Opening Activity

Guess the Animal Game

• I want you to guess the animal I will describe:
  o It has two ears
  o It has a white covering over its body that keeps it warm
  o It has four legs
  o It walks in groups with its friends and family
  o It makes the sound “baa baa”
• Can anyone guess? Yes, it’s a sheep.

Bible Story

• Show a picture of sheep in the pasture with a shepherd.

• What do you see in my picture? Allow the children to respond

• Can you see a lot of green plants with lots of good stuff for the sheep to
  eat?

• Can you also see very big and green trees? This must be a great place to go when it is really hot. They can protect the sheep from the hot sun.

• Can you see a nice big river where the sheep can drink from?

• Point to the shepherd in the picture. And who is this? Is this the picture of the good shepherd? He looks very nice. He must be doing a good job of protecting the sheep.
• The bible tells us that God is a lot like a shepherd.
• Psalm 23 was written by King David as a joyful acknowledgement of what the Lord God meant to him. David was a shepherd when he was young and probably a good one. So, he knew that a good shepherd must take care of the flock by keeping them together, properly counting them, and ensuring no sheep strayed or wandered into harm.
• Good shepherds provide green pastures and drinking water for their sheep. David called God his Good Shepherd because he knew God loved him and wanted to take good care of him. In this month’s lessons, we will see that when we follow Jesus with all our heart, He will be our Good Shepherd, keeping us safe and sound.
• Let us open our bibles and read Psalms 23:1, The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. I lack nothing means we have everything we need.
• David’s God and our Lord Jesus Christ are the same Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd took care of David just as he is taking care of us now. Blessings will always be plentiful when we follow the Lord Jesus down paths of righteousness.
• God is watching over us like a shepherd watches over his sheep. He keeps us safe, makes sure that we have enough to eat and a place to live. He takes care of all our needs.

Questions

1. Who is your shepherd? (The Lord Jesus)
2. Who wrote Psalms 23? (David)
3. Why is God like a shepherd? (Because he gives us everything we need)
4.  I lack nothing means? (We have everything we need.)
5. How is God watching over us? (He keeps us safe, makes sure that we have enough to eat and a place to live. He takes care of all our needs.)