Hamburger Series: I am the GOOD SHEPHERD

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 10:1-16, 26-29 Ezekiel 34:1-24 Psalm 23

(Lettuce layer of hamburger)

 Making contact:

Play a game of follow the leader or “Simon says”. You can make up your own game,

 Or play:

 “Do this and do that” When you say, “do this”, and for instance, you put your hands on your head, the children must follow you. 

But if you say, “Do that” and you put your hands in the air, they mustn’t follow you, but must keep their hands where they were. 

So in other words they must only obey you if you say: “Do this.” You can give them many different things to do – kneel, stand on one foot, shake their hands, point, clap their hands etc, but only of you say “Do this.”

 Exploration:

Recently some friends were visiting in Israel, the country where Jesus lived, and they were at a watering place for sheep.

About three different shepherds were there with their sheep. The sheep were all drinking water and the shepherds were chatting. 

Then one of the shepherds decided to go. How was he going to sort out which were his sheep? No problem, he just called them and off they trotted behind him. 

He waved goodbye to the other shepherds.

Then the 2^nd shepherd went and he called his sheep. They went off.

 One of the visitors thought he would call the rest of the sheep. He called and called and started walking off, but they didn’t even look up. They ignored him completely.

When their real shepherd was ready to go, he called them and immediately they obeyed him and off they trotted!

They KNEW their shepherd’s voice and his call and they wouldn’t follow anyone else.

 Each one of them had a name and he knew their names and if they had a sore foot he would put some medicine on it. 

They also trusted their shepherd and that he would find them some nice cool water, some juicy grass to eat, some shade for resting in. 

He would also protect them from any dangers and make sure not one of them got lost. He would count them and call them and look after them like his own family.

Now read John 10:1-15 and every time the children hear the word sheep they must say, “Baa”

Application

Jesus said He is the good Shepherd and just like a good shepherd looks after his sheep so well, and knows each sheep by name, so Jesus knows our names and where we are hurting.

 He leads us and He calls us by name and He provides just what we need. He makes sure we don’t get lost through life.

 He says that we know His voice and that we won’t follow a bad shepherd. It’s not a voice like the one you can hear teaching you now, it’s a voice deep down inside. 

You can hear Him saying: “I love you my child….. Don’t go that way….. It’s too dangerous…… Visit your friend, she is lonely.”

You have these deep thoughts inside – they are the voice of Jesus, the Shepherd, and the more you listen and obey, the more He speaks.

 It’s easy to confuse the voice with your own desires, wishes and wants.

God’s voice will never tell you anything that makes you fell terrible. 

He tells you if you need to say sorry, but He will never tell you to do bad things. You must learn to recognize His voice.

(At this point the teacher can share with the children how they have heard the Shepherd’s voice guiding them, warning them or convicting them of a sin. Maybe a child might also like to share a testimony like this.)

The even more wonderful thing about this Shepherd Jesus is that He was willing to lay down His life and die for His sheep. 

He did this on the cross, to save His sheep. It was the only way He could help them from dying forever and going to hell.

 So He died, so that when we die, we go to heaven. It’s not really death, but passing through to eternity with Him.

Who knows a famous Psalm that David wrote?

 Psalm 23. David used to be a shepherd before he became the king of Israel and he wrote this beautiful Psalm about the Lord being his shepherd.

(Maybe someone else could read Psalm 23 at this point. You could even get an elderly person to visit Sunday school and read it and then tell the children how Jesus has been their shepherd in their lives.)

Challenge to Mission

 Some people are naughty and bad because they don’t have Jesus as their Shepherd. They are behaving like goats! 

Maybe you could tell them about your Shepherd Jesus and how He wants to be their Shepherd too.

Another idea is to visit some elderly or very sick people and recite to them the 23^rd Psalm. They love to hear it and you could bring joy to them by reading or reciting it to them.

Consolidation

 Worksheet. There are four pictures of shepherds with some sheep. 

The children must decide which of these shepherds are good and which are bad. They must put a tick or a cross in the block next to each shepherd.

Memory Verse

“I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 

(Print the memory verse on a picture of a piece of lettuce.)