A son turns his back on home and family to follow his dreams of a new life on his own. Another son stays dutifully at home.
But when the dream turns to a nightmare, what will this first son do? And which of the two sons is really the more lost?
In this deceptively simple story, Jesus gets to the heart of what it means to be lost to God, and found by him again. And it's a story that's full of surprises.
You'll be surprised by the father, surprised by the sons, and surprised by what this story tells us about our own hearts.
And then there's the biggest surprise of all... jaw-dropping in fact...
(Review written for 'Lost')
As a youth worker I'm so thankful for "Lost" and the other books Jonty Allock has written. They are perfect handing out to both young people and leaders! Really accessible! It's great to have a book written by a UK author for UK youth and not one that is over americanised.
This is a very readable and short but powerful and thoughtful book. It's great how the story of the Lost Son is broken down into these bite-size chunks and ...how Jonty continually brings back the context of who Jesus is speaking to in the crowd and the heart of the gospel.
There are great illustrations to help youth think through the modern day application of this story too - the washing up one was a favourite! I particularly love how the older brother part of the story has been dealt with here. Too often we focus on the first half of the story and forget that both sons are lost and in need of the Father's forgiveness!
The "think" sections in each chapter are a good way of getting the reader to stop and think through the applications of the story.
We have adapted "Lost" for a youth series with small group discussion for ages 11-14 and are using it for a summer camp. We are excited about the impact this can have!
I hope Jonty writes more books like this soon.
(Review written for 'Lost')
I'm so glad I read this book. Though I knew the story by heart, this was really refreshing. I've asked for and got permission to translate the book into my own language (Dutch) so that the youngsters in our church can have benefit from it. Everyone should read it as it is the Gospel in a Nutshell. Written in a very compelling way!
(Review written for 'Lost')
Lost is a retelling of Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son. The author breaks the story into four sections, and uses them to explain the gospel. 'Pursue the Dream' explores our rejection of God, 'Crash Landing' focuses on our bankruptcy as sinners, 'Welcome Home' describes the delight of the Father when we return. The final section, 'Missing the Party,' highlights the oft-forgotten figure of the older brother - he works like a slave for his Father, but in reality loves neither God, nor the things God loves.
The language is funny, accessible and memorable; the illustrations by Andre Parker enhance the text, the whole book has less than 60 pages, and sin for example is described as 'dumping God'! It would be ideal for a teenager exploring Christianity for the first time, or someone who has grown up in church, but not really understood grace. Allcock fills this seemingly simple story with relevance and challenge. My only criticism is that he tells us too often how amazing and challenging it is - he doesn't need to say that, he shows it! But I'm quibbling - Allcock does a great job of demonstrating that 'Jesus welcomes sinners' and at £4, it's a steal.
