The Needs of Sheep – John 10 & Psalm 23

We have recently discovered another great resource from Scripture Union UK in their All-Age Lectionary Services books – one each for Years A, B, and C in the common lectionary series – and we would urge you to look at these if you are able to.

Now, using the Year B book we did our usual thing of combining two different services to come up with one that more embodied the Come & See worship style, and came up with “The needs of sheep”, starting with a reading from John 10.

Never underestimate the fun to be had getting the congregation to interact with a Bible Reading. With one person reading, and another using pictures on paint sticks as prompts, we had everyone call out “Baaa” (sheep), “Yeah” (shepherd), “Squeak” (gate), or “Boo” (wolf) during the story. It can be quite hilarious – especially when your assistant gets muddled up with the pictures!

John 10
One day, Jesus said, “If a man sneaks over the fence to get into a sheep (baaa) pen, he probably is a thief. If he calls the sheep (baaa), they won’t come because he’s a stranger. His voice frightens them and they run away. But the real shepherd (yeah) enters through the gate (squeak). And when he calls his sheep (baaa), he uses their names, and they know his voice.

“I am the good shepherd (yeah). I know each of My sheep (baaa) by name, and My sheep (baaa) know Me. And I am the gate (squeak). Those who come through Me will be saved. They will have everything they need.

“Sometimes a man is hired to watch over the sheep (baaa),” continued Jesus. “But this man does not own these sheep (baaa) and he does not really care about them. He just works to get paid. If a wolf (boo) comes in the middle of the night, the man runs away! And the wolf (boo) attacks the sheep (baaa) and scatters the flock. The man doesn’t even care–because they’re not his sheep (baaa).

“But I am the good shepherd (yeah),” said. Jesus. “And I lay down My life for My sheep (baaa).

Psalm 23
The Psalms are wonderful examples of God’s people crying out to Him through all the events in their lives – crying out in joy or anguish, praise or complaint, in times of trouble or times of plenty. But they can sometimes be a bit inaccessible to children. Paul Dallgas-Frey has great versions of not only the Psalms, but also Bible stories and prayers for Kids, and we used his version of Psalm 23 in this service.

Instead of a sermon this time, we sat down and talked about the needs of sheep, and how, like sheep and their shepherd, we have similar needs from Jesus, our shepherd. Then, during our prayer time, we gave out pieces of paper with pictures of sheep on them and invited the congregation to write (or draw for the younger ones) on them what they wanted to bring to God in prayer. The “sheep” were then placed in a “sheep pen” and we offered our prayers and concerns to God. We finished with the wonderful Stuart Townend version of “The Lord’s My Shepherd” which you can see for yourself on YouTube:

You are Fearfully & Wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)

Last week we used a skit called “I’ve come to light that candle” (available from the Ready, Steady, Act Now part of Sheila Hamil’s website). Although the suggested theme of the skit is about carrying God’s light to the world, we were struck by the way the Devil put down each of the characters in turn – attacking their self worth and belief in their own value – and we decided to focus on the fact that we all have worth in the eyes of God.

For our craft we made up this mirror to emphasise that yes, that person there looking out at you is valuable and important to God.

You need:

• Mirror finish plastic plates – found these in the Just Incredible shop at NZ$5.90 for 6 (I’m sure there will be something similar available in other countries)
• Card
• A variety of stickers of your choice
• Ribbon
• A printed verse. We used “You are fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) which tied in with the Father’s Love Letter that we did a few weeks ago.

Pre-Prepare:

• Cut pieces of card to size so that they cover one side of the outer edge of the mirror plate (this is why I chose the square plates and not the round ones!) We provided a selection of colours for the children to choose from.
• Print out your chosen verse and cut to size.
• Cut ribbon to a suitable length

Assemble:

• Glue your choice of card to the outer edges
• Glue on the printed verse
• Attach stickers to personalise.
• Tape a piece of ribbon to the back so that the “mirror” can be hung up.

And there you have it – one personalised mirror ready to emphasise that YOU have worth!

The girls showing off their mirrors