Growing Kids in Grace: Parable of the Lost Sheep

Lesson: We are important to Jesus

1. Story & Lesson

The lesson is based on Luke 15:1-7
When Jesus was on earth, many people liked to be His friends. However, many of them were not “respectable” people in the community. They were the outcasts — the tax collectors and the sinners.
The Pharisees and scribes saw Jesus eating with these “sinners” — these unholy people — and they criticised Him. “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” These
Pharisees didn’t like that Jesus was getting so popular. And they thought that He couldn’t be a holy man because He hung out with the “bad” crowd. After all, they were the holy ones — they kept all the laws and did all the right things.
So Jesus told them this parable of the Lost Sheep.
Jesus loved to spend time with the “sinners” because they knew that they needed to be saved. They didn’t pretend to be holy like the Pharisees. And they knew that Jesus loved them despite all that they have done.
When they repented, they were saying that they don’t want to try to save themselves anymore, but that they want to trust Jesus to save us. (Unlike the Pharisees who think they were too good already that they didn’t need a Saviour.)
They were like the lost sheep. And Jesus loved to spend time with them. He was like the man who would go and search high and low and climb up and down just so that He can rescue them. And each time He finds one, there is great rejoicing in heaven.

Do you know that we were all like that lost sheep too? We went our way. We got trapped. We couldn’t save ourselves.
But our wonderful Shepherd, Jesus, didn’t just let us be. He didn’t say that He would just take care of the good sheep, the ones who didn’t wander, who didn’t get lost or who didn’t get trapped. He left all He had just so that He could come look for us. He rescued us, cleaned our wounds and laid us on His shoulders and brought us home with great rejoicing.
And even if there were only one of us who were lost, He still would have come. That’s how great His love is for you and me!
Memory Verse: Luke 15:6 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

2. Activity Ideas

Craft: Any simple sheep-related craft with the words “Jesus is my Shepherd. He looks after me.”

Growing Kids in Grace