THE GOOD SHEPHERD

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

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6

The Good Shepherd

Props: Pictures of various animals.

Scripture: John 10:11 – I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep

Good morning everyone. Today I want to show you pictures of different kinds of animals, and when I show the picture, I want you to make the noise the animal makes.

Cow – Moooo

Duck – Quack, quack

Pig – Oink, oink

Chicken – Buck, buck, buck

Owl – Whoooo, whooo

Sheep – Baaaa, Baaaa

Who can tell me which of these animals the shepherd takes care of?

Sheep!

Correct. Once there was a shepherd who had 100 sheep. He loved all his sheep. Every day, several times a day, he would count all of his sheep. Can anyone count to one hundred?

Hands are raised.

One day when he counted there were only 99. What happened to that one sheep? I’ll tell you. The one sheep wasn’t paying attention, wandered off over the hill, and got lost. Has anyone here ever been lost? When I was little I got lost in a big store. I wasn’t paying attention to where my mommy was standing and wandered down another aisle. Before I knew it, I was alone and didn’t know where my mommy was. I started to cry. But then my mommy must have heard me because she found me and picked me up and hugged me until I stopped crying.

The good shepherd loved that sheep so much that he went over the hill to find it before anything bad happened. He listened carefully and heard the sheep crying: Baaaaa. Baaaaaa. Just as he got to the sheep a wolf came up over the hill. The shepherd took his staff, a long stick, and chased the wolf away. He picked up the sheep and carried it back to the other 99 sheep.

That shepherd must have loved that sheep a lot, don’t you think? There is a person in the Bible known as the Good Shepherd. Does anyone know who the Good Shepherd is?

Jesus!

That’s right. Jesus. We call Jesus the Good Shepherd because he loves us and doesn’t want us to get lost. If we do wander off in the wrong direction, Jesus always tries to bring us back and protects us from those things that can hurt us.

Let us pray: Dear Lord Jesus, watch over us and help us to follow you. If we do wander off in the wrong direction, come find us and bring us back to the fold. Amen.

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104 FANTASTIC CHILDREN'S SERMONS

TIME FLIES

Props: Your wristwatch or an alarm clock.

Scripture:  Ephesians 5:15-16 -- Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

How many of you like jokes? I’ve got some jokes to tell you today that will make you laugh out loud. Here’s the first one: What do Elves learn in school? The Elf-A-Bet.

How about this one: Why do bananas put on sunscreen before they go to the beach? Because they might peel.

Do you like knock – knock jokes?

 Listen to this one:

Knock. Knock.

Who’s there?

Cows go.

Cows go who?

No silly. Cows go moo!

Here’s the last one. Why did the boy throw a clock out the window? He wanted to see time fly.

That was a silly one, wasn’t it? If I would take my watch off and throw it in the air like this (use your watch or alarm clock and toss it into the air), would I be making time fly?

Yes!

Sometimes time flies by very quickly, usually when you’re having fun like when you’re playing a game or watching a good show on TV.

Sometimes time goes by very slowly like when you’re picking up your toys, or trying to fall asleep, or holding your breath.

How many of you think you can hold your breath for 30 seconds?

Let's see if you can. I’ll time you. Ready. Go!

Time the kids with a running watch or one with a second hand.

That 30 seconds took a long time, didn’t it?

You are all very young but not too young to understand the importance of time. Time is a gift God gives to us. When we wake up in the morning we need to thank God for a new day. When we go to bed at night we need to thank God that we are another day older and we’ve learned more. Before you know it time will pass and you will be in high school. The older you get, the faster time seems to fly.

Let’s thank God right now for the time God has given us today.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for time. Help us not to waste time but rather do the best we can with the time you give us. Before we know it, time will pass and we will grow older. Help us Lord to grow into the people you want us to be. Amen.

HANG IN THERE

Subscribe today! I will be posting weekly children's sermons to help pastors, youth leaders, and Sunday school teachers with their ministry. Please check out my book at Amazon:

104 Fantastic Children's Sermons

It is available in both paperback ($14.99)  and Kindle (5.99) format.

HANG IN THERE

Hang in There!

Props: Shoestring

Scripture: Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

Does anyone here know how to tie a knot? I brought a shoestring with me today that you can use to tie a knot. Who would like to try?

Let one of the children tie a knot.

Great job. You’re a good knot maker.

Did you know it is important to learn to tie knots? We learn to tie our shoes with a shoestring so our shoes don’t fall off. It’s a special kind of knot that’s easy to untie. That way when you’re ready to go inside, you can untie your shoes and take them off easily. Can anyone here tie their own shoes? 

We use rope for many important things. For example, when I need to put something on top of my car like suitcases or a ladder, I can tie them down with rope. What would happen if I didn’t tie them down?

That's right--they may fall off the car.

I’d like to tell you a rope story. One day three boys, Billy, Tommy, and Joey, went for a long hike in the woods. As they were walking along the edge of a steep cliff,  Tommy slipped and fell over the side of the hill. Joey and Billy thought he was a goner. But then they heard someone yell, “Help!”

They looked over the cliff and saw their friend about fifteen feet below on a ledge.

“What are we going to do?” said Billy. “How can we save Tommy?”

Joey said, “My dad told me that whenever you are in trouble, stop and ask the Lord for help. We can do anything when we ask God, because God will lead us and give us strength.”

“Good Idea,” said Billy. “Let’s pray.”

So they bowed their heads and said, “Lord, help us save our friend.” After they said, “Amen,” Billy remembered seeing an old rope down the trail someone had left behind. Billy ran back to get the rope.

 While Billy was gone, Joey kept talking to Tommy. “Hang in there, Tommy,” he said. “We’re going to get you off that ledge. Don’t worry. Just hang in there.”

 Billy found the rope, a nice long one. When Billy got back, they tied one end to a tree then dropped the other end down to Tommy.

Joey said, “Put the rope around your waist and tie a knot.”

Tommy had practiced tying knots at his scout meetings. He didn’t have any troubles tying a good knot. Slowly but surely, Joey and Billy pulled Tommy up, up, up, until they dragged him over the edge of the cliff.

“We’ve learned two important lessons today,” Joey said.

“We sure did,” said Billy. “Whenever you’re facing a problem, make sure you pray. God gives us strength to do all things God wants us to do.”

“Yeah,” said Tommy. “And the other lesson is make sure you learn to tie a good knot.”

Let us pray: Dear Lord, whenever we are in trouble or are facing a problem, remind us to hang in there and come to you in prayer. We know you will give us the strength and the answers we need. Help us also to learn important skills like tying a knot. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”