Rotation.org Writing Team

Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin

A Movement & Music Workshop

(or A Children's Worship Activity)

Summary of Activities

Students will learn and celebrate the Parable of the Lost Sheep and its meaning using a free video from New Walk K!ds Worship that shows simple body and hand motions for the hit contemporary song "Reckless Love of God" by Cory Asbury.  They will reflect on how they are the lost sheep and the lost coin as they sing an alternate version of the song with words from the Parable of the Lost Coin, and then will explore life applications.

Scripture for the Lesson

Lost Sheep: Luke 15:1-7
Astray Sheep: Matthew 18:10-14

Lost Coin: Luke 15:8-10

Key Verse: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices." Luke 15:4-5 (NRSV)

Lesson Objectives

See the Bible Background at Rotation.org for insights on this story and this set's complete list of objectives.

Preparation and Materials

• Read the Bible Background and scripture.
• Flipchart or whiteboard and markers
• Flashlight
• Write the scripture phrases (below) on the flipchart or board before class begins.
• Print the PDF of the Reckless Love - Lost Coin version lyrics. If you have a large group, consider writing the words on "cue cards" in advance, or print it on extra large paper.
• Print the PDF of the Reckless Love lyrics with key motions for reference in the reflection activity.
• Preview and prepare to show on a big screen TV or a projection device in your classroom the short video "Reckless Love Motions" by New Walk K!ds Worship. (This four-minute video is available free online. New Walk K!ds Worship developed this video for their children's worship; they have more videos on their YouTube channel. If you'd prefer to use another song, see the "Alternate" option at the end of this lesson.)

See the technical notes at the end of this lesson for how to use your cellphone to show YouTube videos on a TV or a screen, and how to download the videos for teaching purposes if you can't connect to the Internet in your classroom.

Lesson Plan

Opening Scripture Reading and Movement Activity

Welcome students and tell them what they're going to be doing and learning today.

1. Scripture phrases for motions

Assign individual students the following phrases from the two parables. Write the assigned students' names next to the phrases that you have written on the board. Note: these words come from the NRSV. If you're using a different translation, adjust the phrases to match it.

1. coming near to listen to him (Jesus)
2. Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling
3. a hundred sheep and losing one of them
4. leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness
5. go after the one that is lost until he finds it
6. he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices
7. ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
8. woman having ten silver coins
9. loses one of them
10. light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it
11. When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me'

Tip: If you have fewer than 11 students, have students come up with the motions for more than one phrase. If you have more than 11 students, assign phrases to pairs of students.

2. Create motions

Give your students a minute or so to come up with and practice a motion that pantomimes their assigned phrase. (You can write a reminder note about their motion next to their name.)

3. Read the scripture with the motions

Say: As I read the scripture, listen for your phrase(s). When I get to your assigned phrase, I'll pause for you to perform your motion, and then everyone will repeat it. After reading and practicing the passage once we'll do it a second time without the pauses.

Read the Parables of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7) and Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10) twice.

4. Ask questions about the parables

• What was Jesus teaching that attracted sinners to him? (That God cares for everyone, including those who some people think are "lost" or unworthy of God's love.)
• In the parable, do you think it was wise for the shepherd to leave the 99 and go searching for the one? (Maybe not for a human shepherd, but for God—yes!)
• What is the secret identity of the shepherd and woman in the parables? That is, who do they represent?
• What do these two parables tell you about God's love?  (It is relentless; He doesn't give up.)

Tip: You'll have more opportunity to dig into the meaning of the parables after the movement and music activities.

Movement and Music Activity

To begin, have everyone stand in front of the screen about 3 feet apart. Tell them to concentrate on the motions the first time through and only sing lyrics as they are comfortable. The song repeats key phrases and simple motions several times, and all of the lyrics are on the screen so they are easy to follow and learn.

Tip: Have an older student or helper stand in front as a "song guide" and encouragement to other students.

After the first time through, ask these questions.

• What were your favorite motions and lyrics in the song?

• What was the motion for "chases me down"?  Is God sitting in heaven waiting for his sheep (people) to have faith in him—to earn his love? Or is God always looking for us and seeking to show us his love, even when we are sinners??

• What was the motion for "You give Your love away"? (It was the shape of a cross.) How is the cross a symbol of God's love for us?

• Why do you think the songwriter described God's love as "reckless"?  What was he trying to say?  (See the explanation at the end of this lesson. Use synonyms for "reckless" to help explain it. Remind students that the Pharisees and scribes thought Jesus was preaching a reckless love.)

Play the video a second time, inviting everyone to sing along as they do the motions. Put the class "hams" toward the front of the group to encourage others. Turn up the volume so that shy students won't feel so self-conscious about their voices.

The Lost Coin Version of Reckless Love

Attached to this lesson is a set of "Lost Coin" lyrics for "Reckless Love" that substitutes some phrases from the Parable of the Lost Coin in the chorus and interlude.  Print the lyrics and tape them next to the screen for all to see. Read through the new words and create some new motions that go with the new "coin" lyrics. (However, if time is short, letting the students come up with motions during the song without rehearsing first can be just as much fun. )

Play the Reckless Love video with the volume turned down just enough so that the kids can sing some of the new lyrics over top of the lyrics being sung on the video. It doesn't matter if they get all of the motions right, just that they are trying and are having fun while the meaning of Jesus' parables sinks deeper into their brains

Tip: Print or write the new lyrics on a big cue card or on the board next to the screen for all to see as they sing.

Questions to ask after the "Coin" version of the video:

• Who does the woman represent in the parable of the Lost Coin? (It's God!)
• How do most people treat sinners? (They judge them and exclude them.) How does God treat sinners in these parables?
• God calls us to rejoice. What are some ways you can SHOW your joy to God, rather than just feel it?  (Worship, thankful prayers, serving others—especially "the lost" in this world, those whom others have judged or excluded or refused to help.)

Closing: A Movement Quiz &  Searchlight Reflection

Remind the students that the woman used a light to search for her lost coin. Dim the lights and turn on the flashlight. Sitting in a circle, spin or shine or toss the flashlight so that it finds/points to a student. The teacher then says or sings a phrase from the Reckless Love (lyric sheet attached) and the "found" student must repeat/sing the lyric as they do the pose or motion from the video; students may improvise if they don't remember the motion from the video. (Dimmed lights allow shy performers to feel less self-conscious when it is their turn to do a motion.)

Continue the flashlight searchlight game with questions about the lyrics (you can repeat questions so everyone has a turn or make up more of your own):

• Name something you can do to show forgiveness and love to others like Jesus did.
• How did Jesus “pay it all for you”?
• Name a problem that’s as big as a mountain that Jesus can help us solve.
• What is a way that someone can be Jesus' foe?
• Name an injustice or evil that Jesus wants to kick down.
• Name something that people say that makes someone feel bad or unloved (a “lie” that Jesus wants to tear down).

Close with a prayer composed of three or four favorite "motions" from the lyrics. (See the lyric sheet for ideas.) Have everyone say the words out loud as they do the motions together. End with an "Amen" motion. 🙏

Technical Notes

Showing the YouTube videos in your classroom: If your classroom doesn't have wired or Wi-Fi Internet access, you can use your cellphone's Internet connection to access YouTube (learn how here) and play videos on a larger screen (learn how to do that here).

If you need to download a video from YouTube:
Read this article at rotation.org about how to download a video from YouTube and play it in your classroom on a video device (like a computer or smart TV) if you cannot otherwise connect to the video online.

Adaptations

For Younger Students:

Non-readers won't be able to read the onscreen lyrics, but they will be able to repeat keywords from the lyrics as they sing along, especially when you play the song a second time.

Practice some of the motions ahead of time, saying the lyrics as you make the motions.

For Older Students:

Allow self-conscious students to stand in the back and follow along. (Some kids are more body-conscious than others.)

Give them a copy of the lyrics and have them make up the revisions to use for the Parable of the Lost Coin.

For Those With More Class Time or with a Larger Group:

Consider splitting into "teams" that perform the song(s) for the other team.

Work together to write another verse that is more specific to the Parable of the Lost Sheep, and create motions for it.

For Children's Worship Use:

Invite a teen and/or older children to stand up near the screen and be the song leaders. Eliminate playing the song a second time.

Alternate Song Option:

If your church doesn't allow you to use contemporary-sounding music or the particular song recommended above, use this upbeat version of Amazing Grace on YouTube titled AiG VBS: Amazing Grace. It has the lyrics along with kids doing hand motions on screen.

Note

"Reckless" love?
When the song became popular, some questioned the use of the term "reckless." Surely God's love isn't reckless or harmful! No, it isn't, but that's not what "reckless love" means in the context of the parable Cory Asbury was singing about. Reckless means "loving with abandon, without calculation of what's in it for me, without hesitation." "Reckless" is exactly what the Pharisees and scribes accused Jesus of being—preaching a God who saves the undeserving, tax collectors, and sinners!  A shepherd looking for a single sheep. A woman going to all that trouble for one coin. A father running after his lost son. And at the end of all three parables in Luke 15, God throws a party. What kind of God is this?

Another way to say it might be the "foolish love" of God. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul says that the message of Jesus crucified was foolishness to the Gentiles and a stumbling block to the Jews. What kind of crazy God calls the undeserving and dies on a cross for them?

Written by the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright Rotation.org Inc.