Prep: Mark your Bible with the verses: John 10:14; Matthew 18:12-14. Print either color story pages or black & white story pages to use with the story: Color: 1, 2, 3, 4. B & W Story Pages 1, 2, 3, 4. Cover with clear shelf paper. For Story Page 2, Make Lift-the-Flap craft (directions on craft page).

Only read words that are not in parentheses for the lesson. The words in parentheses tell you what actions you do. The numbers in parentheses tell you what Story Page to hold up while you are telling the story.

(1) (Point to the shepherd) This is the shepherd. Do you know what a shepherd is? He is the one who takes care of the sheep. He finds pastures with green grass for the sheep to eat. He makes sure they have lots of water to drink. And, he makes sure they are safe from danger. The Good Shepherd counts his sheep every evening to make sure they are all there. Let's count the sheep with the shepherd. One...two...three...four...five ...six.... seven... eight... nine....Uh-oh! One little sheep is missing! The shepherd is upset. It makes him very sad to know one of his little sheep might not be safe. Let's see...which one is missing? Is it Cotton Candy? no...is it Fluffy? no....Is it Marshmallow? yes! He's the one who is missing! Oh, no! He's the littlest one! Quickly, the shepherd grabs his staff and his rod and goes out to look for his little lost sheep.

(None) Let's help the shepherd look for the little lost sheep. "Little sheep, where are you?" Can everybody do the actions with me? He looks high up on the hill. Get up on your tippy toes. (Get on tippy-toes, and place hand above eyes, as if looking far out). Marsh-mal-ow! My precious little sheep, where are you? The shepherd looks way down low under the cliff. Bend down low with me. (Bend down and look under the table). Marsh-mal-low! Do you hear my voice? The shepherd turns around and looks behind him. Let's all turn around. (Make one turn). Ok. Thanks for helping me look for the lost little sheep. Now let's continue with the story:

(2) Next, the shepherd looked in front of the big tree. (Point to tree) No little sheep there. Then he looked behind the big rock (lift up rock). No little sheep there either. Where could that little sheep be? The shepherd loved his little sheep so much that he would not give up looking for him. So he kept looking. Next, he looked inside the log behind the log (lift up log). No little sheep there. The shepherd was so sad. He couldn't find his little lamb anywhere. He called out for his little sheep. Little Marsh-mal-low! Where are you?", the shepherd called out once again. Then the shepherd heard something. Ba-a-a-a Ba-a-a! Listen close. (Cup your ear). Ba-a-a-a Ba-a-a! That sounds like a little sheep! The good shepherd looked behind the bush. (Lift flap on bush) There was little Marshmallow! The silly little lamb was caught in a bush! "Poor baby", said the shepherd. "Don't you worry. I'll get you out of there." Quickly the kind shepherd clipped away at the bush. Everybody show me how the shepherd clips with his scissors. (Move fingers in a cutting motion). Clip, clip, clip. Then the shepherd gently snipped away at the little sheep's wool. Snip, snip, snip. (Move fingers in a cutting motion.)

(3) Finally, his little sheep was free from the prickly bush! How happy he was to have his little lost sheep back in his arms! The shepherd gently picked up the little sheep and hugged him tight! "I knew you were missing, so I came to look for you because you are so precious to me. Please don't ever wander away again, my precious little lamb, ok?" Marshmallow looked up at his shepherd shyly and said, "ok, I won't". As the shepherd set Marshmallow down, he saw that he had been crying. The kind shepherd gently wiped away his tears. (real tissue) "Aw-w-w, you must've been scared, huh Marshmallow?" asked the shepherd. "Yes, I was", said Marshmallow, "I was afraid a big bear or tiger would come and get me when my wool was caught in the bush! Thank you so much for coming to find me. I'm so happy to be back with my shepherd! I'll keep close to you from now on, and follow you everywhere you go." "Oh, that's good to hear!", said the shepherd, "I love my little sheep so much, and I love having them close to me!" "I love my shepherd, too!", said the little sheep.

(4) So the shepherd picked up little Marshmallow, laid him on his shoulder, and carried him all the way home. Little Marshmallow and his shepherd were as happy as they could be! THE END.

CIRCLE TIME: (What does this mean for me?)

That story has a happy ending, doesn't it? In Bible Times, Jesus told a story that means a lot to us today. The story is in the book of Matthew. Here's what Jesus said: (Read Matthew 18:12-14)

That's kind of like our story, when the shepherd was so happy to find little Marshmallow when he was lost? Have any of you ever been lost? That's no fun, is it? Its scary because you don't know which way is home, and you know you can't take care of yourself. Does anyone want to share about a time when they were lost? (Let a few children tell their stories).

Ok, thank you all for sharing. Did you know that people who don't know Jesus are lost too. They are lost in a different way. They are lost because they don't have Jesus to lead them. Remember our Bible verse today? Let's say it together: (Read John 10:14). Jesus loves us so much that he wants us to stay near him.

Remember how the shepherd was calling out the little lamb's name? He was calling out, Marshmallow, where are you? Well, Jesus, our shepherd, knows each one of our names too. He knows ______'s name, and _______'s name.... (Keep repeating, filling in the blank with each child's name). Each one of you is so precious to him that he knows all about you. He knows your name. He knows when you are happy or sad. He even knows how many hairs are on your head. That's how important you are to him.

Remember, in the story, how Marshmallow made the sound, baa-aa, ba-a-a-a, when he knew his shepherd was there? He made the sound so his shepherd could find him. He was calling out to his shepherd for help. And, the shepherd was so happy to find him. That's like Jesus. Jesus is always there for us too; and Jesus loves for us to call out to him. He loves for us to come close to him and pray to him.

Can anyone think of some other ways we can be near to Jesus? (Give them time to answer). Yes, when we read our Bibles, or have someone read our Bible to us, we are also getting closer to Jesus. And, we learn about Jesus in church, too, so its good to be in church as much as we can, isn't it? We can also sing praises to Jesus. Jesus loves to hear our praise! And, Jesus loves us to stay as close to him as we can be!

PRAYER: Dear God,

Thank you for loving me so much that you are my shepherd.

Thank you for taking such good care of me,

just like a shepherd takes good care of his sheep.

Help me to stay close to you always,

and not wander away or get lost.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

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