Parable of the Lost Sheep

Drama Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will act out the story using felted finger puppets created in the art workshop.

For scripture, objectives, and background - see above.

General Tips for Drama Leaders

• You may wish to organize costumes or puppets ahead of time to cut down on a flurry of activity and possible hurt feelings.  Have props ready ahead of time.  This is especially important for the younger children.  The older children often are very creative with props and costumes.
• You will want to limit the amount of time the children are allowed to dress-up.  (They can easily spend the entire class time selecting costumes!)
• Be sure that all children are involved in some way. Some children are intimidated by the prospect of being on a stage.  Offer them alternative roles as well as the children who do not have main parts.  They can always be “sound effects” or “crowds” or stagehands to help change scenery, or video camera operators (for the older children). Remember as well that children can draw the backdrop for the drama on the blackboard or videotape the plays (older children).
• To eliminate competition, you may wish to place the names of characters in a hat and have children choose their parts. 
• Be sure to explain the activity to the children and ask for questions to be sure you are clear.
• Even though videotaping the activities may seem unnecessary, videotaping seems to encourage better behavior from the children.
• Have fun and make this fun for the children!

Preparation and Room Set Up:

• Read the Background Information, teaching tips and lesson materials. Be sure to review the information about using puppets. Plan to review this with the children.
• Gather necessary props. Children will use the sheep finger puppets created in the art workshop.
• Preview the Rotation Music CD. Play the music as children arrive and during journaling.

Please start on time!

Time Guidelines:

Welcome/Introduction    5 minutes
Bible Study                 15 minutes
Drama                        25 minutes
Journal/Closing            5 minutes

Presentation

Early Arrival Activity - Illustrated Story

Have children draw on the blackboard: high rocky mountains and beneath them a pond and a sheep pen with a fence, lots of sheep inside the fence, one sheep somewhere away from the rest of the sheep.

Opening - Welcome and Introductions:

Gather the children near the stage and blackboard with the drawings. Welcome the children and introduce yourself. Make sure you are wearing your name tag and that the children have picked up their nametags. Always begin each class with introductions.

Opening Prayer

Please open class with prayer each week.  You may pray your own prayer or use the prayer below: Dear God, We praise you and we thank you for all our many blessings. Be with us today as we learn more about you.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.      

Important Teacher Notes:

Each workshop includes the Bible story. One of our primary goals is to improve the children’s Bible literacy!If children did not bring their Bibles from home, use the classroom Bibles. Shepherds should help the children locate the stories. Use the Background Information to help you introduce the story.

Remember that as the rotation progresses; the children will become more familiar with the story.  When this happens, allow the children to tell you what they know. The children should still locate the story in their Bibles every week. Use the bold headings in their Bibles to guide your discussion.  You may want to review some of the Bible notes as well. Be sure to fill in any missing information and add additional details using the Background Information to help you. One of the greatest advantages of this model is that children who come regularly learn the story in great depth.

Each lesson contains more Background Information and discussion questions than can be used in one session. Remember, children are studying this story for four weeks! Be sure to follow the time guidelines and leave ample time for the activity.

Dig - Main Content and Reflection:

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10, Matthew 18:10-14, “The Story of the Lost Sheep” page 334-335 Little Kids’ Adventure Bible.

Bible Study - Introduce the Story

Jesus was a master storyteller. People flocked to see him and to listen to his amazing stories. Many of Jesus’ stories were called parables. What’s a parable?  (a special story that has two meanings – it tells just a basic story and also explains something about God or God’s kingdom.) Jesus used everyday examples to help the people understand things about God. Sheep were very common in Jesus’ time.

Today’s parable is about a sheep who became lost. 

Where would we find stories that Jesus told to the people?  (New Testament)

Today’s story is found in the gospels of Luke and Matthew.  What does gospel mean?  (good news)  The gospels are the first four books of the New Testament. Let’s find the story in our Bibles now.

Bible Study - Grades K-2

The Picture Bible

This story is not included in The Picture Bible. Have the children turn to page 600 where it discusses parables. Review this information with the children. Then use the handout attached from The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories to tell the story.

Bible Study – Grades 3-5

NIV Adventure Bible

Help the children locate the story first in Luke 15:1-7 and then in Matthew 18:10-14.  Read as the children follow along in their Bibles, or ask for a volunteer to read. Read and discuss the following Bible notes:

Life in Bible Times:  The Shepherd’s Staff page 1147
Life in Bible Times: The Sheep Pen, page 1179
Let’s Live It:  God’s Not Mad at Me! Page 1075

Reflect: 

• Who is the shepherd in this story?  (God, Jesus)
• Who is the sheep?  (people who wander away, who are separated from God)
• I wonder how the lost sheep felt….
• I wonder how the 99 sheep that didn’t get lost felt when the shepherd left them….
• How did the shepherd act when he found the lost sheep?  (rejoiced, carried it gently on his shoulders)
• Were you surprised by that response?  I wonder why the shepherd didn’t get mad at the sheep for wandering away? 

Reviewing the Bible Story in Later Weeks – Illustrated Story

When it is apparent that MOST children know the basics of the story, please use this supplemental idea to explore the story in more depth.

1. Have children seated at the stage, facing the blackboard with the early arrival drawings.
2. Have children open their Bibles to Luke 15:1. Ask them to tell you what they know about the story. Encourage them to describe the story in the correct sequence. They can look at their Bibles if necessary.
3. As they describe parts of the story, call on pairs of children to come to the blackboard and point out where that particular point is illustrated. (if it’s not drawn on the board, give them 30 seconds to quickly draw it.)
4. Repeat until the story is completely told and illustrated on the blackboard.
5. Use the Reflection questions to discuss the scenes.

Deeper Discussion for later weeks of the rotation

• Who do the sheep in this story represent?”  (people)
• How are we sometimes like the sheep that got lost?
• How are we sometimes like the sheep that stayed where they were supposed to?
• Which type of people does God love most?
• Who was Jesus speaking to when he told this parable?
• Why do you think Jesus told this parable?
• What does this story teach us about God?

For older children: This is a story about God’s grace….grace is God’s free gift of mercy and love. God loves us so much that he will always come after us if we wander away or get lost. John Wesley (founder of Methodism) described this kind of grace as prevenient grace. This grace means before we even know about God, God is loving us and coming after us, calling us to Him. Grace is a FREE gift. It can’t be earned. There is nothing we can do to deserve it – God gives it to us for free.

Did the religious leaders who weren’t happy understand this about grace? (No… they believed they could be “good enough” to earn God’s love by following all the rules. Now rules are a good thing. But rules won’t save us. Only God’s grace will save us.

Memory Verse

Each rotation we encourage the children to memorize the Rotation Memory Verse. Review it with the children at this time.

“Rejoice with me. I have found my lost sheep.”  Luke 15:6b.

How should we respond when someone who is “lost” from God finds God again?  (we should rejoice also)

What are ways we can go and look for people who are lost from God?

Lost and Found – A Puppet Drama

Supplies:

• Felted sheep finger puppets (from art workshop)
• Shepherd puppet
• Jesus puppet
• Puppet stage
• Script
• Streamers and party noisemakers

 Directions:

1. Gather the children together near the puppet stage.
2. Explain to the children that puppets are not toys – they are characters. Puppets should always be treated with care and respect. If there are enough puppets, pass one out to each child to practice puppet skills. (if you don’t have enough puppets, children can use “invisible puppets” using their hands as the puppets. Demonstrate to the children how to move the puppets. Have the children make their puppets jump, walk, nod their heads, shake their heads, act happy, act sad, act afraid, act angry, fall asleep, etc. After everyone is confident with their puppet actors, assign parts for the skit.
3. Teacher or narrator should read the script and pause at the specified parts in the dialogue to allow the children to act out the story with the puppets. Encourage the children to add dialogue and to improvise.
4. The skit is very short and can easily be repeated allowing children to rotate roles.
5. Encourage the children to change the dialogue as the skit is repeated, putting it into their own words.
6. If you have a very large class, divide the class in half and perform the skit two times – with half of the group serving as the audience (Pharisees and crowd) and half working with the puppets.

 Adaptations for Older Children:

Have a child volunteer read the narrator’s part.

Characters:

Narrator
Shepherd
The 99 sheep
The lost sheep
Jesus
Crowd (sitting in the audience and acting like the scribes and Pharisees)

See script at end of this lesson.

Reflect:

• How is Jesus like a good shepherd in the story?  (he loves us, he leads us and guides us, he comes looking for us when we are lost, he wants what is best for us, etc.)
• How are we like the sheep in the story?  (sometimes we wander off, sometimes we follow, sometimes we aren’t very smart in the things we do, sometimes we get scared, etc.)
• What makes people wander away from Jesus?  (distractions, being busy, wanting to do things their own way, etc.)
• How does God respond when we run away?  (he misses us, he loves us, he wants us to return, he looks for us)
• How does God respond when we return?  (happy, rejoices!)                                                                                               

Journal Reflection

The last ten minutes should be reserved for journal time. This is an opportunity for processing and reflection about what the children have learned.

Journal Questions:

Grades K-2:  Draw a picture of the lost sheep. How was he feeling?

Grades 3-5:  How can we get lost like the sheep?  In what ways do we wander away from God?

Closing:

Gather the children together. Review with them one word or concept that they learned in today’s session.  (God’s love, lost, forgiveness, mercy, grace are some suggestions). Encourage the children to come back next week for another workshop, and to invite a friend, especially friends who do not belong to a church.  Remind them to bring their Bibles. Ask for prayer requests and pray together, closing with the Lord’s Prayer.

Clean-up

Have the children put away all props and costumes. Keep the felted sheep finger puppets until the end of the rotation. They will be sent home with the children after the last session. Please encourage them to help us keep our room neat and orderly.

Lost and Found Script:

(Be sure to pause at the indicated points to allow children to add dialogue and act out the story with their puppets.)

Many years ago, Jesus was teaching the people.

(Jesus on stage looking out at audience)

Jesus often used special stories called parables to help the people understand the point of the story. On this day there were lots of Pharisees and teachers around. They were whispering and murmuring about Jesus’ teaching. They couldn’t understand why Jesus was acting so friendly to tax collectors and other sinners!  Didn’t he know these people were unclean! They were BAAAAAA-d people!

(Have audience point at Jesus and whisper to themselves…. )

Jesus heard what they were saying.  He knew that they didn’t like his message. So he told this special story, a parable, to them.

(Jesus leaves stage. Shepherd comes out. Sheep come out, “baa-ing” and following behind the shepherd)

There once was a shepherd who had 100 sheep.

(Shepherd points to the flock of sheep, sheep baa)

Now the shepherd loved his sheep. He took good care of them. He led them around to find nice, fresh green grass to eat and cool, clear water to drink.

(Shepherd moves around and sheep follow him, pausing to nibble and drink)

The sheep knew the shepherd loved them. They loved the shepherd too. They knew the shepherd’s voice and followed him everywhere.

(Sheep rub up against the shepherd, Shepherd pats their heads and leads the sheep around some more).

Now sheep aren’t very smart animals – sweet, but not very bright. They are also very easily frightened.  Wild animals scare them. Fast moving water scares them. Birds scare them. Loud noises scare them. They get scared pretty easily, actually! That’s why the shepherd always stayed close by and takes them to nice, still water. 

(Sheep act scared)

And every night the shepherd would bring the sheep into the sheepfold – a protected spot that was surrounded by rocks or wood. The walls kept the sheep from wandering off and getting lost.

(Shepherd guides sheep over to one spot – all sheep huddle together, “baa-ing” – one sheep doesn’t go with the crowd)

So one night the shepherd gathered all his sheep together and brought them to the fold for the night. As they entered into the gate, he counted, “1, 2, 3…..97, 98, 99”

(Shepherd acts like he is counting sheep)

“OH, NO!!!  Only 99!  I had 100 sheep.  Where is my last sheep? Maybe I should count again and make sure. 1, 2, 3….. 97, 98, 99…”  Still only 99!  Where is my other sheep? What should I do?  I still have these 99 sheep here…. Only one is missing…. What should I do?

(Ask audience what they think the shepherd should do…. Go after the lost sheep or be happy with the 99 who are safe in the sheep fold)

I wonder how the sheep got lost…. What do you think?  

(Ask audience for ideas about how the sheep might have gotten lost – gotten distracted, not paying attention to the shepherd, saw something that interested him, etc.)

Well, I LOVE all my sheep, even this one who has wandered away. I’m not sure why he isn’t here.  I’m not sure why he didn’t follow me like he knows he should. I’m not sure what happened, but I know I love him and I have to go and find him. These 99 sheep are safe here in the sheepfold. I’ll be back after I go and look for the lost sheep.

(Shepherd leaves the fold and heads off to find the lost sheep.  Shepherd looks up and down and all around, finally finds the missing sheep hiding behind a big rock)

There you are!  My precious little lamb! Don’t be scared anymore. Your shepherd is here! I love you and I’m so happy to find you safe and sound! Come with me you sweet little sheep! Let’s go home!

And the shepherd picked up the lost little lamb, placing him gently on his shoulders and carried him back to the sheepfold.

(Shepherd holds the hand of the sheep and carries back to the fold)

When he got home he called all his friends and neighbors together and said, “Rejoice with me.  I have found my lost sheep! Come on everyone… let’s have a party to celebrate!”

(All the sheep and shepherds come together and hug each other, “baa-ing” happily! Audience uses party streamers and noisemakers to celebrate!)

 A lesson by Jaymie Derden from: State Street UMC
 A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.