CRAFT My sheep know My Voice AGE: 4-6 ESTIMATED LENGTH: 3 HOURS NEEDED MATERIALS: Black Construc/on Paper (2) Co6on balls (enough to cover) 1/3 of Green Construc/on Paper Wiggle Eyes (2) Glue S/ck Scissors White Crayon Black Marker INTRO AND CLASS SUMMARY: Gather Students And Begin In Prayer. Read And Discuss Quotes: Moral parable - Listening To God s Voice Bible Lesson: Can you guess by our art project what we re going to talk about today? Sheep Well, sheep are very important in God s Word. So are shepherds, the people who take care of the sheep. They are so important that God talks about them over 600 /mes in the Bible. Wow That s a lot of sheep talk Today, we re going to learn about sheep and shepherds. You will each get a chance to do lots of pretending today Are you ready to play and learn? If you are, let me hear a BAAAA The first thing we ll do is listen for sheep and shepherds in God s word. So take your fingers, wiggle your ears to make sure they re listening, and let s get started When you hear the word Sheep, I need you to, Baaa. When you hear the word Shepherd, I need you to cross your arms in front of your chest to make the sign of love. Shepherds really love their sheep and we need to remember that Repeat the direc/ons again. Read John 10:7-16, with energy and enthusiasm, pausing aaer each men/on of sheep and shepherds. Applaud the sheep and shepherds for good listening. Then say, God calls us His sheep, so when you hear the word sheep, it s actually talking about you How
funny The Bible also tells us that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who takes care of us. We re going to read God s Word one more /me. Except this /me, when you hear the word sheep, point to yourself. When you hear the word shepherd, make the sign for Jesus (or have students point upwards to God.) It s so important to hear our Shepherd s Voice. (Repeat direc/ons again.) Repeat John 10:7-16, pausing again aaer the words shepherd and sheep. Applaud the sheep and shepherds again. Ask the following review ques/ons: What kind of animal does God say we are like some/mes? (Sheep) What does a Shepherd do? (He takes care of his sheep.) Who is our Good Shepherd? Who takes care of us? (Jesus) Whose voice should we learn to listen to? (The Good Shepherd or Jesus) How do we hear His voice? (God s Word) - SONG: My sheep know My Voice My sheep know my Voice, and day by day, They abide in the fold and go not astray, They love me because I have made them My choice, And they follow my call for My sheep know my Voice - SCRIPTURES: Psalms 23:1-6 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the s/ll waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. - QUOTE: The Lamb and the Dove 56-0917 One day, a man and I were riding around in a li6le Bri/sh jeep. And I heard the whistles blowing and everything stopped. All the cars stopped, and I said, "What's
the ma6er?" And look, to my surprise, coming across the street was a shepherd, leading a bunch of sheep. And I said, "Well, why..." And he said, "Everything stops for the sheep and the shepherd over here." Then, driving on farther, I no/ced the place where there was a shepherd coming down through the street. And over there, they don't have the convenience that we have today to find iceboxes and so forth. They put their vegetables and so forth, right out on the street: their goodies. And here come down the- - the middle of the street, a shepherd, walking right through these places a leading his sheep, not by a rope. They were just following him by sight. And I stopped, and I was amazed. As that shepherd walked, he could step a few steps out to one side and then back into the path, and the sheep next to him would step out, come back. And the sheep behind him would follow, and they followed the shepherd. "My sheep know My voice." Class Summary: The class teaches/helpers pre- cut black construc/on paper into the shape of a sheep for each student before class (see tutorial pics). Go over basic guidelines/rules. Show examples/samples and demonstrate. Let students begin building and decora/ng their own sheep. CreaXng Your Own Sheep: Material: Sheep body Quote Instructions: Fold paper in half and in half again. Then cut loose ends. Cut quote the same way. Fold paper in half for legs and half again. Then cut down the center. Trace sheep head and cut out. Glue legs Show child where to glue (approx. 2 inches). Glue Quote above legs (apply glue to Quote and black paper). Write child s name. Turn over and glue head.
Draw ears and mouth. Glue on eyes stickers. Cut grass draw a line and don t cut below line. Write Scripture lightly with a pencil, Psalms 23:1-6. (help child if needed). Cut slants in grass. Glue grass to legs. Glue cotton balls. After Project: 1. Cleanup area 2. Form Shepherd line, marching around gym 3. See Live Sheep - feed and pet 4. Wash Hands 5. P.E. Game: The Sheep, The Shepherd, and The Wolf Tell the children that a shepherd knows his sheep by name. Every sheep has a name, just like each child does. When the shepherd calls the sheep, Martha, Gracie, Fleece, the sheep come running. Sheep know and love their shepherd s voice. They will not run to a stranger. In fact, they will run away from a stranger. Draw a parallel by saying that Jesus knows each of us by name also. We are so special to Him, that He died on the cross for each one of us. He loves us. It s important that we learn to hear our Jesus voice. He is the Good Shepherd. We learn to hear His Voice by praying, reading the Bible, and coming to church. It s also important to run away from strangers, sin, and danger. Appoint one child to be the wolf and one to be the shepherd. (The teacher can also opt to be the shepherd, especially if the children are not familiar with one another s names.) The rest of the children will be sheep. Have the sheep stand at one end of the playing area (a larger space is best), the shepherd at the opposite end, and the wolf in the middle. Tell the students that the shepherd will call each of them by name. Once they hear their name, they are to try to reach the shepherd, without getting tagged by the wolf. If they get tagged, they need to take a sheep nap and sit down. If they don t get tagged, they are safe with the shepherd. Continue play until all student names have been called. For additional games, switch the roles of shepherd, wolf, and sheep. 5. Snacks 6. Treat 7. Send Children Home With Lots To Tell