I AM the Good Shepherd

7th July 2013

Have the kids line up outside the class. Dress up as shepherds if you can.
Call them one-by-one by name before letting them enter the class.(You can pass out the name tags and take attendance then)
Once they are seated, say: “Do you know that the Shepherd will open the gate to the sheep pen for his sheep? He will call them by name, and they will listen to His voice. Today, we are all sheep, and we learn about how our Good Shepherd takes good care of all of us.”

Prepare a short quiz. Choose 3-4 animals or cartoon character or famous personalities and describe them with some clues. You can put clues on ppt slides or, for younger children, hide some soft toys in a bag and pull it out when they guess the answer.
E.g. I have white wool. I like to eat grass. <Sheep>
I am a rodent. I have big black ears. I am quite famous on TV. <Mickey Mouse>

When Jesus came to earth, He gave us a picture of who the Father was. When we see Jesus, we see God.
Jesus also gave us several clues so that we can know more about Him and know who He is.
One of the clues He used to describe Himself was: “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD”
Read out John 10:1-18 (for older kids)

Jesus was making a declaration. It was “I AM”. Not “I may be” or “I could be” or “I should be”. Not “I was” or “I will be”. He’s telling the people who He really is. Now. Today. Every day.
“I AM” is a also a claim to God’s divinity. God calls Himself the “I AM”. When He spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He said, “I AM the I AM”. Jesus was declaring that He was God Himself.
Jesus is God. Yesterday. Today. Forever.

Jesus is not like any other good shepherds out there. He’s the ONLY Good Shepherd. Just like He’s not like any other god, but THE ONLY God.

Jesus is good. Even when things go wrong or bad things happen, we can always trust that our God is good and has good plans for us.

What does a shepherd do?

A shepherd’s job is a very lowly one but also very important.
In Psalm 23, we learn of how the shepherd provides all the sheep’s needs — water, green pastures, oil, rest, safety etc

In John 10, Jesus tells us that he:

a. Lays down His life for the sheep

The hired hand will run for his life and forget about the sheep if he sees a wolf coming
The Good Shepherd cares for the sheep and is willing to die for His sheep
Jesus repeats this several times to emphasise that He is the Saviour who will die for all of us — His sheep.

b. Knows his sheep and calls them by name

Jesus knows us. He cares for us. He leads us.
We know His voice. We can follow Him.
He knows us intimately just as the relationship between God and Jesus … SO CLOSE!
And no one can take us away from Him. “No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:28)

c. Came to give us life

The thieves and robbers climbs into the sheep pen without going through the door; they come to steal, kill and destroy.
But the Good Shepherd comes to give us all abundant life! (John 10:10)
The Good Shepherd comes to give us all eternal life! (John 10:28)

JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD. He lays down His life for us. He knows us intimately. He came to give us eternal and abundant life!

Memory Verse activity: John 10:11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Baa Baa Song