The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7

Teaching Videos

Idea 1

Read “The Lost Sheep” on page 391 in The Beginner’s Bible

Questions:

  1. What does a shepherd do?

  2. What does a shepherd if one of his sheep is lost?

  3. What does the shepherd do when he finds the sheep?

  4. Who is the most important to God?

Teaching Ideas

Idea 2

Play find the sheep.

  • Before all the kids come into the lesson area take a stuffed animal sheep and hide it somewhere (make the hiding place fairly difficult)

  • Once all the kids are settled, tell the kids you have lost a sheep (you could even dress up like a shepherd to make it more fun and memorable) show them a picture of the sheep and ask them to help you find it.

  • Once you have found the sheep, have a little celebration!

  • Then tell them the lost sheep story.

Idea 3

Tell the kids a story of a time when you got lost.

  • Tell a story to the kids about a time when you were lost. For me, when I was a kid I ran into an elevator in an office building and the doors shut and took me to another floor I screamed and cried the whole time. People found me and brought me back to my mom - I was easy to find because of the screaming.

  • When we are lost as kids our parents or people will always look for us and bring us back close to them.

  • Sometimes we say we are lost when we aren’t close to God any more. When this happens God will always look for us and bring us back to Him.

Idea 4

Read 100 Sheep

  • This book is great for younger children. There is a focus on counting and reminding us that God will always look for us.

Idea 5

Hide 100 sheep around the room and ask the kids to find them.

  • Print out 5 copies of the sheep page on card stock paper.

  • Hide all 100 sheep around the place where you are meeting with the kids.

  • Once all the kids are there, give them a mission of finding all 100 sheep. Take some time to count the sheep as you go.

  • Once you have found all 100 sheep, lay them all out on the floor and ask the kids which one they think is the most important? Was it the one that was found first, or last one of them found at some point in the middle.

  • Explain to the kids that Jesus told the story of the Lost Sheep because some people made a comment about a woman who they didn’t think was very important. This story tells us that if any of us are lost, Jesus will come searching for us because we are all important to Him.