The Children's Chapel Award-winning site, featuring Bible stories from a variety of authors, excellent Christian resources for children, and over 140 links to other Christian and family-friendly sites for kids. ~ A Ministry of The Missing Link, Inc. ~ [Picture of fruit] Fruit of the Spirit [Picture of fruit] [Picture of peach] Love [Picture of peach] The Lost Coin Text Version\ by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards [Picture of envelope] José walked to the mailbox near the street to check the mail for his mother. On his way back to the house, he looked through the letters and was surprised to discover that there was one with his name on it. Excitedly, he ran through the door shouting, "Hey, Mom! There is one for me! There is a letter with my name on it!" José's mother looked at the envelope and handed it back to José saying, "It is from your Aunt Marie. You may open it." [Picture of cherries] José quickly tore open the envelope, revealing a cute birthday card. When he opened the card to read it, he was overjoyed to find a crisp, new ten dollar bill folded inside. How happy and excited he was! "Now I can buy that new bell for my bike, like the one Peter has!" he exclaimed. José took the card and the money to his room, then went outside to play with his good friend Peter. He told Peter about his good fortune and invited Peter to go shopping with him to buy the bell. [Picture of pear] Several days later, José's mother was ready to take the boys to the store. José went to his room to get the crisp, new ten dollar bill, but it had disappeared. It was no longer on the dresser where he had left it. He was so upset, he began to cry loudly. Startled by the crying, his mother came rushing into the room. "Whatever is the matter with you?" she questioned. "It...It's gone! The money...is GONE!" he tried to explain between sobs. "Where can it be? What am I going to do? I know I left it right here," he cried. At that moment, he looked up to see that his friend Peter was also standing by the door of his room. "I'll help you look for it," Peter said, trying to comfort his friend. The two boys searched the whole room. They opened the dresser drawers. They looked inside José's special box. They looked in the toy bin. It seemed that they had looked everywhere but still had not found the money. They were almost ready to give up when José's mother came to the room with a flashlight. "Here, take this light and look under the bed one more time," she suggested. The boys had already looked under the bed, so they didn't think it would do any good, but to please José's mother, they got on the floor and looked again. [Picture of peach] [Picture of grapes] At first, they didn't see anything under the bed except a few small toys and a sock, but then Peter exclaimed, "Hey! Shine that light over here again. I think a see a piece of paper." José got down on the floor on his belly and shone the flashlight in the direction Peter had told him. He saw it, too, but thought it was just an old scrap of paper. But Peter persisted and stretched as far as he could. Finally, he was able to reach the paper and pull it out from under the bed. How excited the boys were when they could see that it was the birthday card from José's Aunt Marie! José opened the card, and sure enough, the crisp, new ten dollar bill was still inside. There was so much joy in that room that day, it could hardly be contained. The boys were giggling and jumping, so happy that they had found the lost money. José's mother was glad to see her son happy again. "Come on boys!" José's mother exclaimed. "Let's go buy that new bicycle bell!" José carefully folded the crisp, new ten dollar bill and put it way down deep into his pocket. He certainly did not want to lose it again! [Picture of fruit divider] There is a story in the Bible that is very similar to the story of José and his lost ten dollar bill. This is the story Jesus told a very long time ago: [Picture of cherries] There was a woman who had ten silver coins. She was probably a poor woman, and those ten silver coins were very important and precious to her. One day, she decided to take those coins out of their special place. She just wanted to look at them and enjoy them for a moment; then she was going to put them back. She picked up each coin, one by one, looked at it, then turned it over to look at the other side. The coins were so pretty and shiny! She really enjoyed looking at her coins, and she was feeling so fortunate to have them, but she knew she needed to put them back in their special place and get back to her work for the day. [Picture of apple] The woman counted her coins one last time, as she was putting them away. Six ... Seven ... Eight ... Nine ... "Oh, no! There are only nine! Maybe I have counted them wrong," she thought to herself. So she put them all in her hand and counted them again: Six ... Seven ... Eight ... Nine .... "Oh, NO!!!! There really are only nine. There are supposed to be TEN!" she exclaimed loudly. "Now what am I going to do?" [Picture of grapes] Frantically, the woman searched her whole house. She looked on the floor, under the table where she had been counting the coins, but it was not there. She looked in her pockets just in case it might have fallen off the table and into her pocket, but she could not find the coin. She got her broom and started sweeping every nook and cranny, but still did not find the lost coin. Finally the woman lit a candle so she would have more light. She got down on her knees on the floor and searched every inch of her small house and was ready to give up in despair. But... wait! What was that? The light from the candle caused her to notice a slight gleam near the table leg. She hurried to the spot and put the candle down low so she could see better. There, glistening in the light, was the shiny silver coin. The woman was so excited and full of joy about finding her lost coin, she went out to get her friends and invited them to her house for a big party. All her friends were just as happy as she was about finding the missing coin. They had a long, joyous celebration. [Picture of apple] After telling the story of the woman rejoicing because she found her lost coin, Jesus turned to the people and said, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." That means that the angels in heaven sing and shout for joy, and have a great celebration when one person chooses to stop doing things he or she knows to be wrong, and instead chooses to follow God's way, by doing what is right. [Picture of fruit divider] THINK! 1. How many coins did the woman have? 2. How many coins did the woman lose? 3. How did the woman feel when she found her lost coin? 4. What did Jesus say about the angels? 5. Which fruit of the Spirit did you learn about in this story? REMEMBER: The angels are joyful when one person stops doing wrong. A VERSE TO LEARN "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23). [picture of grapes] ALTERNATE VERSE TO LEARN "...joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth..." (Luke15:7b KJV). PRACTICAL APPLICATION What kind of things give you joy? Receiving presents, visiting friends? What kind of things cause you to lose your joy and leave you feeling sad? Losing things, bad experiences? The Bible teaches that you must always rejoice in the Lord and be glad in Him. Can you think of reasons to be glad in the Lord? What can cause you to lose your joy in the Lord? How can you get your joy back? [After discussion:] Believing in Jesus, trusting Him and knowing how much He loves you gives great joy. Sin, on the other hand, always causes you to lose your joy. But if you sincerely ask Jesus for forgiveness, you can get your joy back and share in the joy Jesus and the angels have over someone who decides to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. The Bible tells us, "...in thy presence is fulness of joy..." (Psalm 16:11). As you seek the Lord, spending time in prayer, worshipping Him, you will find heavenly joy that is so rich, it is beyond any earthy joy you could ever experience. "...the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). The joy of the Lord will give you strength to walk in God's ways. Search your heart right now to find out what you need to do to find joy. LET'S PRAY [Picture of Dog and boy praying] **************************************************** Dear Jesus, thank You for the story You told about joy. Please forgive me for the bad things I have done and help me not to do them anymore. Help me to have joy. In your Name I pray. Amen. **************************************************** CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE? Luke 15:8-10 [Picture of peach] STORIES IN THIS SERIES: The Fruit of the Spirit Love Joy Peace Longsuffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance [Picture of fruit divider] [Picture of crayons] Bible Verse Coloring Page for The Lost Coin Lost Coin Coloring Page Lost Coin Coloring Page One Lost Coin, One Lost Sheep Coloring Page (pdf) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Bible Color and Learn: 15 Parables of Jesus [Picture of pear] Fruit of the Spirit Coloring Pages Fruit Basket God Wants Us to Bear Good Fruit Fruit of the Spirit Tree Fruit Fruit of the Spirit My Story of Jesus Happy Day Coloring Book Bible Story Coloring Pages V2 (Reproducible ) New Testament Bible Story Cards Coloring Book My Bible Coloring Book (Shirley Dobson ) Children's Coloring Books Smart Coloring Books [Picture of child reading storybook] God's Lost and Found Bible For Children Presents: Prodigal Son, Lost Coin, Lost Sheep (pdf) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Amazing 3D Bible Stories: Parables of Jesus Following God: Fruitful Lives from the Bible Stories Jesus Told: The Lost Coin The Lost Coin Arch Book A Child's Book of Parables Lion Book of Five-Minute Parables [Picture of cherries] Bearing Fruit Fruit of the Spirit Stories Fruit of the Spirit (Arch Books ) The Fruit of the Spirit Life Is an Adventure with Ernie The Fruit of the Spirit Is Jesus in Me 365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories (Barbour Publishing ) Awesome Book of Bible Stories for Kids Pilgrim's Progress for Kids 365 Activities For Kids: A Bible Story And Activity For Each Day Of The Year 100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs w/2 CD Baby's First Bible Beginner's Bible Bible In Pictures For Toddlers Bible stories Early Reader's Bible Five Minute Devotions for Children (ages 4-8) Little Hands Story Bible The Children's Illustrated Bible The Preschoolers Bible Toddlers Bible Pilgrim's Progress for Kids Children's Books Spanish Children's Books The Picture Bible (my children's favorite!) [Picture of puzzle activity] Lost Coin Maze Lost Coin/Lost Sheep Word Search Jesus and the Children - PDF - Activities (pdf) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Parable Puzzlers: Word Puzzles from Jesus Parables (Lost Coin) [Picture of peach] Fruit of the Spirit Online Game Online Word Search Fruit of the Spirit Online Jigsaw Puzzle Online Word Search Online Hangman Crossword Puzzle Word Search Unscramble Online Coded Bible Puzzle Coded Bible Puzzle Online Fruit Basket to Arrange Online Animated Jigsaw Puzzle Online Animated Slide Puzzle Amazing Bible Mazes Best Book of Bible Activities Encyclopedia Of Bible Games For Childrens Ministry The Humongous Book of Games for Children's Ministry Memory Verse Games for Kids (Take Me Through the Bible Series ) Big Book Of Bible Puzzles (Reproducible ) Bible Puzzles: Word Search Big Book Of Bible Story Activity Pages V1 (Gospel Light Big Books ) More Bible Time with Kids Christian and educational toys Children's Activity Books Children's Puzzles Crossword Books Sticker Books [Picture of musical notes] Jesus Loves Me Lost Coin Song [Picture of grapes] Fruit of the Spirit (sheet music/MIDI) I Want To Be Like Jesus (sheet music/MIDI) Jesus and Others and You (lyrics/MIDI) Fruit of the Spirit (mp3) The Fruit of The Spirit Song/MIDI/CHORDS Fruit of the Spirit Cadence Action Bible Songs (Cedarmont Kids ) Bible Songs on CD 100 Singalong Songs For Kids (Cedarmont ) 25 Favorite Sunday School Songs (Veggie Tales ) Children's Music [Picture of CDs and DVDs] Fruit of the Spirit Animation Auto B Good Fruits of the Spirit DVD Sunday School Songs (Cedarmont Kids) Shop Now Music Machine Shop Now Adventures from the Book of Virtues Amazing Bible Stories DVD Boxed Set Bible Stories DVD God's Story from Creation to Eternity (listen & watch online) Read and See DVD Bible Children's DVDs [Picture of crafts] Parable of the Lost Coin Craft, Song, and Activities Create and Take Bible Crafts: Parables [Picture of apple] Fruit Printing Fruit Basket (pdf) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Fruit of the Spirit Crafts Draw 50 People from the Bible Bible Crafts & More (Ages 6-8) Bible Crafts On A Shoestring Budget (Ages 5-10) Big Book of Bible Crafts (Ages 3-12) Encyclopedia Of Bible Crafts For Preschoolers Praise God With...Craft Series Praise God with a Paper Plate (PreK-Grade 2) Really Big Book Of Cool Crafts For Kids w/CD-Ages 4-12 (Reproducible ) Children's Crafts & Hobbies *RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS* Lost Sheep, Coin, Son Parable of the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep (Lesson ) Legends of Faith Vol. 13: Parables of Jesus (Lost Coin) Life Of Christ - Lost Sheep and Coin Lesson Plan (pdf) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Travel Guide to the Parables On the Way 3-9s Curriculum Book 12 Sharable Parables: Creative Storytelling Ideas for Ages 3-12 KidsTime: Parable Quest curriculum [Picture of pear] Fruit of the Spirit Story Idea Fruit Basket Upset -Fruit of the Spirit Game Experience the Fruits of the Spirit Fruit of the Spirit Characters Fruits of the Spirit and How We Can Show Them to Others Fruit of the Spirit Fruit Bowl Fruit of the Spirit The Fruit of the Spirit Lesson Plan Fruit of the Spirit Anagrams Fruit of the Spirit Name Tags Fruit of the Spirit Puppet/Skits Scripts Apple Snacks Chocolate Covered Strawberries Fruit Kabobs Fruit of the Spirit Pizza Fruit of the Spirit Game Please Pass The Fruit (Game) Fruit of the Spirit Necklace (Memory Tool) God's Kids Grow: KidsTime Fruit of the Spirit Leader's Guide Fruit of the Spirit: a Childrens Bible Study of Galatians 5:22 Shop Now Kids Travel Guide Fruit Of The Spirit Shop Now Fruit Of The Spirit Bookmark Shop Now Fruit Of The Spirit Bulletin Shop Now Fruit Of The Spirit Laminated Chart Shop Now Fruit Of The Spirit Bracelet Shop Now Fruitz Of The Spirit Game (2-10 Players, Ages 7+) Shop Now Little Angels & Fruit Of The Spirit Game (2-4 Players. Ages 3+) Shop Now Fruit Of The Spirit Chubbies Pen Shop Now Poster Set-Fruit Of The Spirit & Armor Of God Shop Now Bible Memory Games (Creative Bible Activities for Children ) Bible Story Coloring Pages (Reproducible ) 30 New Testament QuickSkits for Kids 801 Questions Kids Ask About God (Focus on the Family ) Absentee Postcards African American Resources Almost Every Answer for Practically Any Teacher (Bruce Wilkinson ) Bible Crafts and Activities for Any Story Big Book of Bible Games (Gospel Light ) Bulletin Board helps Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul Children's Church Resources Children's Sermon Church Nanny Sos: Teaching Discipline Essentials for Preschool Ministry Volunteers Church Supplies Closing Prayer Edible Object Talks That Teach About Jesus (Edible Object Talks ) 52 Games That Teach The Bible Flannel Graph Story Sets to Purchase Free educational videos God's Servants Teach Me (Instant Bible Lessons ) God's Wisdom for Little Boys: Character-Building Fun from Proverbs Help! I'm a Sunday School Teacher (Focus on the Family ) Hermie Scripture Memory How To Lead a Child To Christ King James Version Award Bibles Leading Little Ones to God: A Child's Book of Bible Teachings Lord Teach Me To Pray For Kids (Kay Arthur ) Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours Memory Verse Ideas Memory Verse Resources Object Talks Opening Prayer Parenting Power Point Presentations of Various Bible Stories Pray & Play Bible for Young Children Puppet Scripts Resources for Teachers Seven Laws of the Learner (Bruce Wilkinson ) Spanish Resources Sunday School Attendance Boosters: 165 Fresh Ideas Sunday school resources Talking to God (Instant Bible Lessons ) Teachers' Reproducible Classroom Pages Teaching children Teaching Children Memory Verses Ages 4-5 Teaching Children To Pray Ages 4-5 Teaching to Change Lives (by Howard Hendrickss ) The Big Book of Bible Skits Things To Make Craft Activities 20 Bible Verses Every Child Should Know /CD (Heritage Builders ) Vacation Bible School What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know (by Elmer Towns ) [Picture of fruit divider] BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE http://childrenschapel.org/bibstory2.html Copyright (c) 2012-2022 by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards You may NOT re-post this Bible story. 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