Recommended Path through the CD:

Bildad will come out at the beginning of the program and suggest the path through the program. You can jump around the program at anytime by clicking on Main Page button located on the bottom right side of the Bible graphic. 

1. LUKE 15: Encounter & Learn

Approximately 15 minutes to listen to the entire story and hear each study note. Additional 10-15 if you talk about each study note presentation.

2. SONTV: Dig Deeper

Channel One: 10 minutes to view twice and discuss images. Figure 10 to 15 more minutes for older students studying Channels Two and Three.

3. LETTERS: Reflect and Apply

Approximately 15-20 minutes for creating content and discussing.

4. PRODIGAL FUN: Have Fun

Approximately 10 minutes

Lesson Plan Tip:

Prodigal Son was designed to be discussed as it unfolds. However, a worksheet of questions could be created to guide students to consider the questions presented in the LUKE 15 and SonTV sections of the program. The questions which appear in the following <Bildad> and <HuH> could be placed on a worksheet for students to answer as they encountered them in the story.

To copy the following section for a handout, simply drag it with your mouse over the text while holding your mouse button down. Then select "copy" from your EDIT option on your browser's taskbar (top of screen). Then open a wordprocessing document and select "edit, paste." The page your are looking at is at www.sundaysoftware.com/prodigal/guide.htm

Startup Tip: When Bildad floats onscreen, click him to continue.

"Quit" Tip:  When you click the "Done" bookmark, you are taken to a Credits screen where Bildad has one final thing to say. Click the "Done" tab at the bottom of that page to exit the program. Pressing ESC merely reloads Bildad.

Technical Note Before You Start:

Test the "print" function on the Letters Page to make sure your printer can handle printing the page. If you get a blank page or a printer error message, set your printer properties to "draft" or "economy" (or whatever your printer calls it). Do this before you use the program. In Windows, open up your Printer properties. Consult www.sundaysoftware.com/techie2.htm for more information. On some computers, this print function may give you a spooling error.

OUTLINE:

Luke 15: Hear, See & Read the Story

Hear and See the story read by storyteller Barry Weaver. (Barry is the vocalist and onscreen guitarist in SonTV's music video.) As each section of scripture is read, the program will display images down on the "projection screen." Note: These images come together as video in the SonTv portion of the program --a pleasant surprise in-store for your students.

As each section of scripture pauses, two kinds of STUDY NOTES can now be clicked on to help your students understand the section they have just seen and heard. <BILDAD> study note buttons launch Bildad the Bible Explorer talking about the meaning of various words and concepts in the verses. Some contain questions. <HUH> study note buttons that launch animated presentations about the meaning of various words and concepts in the verses.

Preschool through First Graders can skip some of the study notes. Use the following list to decide which to skip.

Technical Note: The interactive study notes animate as they are ROLLED OVER. Click on them to activate the note it is attached to. The PARTY rollover has no study note. It simply plays a phrase from the song "Ballad of the Prodigal Son."

<HUH> Study Notes:

PROPERTY BETWEEN THEM -- "Give me MY SHARE of the property? No, he wasn't being greedy. In those days a father would often split the family business, property, farmland and/or animals between grown sons. The older son usually received a larger share. What kind of 'property' does GOD share among his children?" Does God give more to some and less to others?

DISTANT COUNTRY -- "The son traveled far from his father's watchful eye and guidance." Where and what do people do to be far from God?

DISSOLUTE LIVING -- Visuals followed by the words: "And that's what Jesus means when he says, 'Dissolute Living.'"

PIGS-- Jewish law forbid the eating of pork. Pigs were considered unclean animals. Jesus knew his audience would understand that the Prodigal Son had sunk to a new low working with unclean animals. What kind of job would signify this new low in your world?

FATTED CALF-- "Sorry bossie, but in those days beef was a valuable source of nutritious food. So valuable, in fact, that you were fed special food for a month or more just before you were cooked for a special occasion. God doesn't offer leftovers to those he forgives. God doesn't hold a grudge or make you sleep in the barn. God orders up a celebration and offers you the finest from his table.

RING-- Like a wedding ring, back in the days of Jesus, a ring was a sign of loyalty and faithfulness. It could also be a sign that the ringbearer had the ring-giver's love, authority and blessing. When the father gives his son a ring, it shows that he trusts him again. Forgiving someone means rebuilding a trusting relationship. How could parents show they trust their children?

SANDALS-- Back in those days, most people didn't own eight pairs of shoes, and clean feet were considered a beautiful thing (especially if they didn't smell at the dinner table). Those who worked hard for a living would often work without sandals -saving their sandals for better occasions. Sandals, especially nice ones, could be a sign of authority, wealth, or status. When you finally accept that God forgives you --God makes even your feet feel beautiful.

IN THE FIELD-- Imagine you are the Older Brother out busting your tail working in the field. Then you hear the news that your creepy do-nothing little ex-brother is back in town and your dad is fawning all over him and maybe even giving him more money. You're steamed! Instead of getting ready to complain and argue, what should you be hoping for when you get to the house?

YOUNG GOAT -- A goat isn't quite as cool as a fatted calf (or as tasty). The Older Son is complaining that his dad has never appreciated HIM that much and thrown him that big a party. What do you think....does the Older Son have a "beef?"

PROSTITUTES--Due to the sexual content of this study note, we've written it backwards "Prostitutes are people who engage in sex for money." But the other Biblical meaning can be "those who seek after other false gods and a false way of life." Which one do you think Jesus meant?

MINE IS YOURS -- Jesus is saying that God holds nothing back from us, so why complain when God is generous with others? The Older Son has been living with his father, but really needs to start living LIKE his father. Why can't the Older Son understand this and let go of his anger? What's holding him back from accepting his younger brother?

DEAD AND HAS COME TO LIFE-- Is Jesus talking about ZOMBIES ? Well.... actually, yes. The Bible often refers to people who are living but dead --dead to God. What is it in them that's dead? How can you spot the kind of Zombie Jesus is referring to?

<Bildad> study notes:

Severe famine -- "The 'severe famine' Jesus is talking about is the lack of another kind of food: "soul food." What other kinds of 'famines' or bad things can cause a person to realize what they are missing in their life? And what are the good things a person can feed their soul with?"

Hired Hands - "By coming back as a hired hand, the son was humbly letting the father and brother know he didn't expect to be forgiven and his inheritance to be restored. Why then do you suppose the son wanted to come back?"

Kissed him-- "Now before you starting going 'ooo, oooo' about all this smooching business, just remember that in many places in the world -kissing is what both men and women do to greet each other. The important point here, is that the father ran to embrace his son even before the son had said anything. What does that say about how forgiveness should feel when you give or get it?"

Son of yours-- "By saying 'that son of yours' -the Older Brother showed that he no longer considered the Prodigal his brother. Do you think he was right or wrong to think that? In the eyes of God when is another human being no longer your brother or sister?

And then... "Hummm....did you notice that Jesus doesn't say how the story ends. Why do you think he didn't? Take a moment and write down, discuss, or maybe even do a skit about how YOU think the story might end." 

SonTV: Dig Deeper into the Story 

Son TV Channel One:
Ballad of the Prodigal Son -a music video that recreates the story in a modern day setting. The lyrics can be found at the end of this web document. The chords are G|A|D.

The father and son in the video are a real father and son. They are real farmers too. The video was shot on the KDH Farm near Lockbourne Ohio. The family's 150 year old farmhouse was used for the interiors and exteriors and all but the older brother in the scene are part of the same family. Vocalist and guitar strummer Barry Weaver is a professional storyteller, musician and school teacher. By strange coincidence, Barry grew up about two miles from the KDH farm.

Preschoolers and First Graders will enjoy seeing the video at least twice. In my lab, my preschoolers wanted to see it three times.

 SonTV Channel Two
Jesus spoke on the subject of sons, workers and fairness several times. Here are three. (Channel Two is an optional activity to "dig deeper." It is best suited for older children and youth.)  I've used Channel Two in a number of different ways.  When I was short some helpers one Sunday, I simply had everyone in the class look at the same questions all at the same time and we discussed each one as a class.

Matthew 21:28 Two Sons in the Vineyard

There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29 "I don't want to,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. "Yes, sir,' he answered, but he did not go. 31 Which one of the two did what his father wanted?"

"The older one," they answered. So Jesus said to them, "I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

What matters with Jesus?

2. Matthew 20:8 Workers in the Vineyard

8 When evening came, the owner of a vineyard said to his manager, "Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with those whom I hired late in the day.' 9 When those hired late in the day came, each of them received an entire day's wage. 10 Those who had worked longer thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.

11 So they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, "These worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have worked all day in the scorching heat.' 13 But the owner replied to one of them, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

What is the "Vineyard," who are "the workers" and "the last" Jesus might be talking about in our day?

3. Luke 15:2 Parable of the Lost Sheep

2 One day the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, "This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!" 3 So Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them—what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. 5 When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders 6 and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, "I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!' 7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

How is this parable like the parable of the Prodigal Son?

SonTV CHANNEL THREE:
More thoughts for Deeper Study

There are two sets of discussion texts on SonTV Channel 3. The first are displayed onscreen as you hear the song. The second only print out with the song lyrics (you can see the print lyrics button hanging down on the tv.

Text set 1: The following text appears onscreen and is more suitable for quick use and older elementary.

The onscreen questions"Did Jesus mean for the Prodigal Son and Older Brother to represent individual persons -or- groups of people?

In the time of Jesus some religious people were not willing to accept new believers who had worshipped other gods or who had led ungodly lives. They called these people 'Gentiles' and believed they were no longer worthy to be part of God's family. Even today some churches and Christians have a hard time loving those sinners whom God loves. And yet, that's exactly what the story tells us to do. Now here are some questions for further discussion:"

If the father represents God, what groups could the Prodigal Son represent? ...the Older Son?

Who are the prodigals around you and how does your church welcome them, -or not welcome them in God's house?

What person do you need to forgive and welcome back into your life?

Text Set 2: There are extra discussion questions on the print-out with the Lyrics. Native Son by Christian recording artist Steve Lindsley. You might want to print them out ahead of time if you're going to be focusing on that song specifically. It's a particularly good song and discussion for teens using the CD.

Younger classes may want to bypass going into Channels 2 and 3. Their teacher, however, may want to bring up the content of these channels in discussion. I used Channel Two in my classes having everyone in the class look at the same question at the same time and discussing it as a class.

Letters: Reflect on the Story and Apply It 

Students are asked to assume various roles in the story and write a letter based on that person's point of view in the story at a certain point in the storyline. In your class setting, you may chose to have students write letters back and forth to each other responding to letters given to them by other students. Or, each student can work on a letter and share it with the class after use of the program.

Caution: Selecting ERASE or Main Page will erase the contents of the letter.

Note: The print-out is a screen shot of the entire Letter's page. It does not cover a full 8 1/2 x 11 area. It will only print on half the paper.

Very Important Technical Note: Test the Letters Page print function before class. You may need to set your printer to "draft," "300 dpi" or "economy" mode to get this page to function with some printer drivers. Set the print function before you use the Prodigal CD. Workaround: With student's text onscreen, press your keyboard's "printscreen" button. This copies the screen image to your operating system's invisible clipboard. Then, open up the Windows PAINT program from your accessories and select Edit, Paste. Viola! From there print in landscape mode so that the image fits on an 8.5 x 11 page.

Option: Use the "Dear God" or "Dear ____" letters to write your own personal letters. Seal them in an envelope and give them to the leader. The leader mails them 3 or 6 months later.

Non-readers will probably need to skip this activity. Instead, break away from the computers and re-enact the story. Young children enjoy being the pigs!  Also...the "older son" part of the story is often too much for preschoolers and Kindergartners to absorb. Simplifying the story down to "a father and son" is a good idea.

On the Letters Page...

Imagine that the father and two sons wrote letters explaining their feelings to each other. What would be in them? Select a letter to write, then print it and share it with others. You can also write your own letter."

+ Dear Son, I'm worried about you and want you to come back home... A Father's concern to his Prodigal Son in a distant land. (From the Desk of Your Father)

+ Dear Father, This is why I left and why I want to come home... A Prodigal's confession and what he's learned. (From the Pig Pen of your Son)

+ Dear Oldest Child, This is why I welcomed him home and how you should treat him... A Father's letter to his upset oldest son. (From the Desk of Your Father)

+ Dear Family, Now that we're all back together... The Father's expectations of the Prodigal Son and Oldest Son. (From the Desk of Your Father)

+ Dear Dad and Bro', I am upset with you two because... A letter from the Older Brother to his father and brother. (From the Desk of the Older Brother )

+ Dear God, I'm sorry about... A letter from you to God confessing your sins and discussing the changes you need to make... (From the Desk of a Prodigal)

+ Dear Children.... A letter from God about your life and how God wants to be involved... (From the Desk of God)

+ Dear.... (Write your own letter) This letter was left open for your own creative lettering writing ideas.

Printing Tip #1: The Print-out will automatically include the title (ex. "Dear Son") and the first line seen on the left side of the screen and above here in this document (ex. "I'm worried about you...). Students should begin typing the body of the letter, not the salutation.

Printing Tip #2: If you want to save ink, open the printer properties and select "draft" or "economy." The Letters page will print in black and white.

***See the Tech Tip at the top of this document if your printing of this Letters page throws an error.

Age Appropriate Tips: If you decide to use the Letters activity with non-readers, get older students to do the typing for little kids, or to help them pick out letters on the keyboard.

I have used this CD with preschoolers as well as teens. The preschoolers enjoy seeing the story and watching the video. The CD was built to stretch, but a teacher will have to help the little ones through it, and their attention span, both physical and intellectual was about 20 minutes (the preschoolers, not the teens!).

Lyrics to "Ballad of the Prodigal Son"
Music and Lyrics by Neil and Shelley MacQueen
Copyright 2001, Sunday Software. Chords: G | A | D

Verse 1:

Well....there once was a prodigal son, who wanted some prodigal fun

left his daddy's land, took the money and ran, to live by the prodigal ton, underneath the prodigal son

REFRAIN:

There's a party tonight, cold root beer on ice, I ain't going home and I ain't gonna phone, there's a party tonight.

Verse 2:

Soon the money all ran out, got a bad case of the gout.

His friends left him knee deep in prodigal sin, shaken with self-doubt, it was really quite a big rout.

REFRAIN:

There's a party tonight, cold root beer on ice, I ain't going home and I ain't gonna phone, there's a party tonight.

Verse 3:

So he got him a prodigal job, sloppin' the prodigal hogs

til he summoned the courage to get home in a hurry saying, "sinned against God and my dad, man I've been really bad."

REFRAIN:

There was a party last night, cold root beer on ice. I wasn't going home and I wasn't gonna phone, it was a party alright.

Verse 4:

A sight for sore eyes did he see (said the dad now), his son coming back on his knees.

He said, Dad I'm home can you throw me a bone, Forgive my sins daddy please, this time I'll let you lead.

(no refrain here and the next verse has an added line)

Well the others looked in digust, older brother put up a fuss.

But the dad said hey it's gonna be ok, he's been lost and down but now he's found,

I'd do the same for you don't you know that it's true,

He's said my boy's alright, gonna be a party tonight.

REFRAIN and spoken words:

There's a party tonight.... (Spoken: ) get him a ring now

Party tonight... and some new shoes

There's a party tonight... kill the fatted calf

Party tonight here son you take half

(party tonight) what is that smell?

(party tonight) you thought I wouldn't love you?

(party tonight) well, as a matter of fact I'll always love you no matter what

(party tonight) (I would have waited for you forever)

(party tonight...final 'D' chord then:) Welcome Home Son

 

Possible questions for discussion:

=What kind of attitude does the REFRAIN describe?
=What does the second verse suggest as the reason for the Prodigal's return?
=What attitude does the Prodigal Son have on in verses 3 and 4 that make his homecoming a welcome one by his father?

 Lyrics to "Native Son"
by Steve Lindsley
Copyright 1999 MRM productions. Used with permission.

It's been years since I walked this place
It's been years since the memories
Of a love long forgotten
To touch the hem of your coat
and to feel your presence
Like our bond was never broken
And I had not made it home
in a lifetime
I wandered the paths of change
Rode waves of confusion
And I longed for the yearning
These people they touched my soul
this place calls to my spirit
And says child you're still only growing
And I have come many miles
for a lifetime

Sing to the sky in her blueness
And ride on the wind as it blows
And love with a love
that keeps on giving
Look here and see now
I'm your native son

Many people have journeyed with me
Lacked a heart of compassion
Their eyes blind to the beauty
It's not far to the end of the road
to the place called lonely
Where hope is just a memory
But I'll find hope in you
for more than a lifetime

Sing to the sky in her blueness...
Can you see it love comes around
can you feel it
round and round and round
Sing to the sky in her blueness...
Welcome home to the prodigal son
I'm your native son

Possible questions for discussion:
What "change" and "confusion" have you experienced?
What place calls to your spirit? Who are the people who have touched your heart?
What does he mean when he sings, "I'll find hope in you for more than a lifetime."
What feeling is conveyed by the refrain: "Sing to the sky....And ride on the wind...."
What people around you "lack a heart of compassion" or are "blind to the beauty?"
What is the "love that keeps on giving?"
What is the song about? What is it saying to you?