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Series 4:
Lesson 64: |
PARABLES
THE LOST COIN |
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Passage to Study: Luke 15:8-10.
Read with the class: Luke 15:8-10
Memorization Text: Younger Children - Luke 15:10.
Older children - Colossians 1:13
OBJECTIVES:
1. To speak of the value of each person before God.
2. To demonstrate through the activities of the woman how the Holy Spirit works.
3. To draw attention to the fact that the coin is unable to lift itself up.
4. To identify the interaction of the light and the broom in the hands of the woman.
5. To show the joy produced is in the heart of God in the presence of the angels.
Note: For variety in visual aids, flash cards or drawings can be used instead of flannelgraph figures to illustrate the main points of the parable, as shown below.
ILLUSTRATION:
No. 1. A husband presents his wife with a chain strung with ten shining coins.
- This was worn on the forehead and had the same meaning as an engagement ring does today.
Cmt. In some oriental countries women use clothing which covers them completely, leaving
only their face exposed. A string of coins across their forehead shows whether the
woman is married or not.
- The string of coins was valuable, and each individual coin had it's own worth also.
- The human race is of value to God and each individual, old and young, is valuable in His
sight.
Cns. Matt.16:26. The Lord made reference to the value of a person when He asked what a man
was profited if he were to gain the whole world but lose his soul.
Sug. It would be well to start a conversation among the students about the intrinsic value
of every person.
No. 2. A distressed woman finds that she has lost one coin.
Cns. When something of value is lost, it naturally causes concern.
Apl. God is concerned because there are sinners who are lost.
- No one is unimportant in the eyes of God.
No. 3. Lighting a lamp, the woman begins the search for the missing coin.
- The lamp is a figure of the Word of God. The woman is a picture of the Holy Spirit and
the work He performs using the Holy Scriptures.
- As the woman uses the light of the lamp to locate the coin and reveal where it lies, so
the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to reveal the true condition of the sinner.
Sug. Explain to the students that the Word of God serves to show how God sees them in
their sins, and that is why they might feel uncomfortable when they pay attention to what
God is saying about them and their sin.
- The work by the woman in using the light precedes her work of retrieving the coin from
where it is.
Cmt. Conviction of sin is the purpose pursued by the Holy Spirit as He applies the
truths of Scriptures inwardly to the heart.
Cmt. The woman's activities are carried out within the four walls of her home, unobserved
by anyone.
Apl. The Holy Spirit carries on His activities in the heart of the sinner when he/she
listens to Bible teaching.
Cns. The Holy Spirit also uses the preaching of the Gospel to reveal the condition of the
sinner, but this point is treated in the next section.
- The conviction of sin produced is due to the light of the Word revealing the condition
of the soul.
- The light of the Lamp (the Word of God) shows where the coin is found, but it lacks the
capability of lifting itself up to where it ought to be.
No. 4. As she sweeps with the broom, the woman brushes away the trash, the dust, dirt,
etc. and continues searching for the lost coin until she finds it.
Apl. The woman using the broom is a figure of the work which you, as the teacher, are
doing by explaining and applying the Word of God.
Cns. Preaching or teaching has the objective of removing mistaken ideas from the students'
minds about their sin and salvation.
- The broom "sweeps" away the mistaken ideas sinners have about how they can be
saved.
Cns. Even when the broom has removed the dust and the light has revealed the condition of
the coin, it is unable to raise itself up. The woman must do that.
Apl. Even when the preaching has been moving and powerful, and the message has penetrated
the heart with illuminating strength, the Holy Spirit is the one who raises up the sinner
from the place where he/she has been found.
Cns. The condition of the coin pictures the condition of the sinner:
1. Fallen, 2. In darkness, and 3. In a state of uncleanness.
No. 5. Rejoicing, the woman shares her joy with her neighbours who are able to appreciate
the importance to the owner of having recovered the lost coin.
Apl. When a lost one has been found, God shares His joy with His own through the Holy
Spirit.
- The children of God are able to appreciate what it means to find a lost soul. The
unsaved are unmoved because they do not understand spiritual matters.
No. 6. Sug. Using a completely black page, stress to the students that nothing is visible
in the darkness.
Ilu. As any person knows, searching for something in the dark without a light is
impossible. As in the parable, light must enter to locate the lost object so it can
be lifted it up to where it ought to be.
Apl. John 1:5; 3:19; 8:12, 32. Mention the darkness in which sinners are found.
Knowledge of the truth is the only thing that will set them free.
No. 7. Sug. Use a page that shows the use of a flashlight or lamp to locate some object
lost in the darkness.
- Were it not that God sees the sinner as valuable, He would not have sent His Son to die
and thus make it possible for him/her to be raised up as was the lost coin.
- The coin taken up by the woman comes into a place of light and is safe in her hands.
Apl. The sinner found in the darkness of ignorance and sin is brought into light when the
radiance of the gospel reaches him.
No. 8. The angels in heaven are filled with joy each time a precious soul is found.
Cns. See v.10. If there is joy IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ANGELS, who is the One who is
filled with joy? It is God who is in the presence of the angels.
- It is marvelous that God feels joy over a sinner who repents.
No. 9. Colossians 1:13 (written out). What does it mean to be translated from the
power of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son?
Sug. Here one should speak of the changes that occur in the life of a person who becomes a
child of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. |
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