Ages 4+ · Bible Stories · Jesus teaches and helps
The lost sheep
🐑a little sheep🪝a long staff⛰️the hills🤗carried home🎉a party
The lost sheep story.The big ideaJesus told a story to show how much God cares about each one of us.
How it works
Jesus told a story about a shepherd and his sheep. Some grown-ups had grumbled that Jesus welcomed everybody.
The shepherd had a hundred sheep, and he knew every one. One little sheep wandered off to nibble grass, and it got lost.
That evening the shepherd counted, and one was missing. He kept the others safe, took his staff and looked over the hills until he found it.
He held it close, carried it home and called his friends to a party. Jesus said God cares about each one of us.
🪝a long staff to guide the sheep🧱a fold: a pen with a stone wall🏞️green grass and cool water
In those days.Example 1: Find the missing one
- Put some toys in a row and count them together.
- Hide one while your child looks away, then count again.
- One is missing! The shepherd counted and found one was gone.
Example 2: Call like the little sheep
- Say baa, baa together, softly and then louder.
- The lost sheep called, but nobody came.
- Far away the shepherd heard a tiny baa, and off he ran.
Example 3: A shepherd's staff
- Bend a rolled paper to make a curved top.
- A shepherd carried a long staff with a curved top to guide his sheep.
- Hook it gently round a toy lamb.
Example 4: Be glad together
- Pretend to find a lost toy.
- The shepherd was not cross at all, but so very glad!
- Clap and sing like his friends did at the party.
Words to know
- shepherd
- A person who looks after sheep.
- staff
- A long stick with a curved top, to guide sheep.
- fold
- A pen with a stone wall, where sheep sleep safe.
- parable
- A story with a meaning. Jesus told this one.
Watch out
- The shepherd was not cross with the sheep. He was glad.
- He did not go home without it. He kept on looking and did not give up.
- Jesus told this as a parable, a story with a meaning.
- Every sheep mattered, even the smallest one.
Try it
- How many sheep did the shepherd have?
- What did the shepherd do when one was missing?
- How did the shepherd feel when he found it?
- A child is left out at play. What can you do?
Answers: 1. A hundred · 2. He looked for it · 3. Glad · 4. Notice them and be kind
Try at homeWith a grown-up, think of someone who feels left out today, and say hello or ask them to play.
For grown-upsAsk who got lost, who looked and who was glad. For the mission, think of someone left out today and say hello or ask them to play.