Jesus, the Good Shepherd — Weekly Christian ed lesson

Lesson background

Children and adults alike form unique bonds with pets. We love and connect deeply with our furry friends despite being different species. Human-pet relationships are not the only examples of love and care across species. Those who raise and nurture farm animals have similar relationships with the creatures they care for. These relationships give us insight into Jesus’ connection to God’s creation. In this lesson, children will explore Jesus as the good shepherd using their experiences loving and caring for pets as context for understanding Jesus’ unconditional love for all of creation.

What you’ll need

• A Bible
• Jesus is like… activity: blank white paper and crayons or markers (optional)
• Observing the shepherd: a computer with Internet access connected to a television or a data projector and “Shepherd and His Flock” video (optional)
• Animals protecting their communities: a computer with Internet access connected to a television or a data projector and “Wild Animals Protecting Their Young” video (optional)

Starting out

Greet the children as they arrive.

Have the children sit in a circle around a table or on the floor. Ask the children to share with the group about their favorite pet (past or present). If a child has not had a pet, ask them to share what their ideal pet would be like.

Ask the children,

• What is the pet’s name?
• What species of animal is the pet?
• What do you love most about this pet?
• Share a story about a time when your pet needed help and you were able to help it

Hearing and exploring the story

Prepare to read aloud John 10:11-18.

Provide the children with the context for the reading:

• This story comes from the New Testament Gospel of John.
• The story recounts part of a conversation Jesus had with religious leaders after he healed a man who had been blind since birth. When Jesus heals the man, he tells him he was healed because of his faith in God. Jesus tells the man and the religious leaders watching the healing that he has come to help those “who cannot see” will be able to see. Jesus is talking about helping people see and know God.
• Jesus then begins talking about sheep and shepherds as a way to help those listening see the relationship between God and God’s creation, especially people.
• Shepherds are people who care for flocks of sheep. Because the diet of sheep is primarily grass and small plants, shepherds must lead sheep to graze (eat) in different locations. The grass in one location cannot regrow quickly enough to keep sheep fed. Shepherds have to know the sheep in their flocks well, so they can safely guide them to pastures to graze.

Read aloud John 10:11-18.

After reading, ask the children:

• What does this reading tell us shepherds do for their sheep?
• What does Jesus do for God’s people that is like a shepherd?
• Why do you think Jesus chooses to talk about himself as being “like a shepherd”?

Responding to the story

To help the children connect the story to their own lives and experiences, invite them to engage in one or more of the following activities:

• Jesus is like… Gather the materials you need for this activity: blank white paper and crayons or markers. Revisit the idea of Jesus being like a shepherd. Ask the children to recount how Jesus is like a shepherd leading his sheep. Hand each child a piece of paper. Ask them to use a crayon or marker to write Jesus is like… at the top of the paper. Then, ask the children to think of other animals or plants that could be used to understand Jesus. You may want to give an example to help them get started. Have the children write about or draw a picture of their comparison on the paper. Ask each child to share their response.
• Observing the shepherd Gather the materials you’ll need for this activity: a computer with Internet access connected to a television or a data projector and the “Shepherd and His Flock” video. Show the children the video noting that the video is an example of modern shepherding which would have been a bit different than shepherding in Jesus’ time. Ask them to notice the interactions between the sheep and the shepherd. After watching the video, have the children share what they noticed. How does the shepherd “lead” the sheep? How do the sheep respond to the shepherd? If Jesus is like this shepherd, what does this video say about him? If we are like the sheep being led by Jesus, what does the video say about us?
• Animals protecting their communities Gather the materials you’ll need for this activity: a computer with Internet access connected to a television or a data projector and the “Wild Animals Protecting Their Young” video. Note that people aren’t always the ones who protect animals from harm. Many animals protect fellow animals in a variety of ways. Show the video. After watching the video, ask the children to recount how the different animals protected their communities (especially the youngest members). Is Jesus like any of these animals? How so? How does Jesus protect and care for us like the animals in the video?