Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever lost something special to you? What was it, and did you find it?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn how God cares for people who feel lost or far from him. Jesus tells two stories about finding something special that was lost. We will see how heaven celebrates when one person turns to God.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Angel — A special being made by God who lives in heaven and serves him.
2. Back Home — To return to the place where you live.
3. Call — To speak loudly to someone, often to get their attention.
4. Came — Moved toward or arrived at a place.
5. Carry — To hold something and move it from one place to another.
6. Celebrate — To be happy and have a special time because something good happened.
7. Eat — To put food in your mouth, chew, and swallow it.
8. Find — To see or get something you were looking for.
9. Friend — A person you like and care about.
10. Go Looking — To search for something or someone.
11. Grumbling — Complaining in a quiet, unhappy way.
12. Happy — Feeling good or pleased about something.
13. Heaven — The place where God, angels, and people who follow God live forever.
14. House — A building where people live.
15. Joy — A strong feeling of happiness.
16. Lamp — A thing that gives light.
17. Leave — To go away from a place.
18. Lights — Turns on a lamp or makes a place bright.
19. Listen — To use your ears to hear someone or something.
20. Lose — To stop having something because you cannot find it.
21. Lost Sheep — A sheep that has wandered away from its owner.
22. More — A greater amount or number.
23. Neighbor — A person who lives near you.
24. One Day — A time on a certain date, not named.
25. Other — Different people or things not already mentioned.
26. Outcasts — People others do not like or accept.
27. Parable — A simple story Jesus told to teach a lesson.
28. Pasture — A field where animals eat grass.
29. Pharisees — A group of Jewish religious leaders during Bible times who followed many strict rules.
30. Rejoice — To be very happy.
31. Repent — To be sorry for doing wrong and decide to change.
32. Respectable — Thought of as good or proper by other people.
33. Same Way — In a similar manner; alike.
34. Sheep — A soft, woolly animal often raised by farmers.
35. Shoulders — The top parts of your body between your neck and arms.
36. Silver Coin — Money made from silver, used for buying things.
37. Start — To begin something.
38. Sweeps — Uses a broom to clean the floor.
39. Tax Collector — A person in Bible times who took taxes from people and often kept extra money for themselves.
40. Teachers Of The Law — Jewish religious teachers who explained God’s laws in Bible times.
41. Tell — To say something to someone.
42. Together — With other people in the same place.
43. Told — Said something to someone.
44. Welcome — To greet someone in a kind, friendly way.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells us about a time when Jesus was teaching. Many people came to listen to him. Some people were not liked by others, like tax collectors and outcasts. The religious leaders were upset and complained because Jesus welcomed these people. Jesus wanted to teach them something important, so he told two stories.

In the first story, a man had one hundred sheep. One sheep got lost. The man left the ninety-nine sheep and went to look for the one lost sheep. When he found it, he was very happy. He carried the sheep home and asked his friends and neighbors to celebrate with him. Jesus said this is like heaven. Heaven is full of joy when one person turns to God.

In the second story, a woman lost one of her ten silver coins. She lit a lamp and cleaned the whole house, looking everywhere for it. When she found it, she was so happy that she told her friends and neighbors. They celebrated together. Jesus said the angels in heaven are happy when one sinner turns back to God.

This passage teaches us that God loves every person, even those others do not like. He cares for people who feel lost and wants them to come back to him. Heaven is full of joy when one person turns to God.

Read The Passage

The Lost Sheep
1-2 One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, 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.
5-6 When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders 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.
The Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them—what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it.
9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’
10 In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:1-10 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 15:1-10 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 15:1-10 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 15:1-10 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 15:1-10 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 15:1-10 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. Who came to listen to Jesus?
2. Why were the religious leaders unhappy with Jesus?
3. What did the man do when one sheep got lost?
4. How did the man feel when he found his lost sheep?
5. What did the man do after finding the sheep?
6. What happened when the woman lost a coin?
7. How did the woman look for the coin?
8. What did she do when she found the coin?
9. Who is happy when one person turns back to God?
10. What do these two stories teach us about God’s love?

Application Questions

1. Have you ever felt lost or alone in life?
2. Why do you think God cares so much about one person?
3. How can you help someone who feels left out or forgotten?
4. What makes you feel special and loved?
5. How can you show others that God loves them too?

Theological Insights

1. God loves every person, no matter what they have done.
2. Jesus welcomes people others might reject.
3. Heaven is happy when even one person turns to God.
4. God looks for people who feel lost and brings them back.
5. We should care for others the way God cares for us.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for loving us and looking for us when we feel lost. Help us to turn to you and show your love to other people. Thank you for your joy and care. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.