The Sheep Fold(Bible Lesson)

Day 4 The Good Shepherd Loves Us.

Supplies needed:

Big bucket of legos(or some type of toy with many many pieces….the bigger the better)

Party hats and noise makers(one per child)

Hand out papers

Advance preparation: 
read through the lesson, and decide on what legos you will need.
Hide a lego piece in the room.

Introduction:

Welcome the children and invite them to join in discussion.

We hear the word love LOTS. I might tell you that I love ice cream or I might tell you I love my children. What are ways that you hear people use the word love?  Do you feel the same way about ice cream as you do about your parents?

Now I want you to use your imagination with me.  I know that we don’t LOVE toys they way we love people, but I want you to pretend with me that all these lego’s in this box represent a person. (Stick big box of legos in the middle of the room) Each of us is a little bit different and there are LOTS and LOTS of people in the world.    (Pull out a tiny piece) Now I have a problem, you see I was going through my legos earlier today and counting them, and playing with them and stuff, and I discovered that one of my pieces was missing!  It’s a piece that looks just like this(show really small piece). I REALLY REALLY REALLY like that piece. Why just yesterday I was using that piece to build this super cool structure and it was holding these other two pieces together just so perfectly, and it was doing such a good job! I am just so upset that this piece is missing, and my life just won’t be the same until I have that piece back!

Now what would you kids do if these were your toys?  Would you care that much about a tiny little piece?   Sometimes it is easy for us to think that we are just an insignificant person in the world. It’s easy to feel like we don’t matter, and that God can’t possibly love us because there are so many people who seem bigger and more important.  They might be like this piece(grab piece) or this one(grab another one) these pieces seem really important. If I compare this piece(show the one that you grabbed to begin with)  to the others, it seem pretty small and unimportant, but that is not how God feels at all. God loves you, and if you walk away from God it makes him sad. He will go out looking for you and will NOT stop until he finds you.

Lets read our Bible story.

 Bible Time:

Luke 15:1-7

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.² And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Now the Pharisees and scribes where like the big and important people.  The tax collectors and sinners, where the people that where considered really small and not important. In fact,people hated tax collectors and sinners so much, that they didn’t think they were even worth being alive. Now lets listen to what Jesus tells the big important people.

 ³ So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

Does that sound kinda familiar to you?  Remember our big bin of legos?  Remember how concerned I was because I was missing one lego?  You know what?  God things you are sooooooooo much more important that a lego piece. You are like his sheep and he is the Good Shepherd, so if you wander off he is going to search and search until he finds you, now lets read about what happens when the Good Shepherd finds his sheep.

 ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 

So what did the Good Shepherd do?  Did he get really mad and beat that sheep?  Did he yell at the sheep and make it walk home all by itself?  NO the bible says he REJOICED! There is another place where Jesus tells this story and it says that he called his friends and family together and had a great big party, just because he found his sheep. Isn’t that awesome? Let’s read the rest of the story okay?

⁷ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

So you see. God was telling the people that thought that they were big, important, and the best, that they were not any more important. He was saying that each one of us sheep is important to God and God will do whatever he can to reach each one of us!

Hey wait…look there is my piece!  (get very excited) Oh am soooo excited I could just jump up and dance! Wow, this is so cool! I think it’s time for a PARTY! What do you think?  Pull out a bunch of birthday hats and noise makers and hand them out to the kids and have  a quick impromptu ‘party’.

Bible Memory :

Let’s review our bible verse again….think about how this verse shows us the love of the Good Shepherd.

Review memory verse

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart

Invite the children to repeat after you and add actions!

He tends his flock

(Put hands like you are patting sheep on the head)

Like a shepherd

(Make shepherd staff with hand)

He gathers the lambs in his arms

(Motion like you are gathering a lamb into your arm)

And carries them close to his heart

(Put both hands on your heart)

Isaiah 40:11

Hand outs:

Make sure the kids get their take home sheets and point out anything you want to focus on! There probably won’t be time in this class to work on them.

Closing:

Before we go I want each one of you to know that GOD the Good Shepherd LOVES  you! Go around and say to each child God loves (their name)!

Pray and thank God for being a Good Shepherd that LOVES us!

The Sheep Fold(Bible Lesson)

Day 3 The Good Shepherd Provides for us!

Supplies needed:

bowl of m&ms 

hand out sheets

Advance preparation:

Get a bowl of m&ms ready for each class.  take the time to seperate the red m&ms from the rest. 

Introduction:

Have the kids come in and inform them that you have a special treat for them. Let them know that if they do 10 jumping jacks that you will give them all the red m&m in the bowl.

While they are doing the jumping jacks take out all the red m&ms.

Tell the kids you changed your mind….honestly  this time if they do 10 jumping jacks they can have all the yellow m&ms.

While they are doing so take out all the yellow m&ms that you can find.

Now tell the kids…you changed you mind again…but THIS time for SURE you are going to be certain. If they do 10 more Jumping jacks then they can have all the green m&ms.

While the kids are doing this take out as many green m&ms that you can find.

Ask the kids…How did this make you feel?  Did you believe me by the time we got to green m&ms? Do you think that I was being fair?

Give each of the kids a some of the m&ms while you read from the bible.

Bible Time:

Read the Bible passage.

How would you feel if you were Jacob?  What would you do if you had someone agree to pay you one thing and then took it away after you had done the work? Do you think that it would be hard to trust God to provide for you?

Read

When Jacob started out working for Laban he had nothing, and when he was done working for Laban he was very wealthy , even though Laban kept trying to cheat Jacob, God still allowed Jacob to earn what he needed. 

Sometimes what we need is stuff like food, shelter, water, and things that money can buy, and God is capable of providing for those things in our lives, but what are some things we need that money can’t buy? (allow for answers, friends, hugs, kindness, love, ect) Is it sometimes hard to trust God to provide for that kind of stuff? Remember how we learned on Day one that the Good Shepherd knows us?  Well that neat thing about God being our Good Shepherd is that he knows us so well, that he knows what we need even more then we do.  Sometimes we might think we NEED a brand new toy, or a bag of candy, but then we might find out that what we really need is a new friend, or maybe a new project to work on.  Can anybody think of a time when they thought they needed one thing, but then they found out they really needed something else? 

Bible Memory :

Let’s review the bible verse we learned today. Today’s bible verse is really easy, so today would be a good day to pick one of the extra verses on your take home sheet and work on getting some of those extra points they talked about during Corral Time.

The Lord

(point up)

Is my shepherd

(point to self)

I shall not

(shake finger no)

Want

(rub tummy like hungry)

Psalm 23:1

 Hand out:

Give the kids their take home pages, and make sure to point out the extra credit verses.

Closing:

Pray with the kids and make sure to thank God for providing for us.

The Sheep Fold (Bible Lesson)

Day 2 The Good Shepherd Protects us!

Supplies needed:

Pictures of or examples of a Rod, a staff, and a sling shot
hand outs for day 2

Advance preparation:

Familiarize yourself with the story, and the theme of today’s VBS.

Introduction:

Welcome the children in and encourage them to join you in discussion.

Today we are going to talk about protection.  These are some tools a shepherd uses to protect his sheep let’s look at them together.  Show the children your example of a rod, a staff and a sling shot.  Ask them what they think each item is used for and how it protects the sheep. What are the differences between them? What would you use to help get a sheep out of a hole? What would you use if you came face to face with a lion?  What would you use if you saw a bear coming from a distance?

 Bible Time:

Today our Bible lesson comes from I Samuel 17 :34-37. This example of how God protects us is right in the middle of one of the most famous stories in the Bible—David and Goliath.  In this passage David is telling Kind Saul how he will defeat the Giant Goliath.  Lets read it.

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Wow! David had been a good shepherd to his sheep hadn’t he?  He wasn’t scared to take on lions and bears to rescue his sheep, and he knew that God was his Shepherd and that God would protect him too. How do we know that David knew that God was his shepherd? Well, David was the man that wrote Ps. 23. Let’s me read it to you.

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever

Have you ever wondered about the verse that says your rod and your staff, they comfort me?  Let’s think for a minute. If you were a sheep and there was a Lion coming to eat you, what would bring you comfort? (allow kids to respond)  Do you remember the rod, and the staff? Do you think that if you were a sheep and in trouble that a rod or a staff might comfort you?  If you were a sheep and you were in trouble who would you want to run to?(allow for response)   The Shepherd Right! We are the same way. We are like sheep and when we get into trouble or need protection, the best thing to do is go to God our Good Shepherd. Because the Good Shepherd Protects us!

Bible Memory :

Our memory verse today is:

Psalm 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life

Invite the children to repeat after you!

The LORD 

(point up)

Will keep you 

(put hand out like a stop sign)

From all harm 

(pound fist into hand)

He

 (point up)

Will watch over

 (put hands on forehead as though you are looking for something)

Your life 

(put hand on your heart)

Hand outs:

Have the kids work on their bible memory paper and make sure to point out the ‘extra credit’ verses on their paper, explain whatever prizes, reward system is set up for memorizing the extra verses at home and saying them to their group leader the next day.

Closing:

Pray with the kids and remind them that The Good Shepherd Protects us!

DAY  `1  The Good Shepherd KNOWS US

The Sheep Fold(Bible Lesson)

Supplies needed:

sheep flash cards

Day 1 hand outs

Pencils  to write with 

                                                                                                                                                    

Advance preparation:
Read the Day 1 devotional for VBS staff

Print and cut out flash cards (it would be preferable to use card stock to print)

Familiarize yourself with the story and theme of the day 

Introduction:

Welcome the children and encourage them to gather around you. Invite them into a discussion with some of these questions.

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else like a sibling or cousin?

How did that make you feel?  Did the person who had you confused with someone else know you very well? 

I have a bunch of flash cards, that I want to show you really quick. Each card has a picture of a sheep and when I show it to you I will tell you want the sheep’s name is  then I want you to  see how many names you can remember. (do this)

Now I am going to go through this again and this time I am going to give you their name and and  some information about the sheep. Then we will see if it is easier to remember the names of the sheep.     Go through the cards, and see how much the kids can remember.

Was that hard?  Why? Was it easier the first time or the second time? Why do you think that was?  Do you think that if you spent every day and night with these sheep that you would  have known them better? What if you had raised each one of these sheep from birth? 

 

Bible Time:

I want to read to you from John 10

1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.

Sometimes in Bible Times, a group of Shepherds would put all their sheep together a night. This would help the sheep to stay safe, because they were together, and they could be in a really strong sheep fold, and nothing could get at them. In the morning time the each shepherd would come to the gate and get his own sheep and take them out to the pasture to eat.  Each shepherd had to know his own sheep so he took the right ones out. He had to know each individual sheep so that he didn’t accidentally take someone else’s sheep. The shepherd spent so much time with the sheep that he recognized each one and the sheep knew who their shepherd was and knew to follow his voice, kind of like maybe your pet dog might recognize and know to come to you and not someone else.

God knows us in the same way. He knows every single thing about us. He knows what we look like, how we feel, and what we do and don’t like. He knows when we are happy and knows when we are upset.

Let’s keep reading from John 10

.14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

Isn’t’ that neat?  Jesus is calling himself the Good Shepherd. He tells us that He knows us just as well as He knows his Father.  That is really really really well. And he cares so much for us that he would even allow himself to be put in danger to save us. 

A really good shepherd can tell right away if there is something wrong with one of his sheep.  He can tell right away if a sheep is limping, or looking sick, or hungry.  God is our Good Shepherd and he knows right away if there is something wrong, he knows how we feel and He knows how to help us.

Bible Memory :

  Review memory verse

  I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me John 10:14

I am the Good Shepherd

(kids make a shepherd staff with their hands)

I

(point at self)

Know my sheep

(point at each other)

And my sheep

(point at each other)

Know me

(point to self)

John 10:14

Have the kids work on their bible memory paper and make sure to point out the ‘extra credit’ verses on their paper, explain whatever prizes, reward system is set up for memorizing the extra verses at home and saying them to their group leader the next day.