1. Describe 'forgiveness'.2. Read:  Luke 15:11-32 - The Lost Son, deconstruct the passage with the person next to you.

1. Forgiveness is the act of pardoning an offender. In the Bible, the term forgiveness has several meanings. Primarily, it has to do with God's cancellation of the guilt of sin. To forgive means to let go, as when we let go of a debt that someone owes us. When we wrong someone, we seek their forgiveness in order for the relationship to be restored. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting the wrong that was done, rather it means not holding that wrong against the person who committed it.

2. The parable of the Lost Son, also known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son, is found in Luke 15:11-32. This story is about a father and his two sons. The younger son asks his father for his share of the estate, which the father gives him. The son then leaves home and squanders his wealth in wild living. When a famine arises, he finds himself in need and decides to return home and ask his father's forgiveness.

The father, seeing his son returning, is filled with compassion and runs to his son, embracing him and welcoming him home. He orders his servants to bring the best robe and put it on his son, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then he has a fattened calf killed so they can have a feast and celebrate.

The older son, who has been working in the field, hears the noise of the celebration and asks a servant what is happening. When he finds out that his younger brother has returned and his father is celebrating, he becomes angry and refuses to join the celebration.

The father goes out to the older son and pleads with him to join the celebration. The older son complains that he has been working hard and obeying his father's commands, yet his father never gave him a young goat to celebrate with his friends. But when his younger brother, who squandered his property with prostitutes, comes home, his father kills the fattened calf for him.

The father tells the older son that he is always with him, and everything the father has is his. But they had to celebrate and be glad, because his brother was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

This parable illustrates the concept of forgiveness and unconditional love. The father's forgiveness towards his younger son, who had wasted his inheritance, shows the nature of God's forgiveness towards us when we repent from our sins. The older son's attitude represents those who think they are righteous and despise others, not understanding that everything they have comes from God's grace.