Rotation.org Writing Team
Parable of the Prodigal Son
"Safe at Home" Bible Games Workshop
Summary of Activities
In this baseball-themed Bible Games Workshop lesson, you'll be sharing the scripture as you "round the bases" with your students playing baseball-themed games to learn and explore key moments and meanings in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Scripture for the Lesson
Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)
The story told at the "bases" in the lesson is largely based on the NIV. We've added some modifications/explanations to help with its storytelling, especially for younger children.
Memory Verse:
"But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." Luke 15:32 (NIV)
Lesson Objectives
See the Bible Background at Rotation.org for insights on this story and this set's complete list of objectives.
Preparation and Materials
Read the Bible Background and Luke 15:11-32 (you might want to include verses 1-10 in your study). Be ready to explain words students may not know.- Write the memory verse on slips of paper (individual words or phrases) and place them in a baseball cap.
- Decorate your room or table with "baseball" equipment (check with your parents if you don't have any).
- Place four baseball bases around the classroom as your game stations. (If you can't get real bases, make them out of posterboard.)
- Prepare the Props for each of the bases (listed below).
Baseball Game Station Props and Prep:
HOME PLATE: WILD HITTING GAME
Homeplate- A "fat bat" (Plastic toy bat . See end notes for other safe bat options.)
- Two dozen sheets of paper, various colors, each with the word "Our Father's Gifts" written on them in large letters. After discussion, players will wad these up and attempt to hit them over the fence (marked by tape or chairs) located approximately 8-10 feet away (adjust distance per age/ability).
- Markers
- "FOUL BALL" signs placed in every direction around the room because when you waste the father's gifts, every hit is a foul ball.
FIRST BASE: PIG SLOP EATING CONTEST
- paper plate for each student
- timer
- Paper towels
- Wet wipes
- Sticky nametag for each "loser" that read "I was a Prodigal Pig in Sunday School today"
- Cheerios and sour candies mixed into green Jello or yogurt (about 1/3 cup per student) or other suitable "pig slop" concoction
SECOND BASE: STEALING HOME RELAY
- Robe or shirt
- Shoes or sandals
- Large ring for finger (aluminum foil works nicely)
- Two signs: “I’m Not Worthy" and "I Love You Anyway, You Are Forgiven"
SLIDING INTO HOME: THE OLDER BROTHER (and JESUS) AS THE UMPIRE
"Sliding into home" takes place at the end of the race that started at second base. Cover a thick blanket or thin cushions/pads with two sheets of cardboard, approximately 2'x4'. Together, the two sheets of cardboard are slippery when the student slides onto them feet first. Alternatively, fold a blue tarp in half and lay it on an area of pads or cushions. The blue tarp will slide against itself, allowing the player to "slide into home."
Lesson Plan
You'll travel to each "base" to read a portion of the story and play a game about it.
Arriving at the Ballpark
Welcome students as they arrive by inviting them to the table where you have a baseball cap full of the pieces of our memory verse. Have them pull out the verse pieces and try to assemble them. (This will be challenging because they don't yet know the verse!) When done, have them scramble the pieces back in the hat for the next students who arrive. If they have time, see how fast they can do it and ask them what they think it means and what story it might be from (If you've been rotating through Prodigal Son lessons, they may know!).
Batter Up at Home Plate!
Gather students around home plate as you swing the plastic bat and promise to "knock this lesson out of the park." About 8 feet in front of you is the "homerun fence" (a short barrier or tape on floor). Importantly, the entire field, including over the fence, is labeled "foul territory" (Why? Because wasting your father's gifts is foul!)
Laying at their feet are a dozen or so sheets of colored paper, each with the words, "Our Father's Gifts" written in big letters on them.
Share the Story:
Jesus wanted to teach people about the always forgiving ~ unconditional love of God. So he told them this story. “There once was a man who had two sons. And the younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your estate. Give me my inheritance.' So the father divided his wealth between his two sons. Not long after that, the younger son took off for a distant country and there wasted all his wealth in wild ungodly living."
Ask: What are some of the "gifts" that God the Father gives his children? (Write down several of their answers on the sheets of paper. Include a few of your own, such as "life," "salvation," "guides us in right directions," "ability to choose," "free will," "protects and helps in times that scare us," "family.")
Explain the Game:
Like the Prodigal Son, we too sometimes WASTE the gifts our Father has given us. Let's "wad" these gifts into tight crumpled balls and take turns trying to hit them over the home run "wall." Each player will get three hits (as many pitches as that takes). Did you notice that everywhere on our playing field is marked "FOUL BALL"? What does that mean? Yeah! Wasting our Father's gifts is foul!
Play the Game:
In random order, let students try to hit the wads you pitch to them. Adjust how many pitches or "tries" you give them and how close the plate is to the "homerun" line based on player ability and needs. If they can't hit a pitched wad of paper, let them put it on the floor and take a golf swing at it. Cheer wildly at each hit no matter where it lands, and when everyone has taken a turn, run to first base.
FIRST BASE ~ PIG SLOP
Gather and explain that Jewish people, like the son in our story and like Jesus and probably everyone listening to this story as Jesus first told it, were forbidden to eat pork! No bacon, no ham, no hotdogs. Why? Because that was part of the food laws decreed by God in the Old Testament.
Share the Story:
Jesus continued telling the parable: "After the younger brother spent all the wealth his father had given him, there was a severe famine in that country, and he began get very hungry. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. And the younger brother was so hungry that even the pig food started to look good enough to eat. And no one gave him anything."
Ask: How do you think this part of the story sounded to someone who was forbidden to eat meat from pigs and never had them on their farms?
Explain the Game:
Each one of you has a plate of "pig slop" in front of you made out of ______________.
When I say "go," with your hands behind your back, try to eat all your pig slop as fast as you can. The game is over when ALL our little piggies have finished, so when you're done, cheer on your classmates.
Play the Game:
Make sure everyone has their hands behind their back and say "go." If someone can't finish, that's okay. If someone doesn't want to eat their pig slop, invite them to make piggie noises while others do. After the game, give each student a wet wipe to clean up.
Option: Give all of the "losers" of this contest a sticky nametag that reads, "I was a Prodigal Pig in Sunday School Today."
SECOND BASE ~ STEALING HOME!
Gather students at second base and explain that in a moment, like the Prodigal Son, they are going to "steal home" by running from second to third to home.
Share the Story:
Jesus continued: “When the younger son came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father, and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants."’ So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate."
Ask: Some people think God is a mean judge waiting to punish people. What are some words you would use to describe God, based on what you heard in this parable about the father?
God _______________ . (is loving, cares for us, gives us all things in creation, forgives us when we mess up)
Explain the Game:
- Have a robe, sandals, ring, and sign that reads “I’m Not Worthy" ready at second base.
- Invite a student or helper to be the "Third Base Prodigal Father Coach" waving runners on toward home plate with a sign that reads, "I Love You Anyway, You Are Forgiven." Have another helper or student at home be the grumpy Older Brother umpire.
- Have everyone line up behind second base. On "go" the first person in line puts on the robe, shoes, and ring, then carries the sign while shouting "I am not worthy!" as they run. When they see their "dad" they shout "thanks dad!" and round third base to head toward home.
- When they get to home plate, they "slide into home" where the Older Brother calls them "OUT!" in a loud voice (this will be explained later). When they are called "out," the player then runs back to 2nd base and gives the sign, shoes, ring, and robe to the next person in line who has to put them on and run from second to third and slide into home. The whole process repeats itself until everyone has been called "OUT" at home.
Tip: Have a student with baseball experience show how to safely slide feet first on the tarp or cardboard slide path. - Play until everyone has had a chance to run from second with the prodigal props and slide into home and be called "out" by the grumpy Older Brother who is umpiring. (Allow the students who volunteered to be the Father and Older Brother have a turn too, with others taking their places.)
- For those who do not want to slide, let them run up to home plate and pretend to slide.
- If you have enough players, double the props and play this as a race between two teams.
THE OLDER BROTHER UMPIRE says "YOU'RE OUT!"
Gather around home plate for the rest of the story.
Share the Story:
Jesus concluded the parable: "Meanwhile, the older umpire, er, son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your order. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
"‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Share and Ask: The Law of Moses in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, revealed to Moses by God, is like the rules of baseball that an umpire enforces. Both the Law and baseball have many rules and many "penalties" for breaking the rules. What "rules" does the Older Brother think are being broken by his father welcoming home his Prodigal Son? (Many people would think it wasn't fair to let the younger son come back home and be treated like nothing wrong had happened. The Law would have required him to be punished and live in disgrace for bringing such disrespect on this father. The younger son seems to think this too when he says, "I'm not worthy," and asked to be "treated like a servant.")
Ask: Is Jesus "breaking the rules" (the Law) by suggesting that prodigal sons should be welcomed home? Yes, in a way he is. But who MAKES the rules? And what is the "Great Rule" or "Great Commandment"? (Love God and love others as you yourself want to be loved!)
Act Out: So while some religious people want to decide "you're out" because you have sinned against God and others, what is our Heavenly Umpire "shouting" to us (teaching us) at the end of this parable? In the following short activity, you'll say aloud what Jesus says when you come home...
JESUS SAYS "YOU'RE SAFE AT HOME"
Let's try sliding into home one more time with JESUS as our umpire -- because Jesus is in charge of our lives and salvation, not other people and their opinions.
Ask: But before we take turns sliding in, what are some of the things Jesus would shout to us when we confess our sins and "come home" to be with him? "You're Safe!" "You're Forgiven!"
Play: Let each student take a turn sliding and also a turn being Umpire Jesus.
Closing Prayer:
Have each student utter a "thank you Jesus for _______" as they slide into home one more time. Then gather all your players around home plate for a final prayer.
Adaptations
For Younger Students:
- Have players stand at a safe distance from the batter.
- Use green and red jello without mix-ins and let them slurp it like a pig.
For Older Students:
- Have each student write a few of the Father's Gifts on the papers at home plate.
- "Time" how long it takes each of them to get from 2nd to Home.
For Those with More Class Time:
- Play any of the games twice and ask additional questions.
- Practice the memory verse together -- then have them say it as they run and slide into home.
For a shorter lesson plan:
- Combine the "You're Out" and "You're Safe" into one activity where two competing voices are heard as the player slides into home.
- Skip the "thank you Jesus" sliding into home plate and use a simple closing prayer.
Alternative to a "Fat Bat"
- Let them use their hand to swat the crumpled balls.
- Use a small racquet like a pickleball or ping pong paddle.
Written by Charlotte Teel and the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright Rotation.org Inc.
