FAITH QUEST
Parable of the Lost Sheep and Coin
October 10 – November 7, 2004
Creation Station
Scripture: Luke 15:1-10
Key Scripture Verse: Luke 15:4 If
any of you has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do?
Won’t you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost
sheep until you find it? (Contemporary English Version)
Memory Verse:
And God said, “I will look
for those that are lost and bring back the ones that wander off.” Ezekiel 34:16 (CEV)
Concepts:
·
God seeks out all who are lost.
·
God is merciful.
·
God is the shepherd and we are the sheep.
·
God doesn’t give up on anyone, so we shouldn’t either.
Objectives:
1. Understand that these stories
are parables told by Jesus to teach us to include and care about others.
2. Know that God is the shepherd
who cares for us as a shepherd cares for his sheep.
3. Learn that God does not
dismiss any one sheep, coin or person as being worthless and unimportant.
4. Children will create a drawing of hidden objects
and their searchers as told in these two parables.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1. Welcome the children and introduce yourself.
Wear your nametag. Make sure that everyone is in the right classroom!
Children will either already have name tags on, or will get a nametag
from their shepherd. Make sure that you know everyone’s name and greet the
students individually. Remember you are interacting with a different group
of students each week that may not know you.
2. Start the “lesson time”
with prayer. Ask for volunteers, but plan on praying yourself. A short prayer
thanking God for caring about us, for guiding us and for leading us back to
the right place would be appropriate.
Bible Lesson:
1. Jesus was talking to a group of people. Some were important people from the temple and
others were tax collectors who were sinners because they cheated (some of
you may remember the story of Zacchaeus).
Some of the people who thought themselves to be very good people started
to grumble about the company that Jesus kept.
They said, “This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.” When Jesus heard this grumbling, he told them
two stories or parables so that they would understand and change.
2. Jesus said, “If any of you has one hundred sheep,
and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the ninety-nine (safely) in
the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will be so glad, you
will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors
and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found
my lost sheep.” In the same way there
is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over
ninety-nine people who didn’t need to.”
3. Then Jesus told the people another story:
What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them?
Won’t she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she
finds it? (When she finds it) she will
call in her friends and neighbors and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found the coin I lost.” Jesus said, “In the same way God’s angels are
happy when even one person turns to him.”
4. Each of these stories tells us about something
being lost. If the shepherd or the
woman were like the people who grumbled, they would have thought that one
sheep out of one hundred or one coin out of ten was not worth bothering with.
The grumbling people probably would not take the time to look for them.
But, the woman and the shepherd were like God because they cared enough
to look for that which was lost. And
when they found what they were looking for, instead of being angry about the
trouble of looking, they celebrated. Jesus
was like that with sinners. He forgave
their sins and was happy to be their friend. Likewise, God forgives sinners and is filled
with joy when they come to him and make God part of their lives.
Application:
1. Create! READ
the Bible story (1-4 above) with expression. Pass out drawing paper, markers or crayons and
stencils
of a shepherd, a Biblical woman, a coin and a sheep. Tell them that they do
not have to use the stencils
if they wish to draw freehand.
2. Explain that they will be creating a picture
of one of the stories, as if it were a “Mini I Spy” or “Where’s Waldo?” picture. Their drawing with the sheep or the coin hidden
in the details of the picture can become a game to play with their friends
and family.
3. Steps: First
draw either freehand or by tracing a stencil, the shepherd or the woman.
On another part of the paper draw a coin or a sheep as appropriate.
Now fill the paper with background drawings so that the sheep or the
coin are hard to find. Clouds in the
sky, and bushes, rocks and mountains on the ground should surround the shepherd. The woman should be inside a house, surrounded
by furnishings, her broom and walls.
4. Clean up! Involve
everyone in cleaning up so that you will have time to share together in the
closing. You may want to have a pre-arranged signal for clean up and tell
them at beginning of art project what that will be - perhaps giving them a
5 minute warning and then the final clean up notice to allow those who need
a bit more warning that they need to complete whatever they are working on.
5. Turn out lights and lock the classroom door
when leaving.
Reflection Time:
1. Ask the shepherds to pass out Journals and pencils/markers.
The children should spend a few minutes reflecting upon the morning's
lesson – Were you ever lost? How does it feel? Would you want someone to care enough to find
you and help you? Did you ever lose
something and then get excited when it was found? What was the same in both of these stories?
Why do you think Jesus told these stories?
2. At 10:40 ask the kids to close their journals
and prepare for the closing prayer.
Closing:
1. Encourage them to think about how Jesus wants
people to follow him and to help other people who have lost their way know
about God.
2. Tell them that their Pennies will be given to the
3. Say the Key Memory Verse together (see above).
You may want to have this verse printed on a banner and hung in the room,
write it on the white board in the room, or have it on slips of paper that
each child can take home.
4. Pray! Ask the children if they have any prayer
requests. Thank God for being our shepherd. Help us to follow wherever God leads us.
Teacher preparation in advance:
1. Read the scripture passage
and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Workshop.
2. Practice reading the Bible story (above) with
expression.
3. Prepare an opening prayer in case nobody volunteers
to pray.
4. Check the art room and the supply closet to
see what supplies exist. Using the
attached pattern,
cut stencils. Experiment with what
the children will be doing.
5. Prepare all the materials you will need for
the creation process. Have the materials
ready to go. There will be limited
time for the creation process, so do everything you can to conserve time.
6. Decide how you want to close the lesson. Prepare
a prayer or ask for suggestions.
Materials:
9” x 12” drawing paper
Markers or crayons
Stencils cut from cardstock
References:
