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