Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:10-14; Luke 15:3-7

Some people wondered who was most important to God.  So Jesus told them a parable.  

“Think about a shepherd.  What does he do?  He watches over his sheep.  He gives them plenty of food, and he gives them plenty of water.”

“He counts them up to make sure they are all there.  If one is lost, he looks for it.  He looks in the barn.  He looks near the stream.  He looks in the hills.  He looks everywhere.”

“The shepherd does not give up.  At last, he find the little lost sheep!”  

“He carries the sheep back.  He calls his friends together and says,  “Let’s celebrate!  My lost sheep has been found!”

Then Jesus said, “God loves everyone of his children like a shepherd loves his sheep.  When one of them sins, it is like a sheep that has gone astray, and God is very sad.  But when the person turns away from sin and comes back to God, he is very, very happy.  He celebrates like a shepherd who has found his lost sheep.”

Discussion Questions

• What is a shepherd’s job?  A shepherd cares for sheep.  The sheep are counted each day to make sure none are missing.

• What happens if a sheep is missing?  The shepherd looks for the sheep until it is found.

• Does God love his children like the shepherd loves his sheep? Yes

• Is God sad when we turn away from him and make bad choices?Yes

• When God’s children turn away from sin and back to God is God happy?  Yes, very happy!

Prayer

Dear God,  thank you for loving us always. Amen

Memory Verses

“‘Love your neighbor as yourself”  Leviticus 19:18

Sheep Paper Craft

Find a simple sheep template on the internet that you can choose to color or paste cotton balls onto.

Materials:

• printer

• paper

• cotton balls

• glue 

• Optional:  Black Construction Paper and Scissors

Instructions:

• Cut out the template below
• Put dabs of glue on the sheep and add cotton balls.
• Optional:  
• Cut out the sheep shape and glue it to a black (or your favorite color) background of construction paper.
• Cut out a small oval of black construction paper and glue it on as an ear
• Cut out a tiny circle and glue it on as an eye

Jesus Loves The Children

Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16

The children loved to spend time with Jesus.

But the disciples didn’t understand.  They said, “Stop.  Do not bother Jesus.  He is just too busy.”

Jesus told the disciples, “Let the children come to me.  Do not keep them away.  You must become like these little children if you want to enter God’s kingdom.”

Then Jesus blessed the children.  

Discussion Questions

• Did the disciples want the children to bother Jesus? No, they said he was too busy

• What did Jesus tell the disciples? “Let the children come to me”

• Did he tell them they must become like little children if they wanted to enter God’s kingdom?  Yes

• Does God love everyone?  Yes

• Did Jesus bless the children?  Yes

Prayer

Dear God,  thank you for this story.  Thank you for loving us and we pray that we can show your love to others.  Amen

Memory Verses

“‘Be kind and loving to each other.”  Ephesians 4:32

Song:  Jesus Loves the Little Children

Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow

Black and white

They are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children

Of the world.

Jesus died for all the children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow

Black and white

They are precious in His sight.

Jesus died for all the children

Of the world.

Jesus rose for all the children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow

Black and white

They are precious in His sight.

Jesus rose for all the children

Of the world.

Craft:  Jesus Loves the Little Children Collage

Supplies: Pages from magazines that have pictures of babies and children, 9 x 12 inch construction paper, Glue, and Scissors.

Directions:  Have children cut out pictures of babies and children and glue on construction paper.  

Remind them that God loves children.

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

One day, a lawyer put Jesus to the test.  He said, “I know the law says to love God with all my heart and to love my neighbor as myself.  But who is my neighbor?”  

Jesus told him this parable:  “A man was on his way to the city of Jericho.  Some robbers beat him.  They stole everything he had.”

“The man was hurt.  He needed help.  Along came a priest.  The priest saw the man, but did not stop.  Along came a helper in the temple.  He saw the man but did not stop. Along came a Samaritan man.  When he saw the hurt man, he stopped.  The Samaritan man cleaned up the man’s wounds.”

“He lifted the man onto his own donkey and took him down the road to an inn.  They stayed at the inn.  The Samaritan man took care of the hurt man all night long,” said Jesus.

“In the morning, the Samaritan man gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, ‘Take good care of him until I return.’”

After Jesus finished the story, he asked, “Which one of the three men was the neighbor?” They lawyer answered, “The one who took care of the hurt man.” Jesus said, “Go and do as he did.”

Discussion Questions

• A man was on his way to Jericho.  What happened to him?  Robbers beat him and stole everything he had.

• The man was hurt and needed help.  How many people walked past and didn’t help? Two

• Who stop and took care of him? The Samaritan

• Where did the Samaritan take him?  An inn and took care of him all night long

• What happened next?  The Samaritan gave the innkeeper two silver coins and asked him to care for him until he returned.

Prayer

Dear God,  thank you for the story of the Good Samaritan.   I pray that it reminds us to always love you and love our neighbors. Amen

Memory Verses

“‘Love your neighbor as yourself”  Leviticus 19:18

Science: Texture Walk 

A variety of materials with different textures to walk on (for example: cotton balls, linoleum tiles, tightly woven and shaggy carpet samples, masking tape with the sticky side up, sandpaper, leaves, a piece of plywood, cardboard, etc). 

Guide Your Child To: 

Remove his shoes and socks.

Walk over textured material, one item at a time. 

Talk About: 

Texture is the way something feels when you touch it. Things can be soft or hard, rough or smooth, and so on. How does this cotton feel to your feet? Have you ever felt anything else like this before? Is it hard or soft? 

Who made textures? Who made our skin able to feel textures? 

We walked over this path. In Bible times, most people walked when they traveled. Who traveled in our story? Where did they go? What happened? 

Gauze Painting

Materials:  pinch type clothespins, square gauze pads, paint, paper.

The children hold the clothespins (attach them to gauze pads in advance) and dip the pads into the paint to paint a picture.