God will always love me
WELCOME TO WEEK 3
Have you ever lost something that is important to you? Have you ever been lost? This week we will see what God says about his children who may be lost. Spoiler Alert!! He will never stop loving you!
BIBLE STORY
Play the game ‘hot and cold’. While child is not looking hide an object or stuffed animal. When they open their eyes they can search for the item as you tell them if they are hot, as they get closer to finding the object, or cold as they move farther from where the object is located.
Was it easy or hard to find the object? Did you want to give up or did you believe you would be able to find it eventually. This week we are talking about something that is lost being found. Jesus told 3 parables that illustrated God’s love for us. Notice what is the same in all 3 stories.
Materials: stuffed animal or toy
Read or listen to Luke 15:4-32
How many sheep did the shepherd have? (100)
How many sheep were lost? (1 sheep)
What did he do when he found his lost sheep? (he called his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him)
How many silver coins did the woman have? (10 silver coins)
How many did she lose? (1 silver coin)
Where did she search to find it? (all over the house)
What did she do when she found it? (calls her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her)
How many sons did the man have? (2 sons)
What did the younger son do? (took his share of the money and lived far from his father)
What did the father do when his son returned? (had a celebration and a feast)
In each story something was lost. In each story the person looked high and low until they found what they were looking for. God’s love wants to find us and He never stops searching for us! When we are found, God rejoices over his treasure that is no longer lost.
BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY
Activity
Print the attached sheet and cut into strips of paper. Fill a container, large cup or bowl, with rice, or beans and place the strips of paper into the bowl and mix them in. Child will feel around the bowl until they find a strip of paper to pull out and read. Each slip describes something the prodigal did that hurt his relationships. After they read the paper they tell if God still loved him. The answer is, “YES.”
Materials: printed prodigal son sins, scissors, dry rice/beans, container/bowl
Alternative:
Create a large poster that says “God Never gives up on the lost”. Tape several large sheets of paper together or use a long banner sized paper. Decorate the banner by drawing pictures representing each parable that talks about the lost. To make a 3D banner use cotton balls to make the sheep. Decorate the cotton ball with a black marker for eyes and ears. Place coins of different sizes under the paper and shade over top to make a coin rubbing. Draw pigs and the pigpen or use cut-out pieces of construction paper to recreate the story of the parable. Be creative and use different mediums to create a unique banner.
Materials: large banner paper or large papers taped together, craft items (Cotton balls, yarn, construction paper etc), crayons, scissors, glue
Create:
Using popsicle sticks have child build their own pigpen or sheep pen. They will design and build their pen with the popsicle sticks and create a gate if possible. After they are finished discuss how Jesus loves us and wants what is best for us. He will always search for us and He will never stop loving us no matter how far we go from him or what we might do.
Materials: popsicle sticks or craft sticks, glue
ARTS & CAFTS
CRAFT 1
On a sheet of construction paper, lightly outline a circle in pencil. Have child dip their finger in paint and stamp several times within the circle. While paint is drying, cut out 2 rectangle pieces, an oval and long oval ears on black construction paper. Glue pieces of black paper onto the finger-paints to make a sheep. See here for an example.
Materials: white washable paint, construction paper, black construction paper, art supplies: glue, pencil, scissors
CRAFT 2
Coloring Page
Materials: Coloring sheet printout, Crayons or Markers
FOLLOW-UP
Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep to show how he will always search for us. The parables he used reflected the people he was speaking with. They understood how valuable the silver coin was in order to eat and take care of their weekly needs. They also understood the job of a shepherd to his sheep. They knew that sheep are helpless without someone to guide them. They also understood how heartbroken the father may have been for his son to take his money and then leave home. King David was also a shepherd and he wrote about God being His shepherd.
Read Psalm 23.
The Bible describes Jesus as the Good Shepherd. He takes care of his sheep. We may not fully understand the role of a shepherd but we can understand Jesus to be another characteristic. For example, he is our father, a friend, a comforter, a redeemer, a savior, and a brother. Choose one of those descriptions of Jesus to create a new poem like Psalm 23. Fill in the missing blanks based on the description you chose. Read your new poem to someone.
Materials: printed Psalm 23 fill in the blank poem
Practical Application at Home
It’s easy to see God’s love in the big things that happen in our life, This week look for ways God shows you He loves you every day. Fill in this chart each day by drawing a picture or writing how you saw God’s love for you that day. For example when we do something wrong and we are forgiven by our parents we feel God’s love through our parents. We we ask God’s forgiveness and we feel peace or calmness, we are feeling God’s love through his forgiveness. When a sibling or friend shows kindness or offers help when we are feeling sad, that’s God’s love! Look for other ways this week of God’s love to you!
Materials: finding God’s love chart
Additional Resources
Outings to Reinforce Lesson
Participation in a food pantry or serving food