looked for the lost sheep because he cared about the sheep and wanted it to be safe." "It was difficult for the shepherd to find the lost sheep because the sheep had wandered away and was hiding." "The lost sheep was precious to the shepherd.

The shepherd wanted to bring him back to be with the other sheep." I wonder if you thought of any of those ideas or maybe you thought of some different ones.

Well done for working so hard on your thinking and writing.

In the second part of the lesson, we're going to think about a different parable, we're going to think about the story of, "The Lost Son." So what is the parable of, "The Lost Son?" So parables are really important stories for Christians and when we read parables, it helps us to understand what's important to Christians and we understand Christians better by finding out why these stories are so special to them.

The Parable of, "The Lost Son," is a very special story for Christians and it's another story that's really well known.

The parable is all about a father with two sons.

This parable of, "The Lost Son," is not quite as simple to understand as, "The Lost Sheep," and it has lots of deeper meanings and Christians like to talk about this story and what it means.

So I'm going to tell you the story with some pictures to look at, so get comfortable so that you can listen to the story and enjoy it and maybe listen out for some of those deeper meanings as you hear it.

The Parable of, "The Lost Son." once there was a father who had two sons, he loved them both very much.

One day the younger son said to his father, "Father, when you die, I will get some of your money.

Please, can I have the money now? I don't want to wait." The father thought about it.

He felt sad, but he agreed to the request and he gave his younger son his share of the money.

As soon as the younger son received the money, he decided to leave home, he had lots of money and he wanted to have fun spending it.

He did not want anyone telling him what to do, he wanted to make his own choices.

So the younger son left.

He left his home where he had everything he needed, he left the big farm with many hired men, he left his older brother, and he left his father who loved him.

The son travelled to a country far, far away, he spent all the money he had as fast as he could, he didn't think to save any of it.

He bought fancy clothes, he gambled, he threw wild parties, and he wasted money on many other bad things.

After a while, all the money was gone.

The country he was living in became very poor and they hardly had enough food for everyone.

The younger son was in trouble, he had no money, no place to live, and he had nothing to eat, so he had to get a job.

The only work he could find was feeding pigs, it was hard, dirty work, and he felt miserable, lonely, and sad.

He was so hungry, he wanted to eat the food that the pigs were eating.

One day the son had an idea, he remembered his home where even the hired men had more food than they needed and now here he was starving to death.

At that moment, he made a plan, he would go back to his father's house and say to his father, "I am sorry, I have sinned against God and against you, I don't deserve to be called your son.

Hire me as a servant and I will work for you." It took the son a long time to make the journey home.

He hoped that his father would not be angry, he hoped that his father would let him work on the farm and be a hired man.

Okay, so here's a quick check to see if you've been listening carefully to the story, and this one is true or false so get your thumbs ready to show me true or false.

"The younger son spent his money very carefully," is that true or false? Have a think about it.

That's right, the answer's false.

The younger son wasted all his money, he didn't spend it carefully, did he? He had to get a job looking after pigs to earn some more money because he ran out! Well done if you got that answer right.

Let's carry on with the story.

Now, all the time the younger son was away, his father had gone out to the roadside every day to look out for him.

He loved his son and he missed him, he was hoping that one day his son would return home.

So the father was standing by the road as usual when he saw his son in the distance walking wearily towards home with his clothes in rags and his feet bare.

The father ran towards his son and threw his arms around him saying, "My son, my son, you are finally home!" The youngest son couldn't believe it.

He quickly said, "Father, I am sorry, I have sinned against God and against you.

I don't deserve to be called your son." The son wanted to continue talking, but the father said to one of his servants, "Quick, bring the best robe and put it on my son.

Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Bring the biggest calf and let's have lots of lovely food.

Let's have a party and celebrate because my son was lost and now he's found." A little while later, when the older son came back from working in the field, he heard music and dancing.

He called one of the servants and asked what was going on, the servant said, "Your brother has returned and your father is having a party to welcome him home." The older brother was so angry he refused to join the party.

"It's not fair!" He said to his father, "I have been a good son.

I have worked hard for you all these years on the farm and I've never disobeyed you.

You never had a big party for me to celebrate with my friends, but now my younger brother has come home after he wasted all the money you gave him and you are having a party for him." "My son," the father said, "I love you, you are always with me and everything I have is yours, but we have to celebrate because your brother had gone and now he's back.

He was lost and now he's found.

Come inside and join the celebration, now we're all back together again." So here's a quick check to see if you've listened carefully to the story.

So which is the best picture for this caption? "The father forgave his younger son and welcomed him home." Have a look at all the pictures and see which one you think fits best with that caption.

"The father forgave his younger son and welcomed him home." Have a think for a moment.

That's right, it's picture B.

You can see in that picture there, the son has arrived home and the father is ready to give him a big hug and welcome him home and forgive him even though he made big mistakes.

Well done if you got that answer right.

So Christians might use their imagination to think about the parable of, "The Lost Son," and to think about what it means for them.

So David and Fiona have been thinking about this parable and using their imaginations to think about what it means.

So David says, "The characters in the parable are like a real family, sometimes families fall out with each other and they need to forgive each other." And Fiona is thinking about the father in the parable, she says, "The father in the parable thought his younger son was lost forever, he had a party to show that he had forgiven the younger son." Can you spot the keywords on this slide? They're all on this one.

You can see, "Parable," a parable is a story with a deeper meaning.

Can you see the word, "Forgive?" When you forgive someone, it means you stop being angry with them.

And Fiona has used the word, "Lost," so something that's lost is something that can't be found easily and today we've learned two parables where something was lost.

We had, "The Lost Sheep," and, "The Lost Son." Well done if you spotted those keywords as we were learning.

So now it's your turn to do some thinking and some writing and our task is to complete the speech bubbles for the characters in the parable of, "The Lost Son." So can you see the first speech bubble is the lost son feeding the pigs and looking very miserable and very sad, I wonder what he might be saying to himself.

And the other speech bubble is the father, talking to the son when he got home again.

I wonder what the father might be saying to the son as they're sitting having their party.

So have a think, see if you can include some of those key words in your speech bubbles, and I will look forward to seeing what you've written later on.

So pause the video while you do your writing.

Well done, you've worked hard today and you've done some good thinking.

I wonder what you put in your speech bubbles.

Here are some ideas that you might have thought of.

Here is the lost son sitting, looking, sadly, looking after the pigs, and he might be saying something like this, "I decided to go home because everything had gone wrong and I did not know what to do.

I thought my father would be cross because I had wasted all the money, I did not expect him to forgive me." I wonder if your writing said something like that or maybe you thought of some different ideas.

Can you see that I've managed to use that key word, "Forgive," in my speech bubble? And here's the father talking to his son, he says, "I missed my son and wanted him back.

Every day, I looked out to see if he was coming.

When he came home, we had a party to celebrate." I wonder what you put in your speech bubble.

I'm sure you did some good thinking and some good writing, so well done for all your hard work.

So we've learned a lot today.

We've learned that Jesus taught by using parables.

We've learned that parables are stories with a deeper meaning and some parables are simple and others have a more challenging message.

We've learned about the stories of, "The Lost Sheep," and, "The Lost Son," and these are examples of parables.

The parable of, "The Lost Son," tells the story of a father with two sons, the father chose to forgive his younger son and had a party to welcome him home.

So well done for listening and learning so well, I've enjoyed working with you today and I hope to see you again soon.