Devotion Time - Day 16

Hi there! Here is Day 17 for you all! This one has lots of crafty opportunities that your little ones might enjoy....making sheep! May they all come away knowing just how incredibly God loves each and every one of them now and always. God Bless, Kate


Day 16


Matthew 18:10-14, Luke 15:3-7
“The Lost Sheep” p. 391 in The Beginner’s Bible


Treasure Hunt: Oh No! I have lost my precious lamb, do you think you can help me to find him again?  He’s soft and fluffy and wooly and like to be called Lambie! I think he went to hide our Treasure Map and became lost himself, so when we find him we can get our treasure map and go and find it too!


The treasure when found is a colouring picture of sheep and a shepherd and cotton wool balls or pop corn to stick on to make their wool! Put them aside until after the story.


Beginning Activity/ Chat: Have a think about losing things. Ask the kids have they ever lost anything that was really important and how did they feel when they lost it? Did they keep looking for it until they found it? Did we just leave the lamb and the treasure map lost or did we keep looking until we found it?


In today’s true story from the bible we are going to hear another story Jesus told to teach his followers and friends. In this story he wants us to learn that we are very loved by God and they he will not give up on us until we come to Jesus and ask forgiveness for all the bad things we do. God wants us to be friends with him!


Read “The lost sheep” – in The Beginner’s Bible p. 391 or from another children’s picture book as there are many lovely versions around!
THIS TRUE STORY FROM THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT GOD LOVES IT WHEN WE SAY “SORRY” FOR THE WRONG THINGS WE KEEP DOING AND WHEN WE ASKS HIM TO FORGIVE US.


Questions:

1.        How did the shepherd feel when he lost his sheep? (Sad)

2.        Was the shepherd happy or sad when he found his sheep again? (Very happy)

3.        How does God feel when we say sorry for the wrong things we do (sin) and ask God to forgive us? (Very happy)

4.        Who died for us at Easter time to rescue us from our sins? (Jesus. We could not be friends with God on our own, we needed a Super Saviour like Jesus to help us)

God is just so happy when we realise we need Him and look to Jesus as our rescuer! Without Jesus and his sacrifice dying on the cross for us we wouldn’t be able to be friends with God, all the wrong things we keep doing would get in the way. Praise God that Jesus died for us to take away all those wrong things and make us new again before God!!


Let’s look again at this picture of the shepherd and his sheep. We have some cotton balls/pop corn and some glue here to help us make the sheep’s wool. First we will colour the picture in and then we can stick it on, to help remind us of God’s amazing love for us!


Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you that you love us so much and you always will. I am sorry for the bad things that I have done, please forgive me for those things and help me to love you more.  Please help me to remember to say sorry to you when I do the wrong thing. Thank you that you are so happy when we do say sorry! Amen.


Memory Verse Activities
Continue practicing the song/actions!


You could cut out a whole lot of little sheep and a shepherd. On each sheep you could write a word or section of the memory verse. Then you could play games ordering them behind the shepherd, or taking it in turns to hide one of the sheep and then finding him again. You could even try and figure out which one is missing before you find him. 

Written and Compiled by Kate McIntosh, March 2012.

Some inspiration for this lesson from "Danielle's Place"