Audience: Children, (possibly youth if you ham it up quite a bit to engage them)
Scriptures: Psalm 23
Description: This lesson teaches about a shepherd and how he cares for his sheep. It makes comparisons to Jesus as The Shepherd who cares for His sheep (those who believe in Him). It also briefly introduces David as a shepherd in anticipation of beginning his story during the next lesson.
Rhyme Time: God loves me; I’m under His care.
Wherever I go; He’s always there!
Time: 30-45 minutes
Materials:
o Shepherd’s costume (sheet with a hole for your head to go through, belt made out of a piece of fabric, 3 ft x 2 ft piece of fabric to go over your head, headband made out of fabric)
o Something to act as a shepherd’s staff (The size and shape of the staff are important, because it will be part of the lesson. It should be a long, slender stick (maybe 6 ft or longer), with a hook on one end. It can be natural or manmade.)
o Something to act as a shepherd’s rod (The size and shape of the rod are important, because it will be part of the lesson. It should be a straight, long (4 ft or longer) and about 2 inches in diameter, with a knob at one end. This knob helps the shepherd use the rod for defense.)
o Sheep hats (can be as simple as headbands with cotton ball ears) for the kids who will help you with your lesson. (I recommend 6-8.)
o Snake, wolf, bear, lion and fly hats (differently colored headbands with ears that represent each animal – one of each)
o A Ziplock bag full of good, green grass and a Ziplock bag full of dead grass or weeds.
o A glass off clean water and a glass of muddy water.
o Olive oil (one bottle)
o Mustard powder (one can / bottle)
o Cinnamon or other powder in spice form (one can / bottle)
o Bowl for mixing oil and powders
o Spoon for mixing oil and powders
o A bag with some rock salt in it.
o Optional – A “wool coat” – a large piece of fabric with cotton balls on it to represent wool.
Preparation:
o Most of the information for this lesson was taken from a book entitled, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller (1970, HarperCollinsPublishers). It’s a good read and a good story if you have the time and can find a copy.
o Make costumes, and have them on-hand.
o Set out bowl, spoon, oil and powders. You will mix them during the lesson.
o Find all the Scriptures from the lesson and bookmark them in a Bible for your reading volunteer.
o Gather some good grass and some bad grass, and fill two Ziplock bags with them.
o Pour some clean water in two glasses, and make one of them dirty with a little dirt.
o Optional – if you use the “wool coat,” you will need to make it out of a piece of fabric with some cotton balls glued to it. After you’ve made it, drag it through the soil and grass to make it dirty and clogged.
Procedure:
Use the following script or modify to suit your needs:
o “There is a very famous psalm that many people have memorized, because it gives them peace and calm when they are going through difficult times.”
o “Does anyone know which psalm it is?” (Take responses if there are any.)
o “Right, it’s Psalm 23. It’s very short, but it has a lot of meaning.”
o “It was written by David, the most famous and loved king of the Israelites.”
o “It’s a poem about God that describes Him as a Shepherd watching over a flock of sheep.”
o “David, of course, knew all about shepherds and sheep, because he was a shepherd boy until the time that he killed Goliath, the giant.”
o “So, using everything David knew about being a shepherd, he tells us what God is like.”
o “Jesus liked the metaphor, too, because He said to His disciples in John 10:11, ‘I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.’”
o “So, let’s take a look at Psalm 23 and see what it tells us about God from a shepherd’s point of view.” (Ask for several volunteers to come up and be your sheep. Put the hats on them, and have them get down on all fours in a “flock.” Ask other volunteers to act as a wolf, lion and bear. Put the hats on them, and tell them that their job is to go to the edges of the room and only come to attack the sheep if they wander away from the others. Then, have a volunteer read Psalm 23:1.)
o “The first part of that scripture says, ‘the Lord is my Shepherd.’ Sheep can’t just take care of themselves. They need a shepherd.”
o “If they are left alone, they wander off and get into trouble.” (Ask your volunteers to wander around by crawling to different places in the room. When one wanders near the “snake,” the “wolf,” the “bear” or the “lion,” rush to save it. The “snake,” “wolf,” “bear,” and “lion” should pretend to attack the sheep.)
o “We are like those sheep. We often get ourselves into trouble when we go wandering away from our Good Shepherd, Jesus.”
o “It’s also important to follow only the Good Shepherd. We must know His voice so that we don’t follow the wrong shepherd. Jesus talked to His disciples about this.” (Have volunteer read John 10:1-5.)
o “The LORD is my Shepherd – not Satan or anyone working for him. We only listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, and we only follow Him.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:1 again.)
o “The Scripture says ‘I shall not be in want.’ That means that, because the Lord is my Shepherd, I will have everything I need.”
o “It doesn’t mean that I’ll get everything that I want to have – just that I’ll have everything I need to have.”
o “A good shepherd gets up early every morning and goes to inspect his flock.”
o “He examines them to make sure that they are healthy and happy and able to stay on their feet.” (Pretend to look over your sheep to make sure they are okay.)
o “He can easily tell if they are sick or if they need special attention.”
o “His sheep don’t need anything, because a good shepherd takes care of everything that is necessary for them.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:2.)
o “It is almost impossible for sheep to be made to lie down unless four needs are met.”
o “#1 – They must not be afraid.”
o “Sheep are afraid of many things and for good reason.”
o “They have no way to defend themselves.”
o “Their only means of protection is to run.” (Allow wild animals to attack, and have the sheep run away in all directions. Then have the wild animals return to their places, and go gather up your flock.)
o “Nothing makes sheep feel more secure than to see their good shepherd in the field with them.”
o “For us, we can be calm and free from fear, because we know that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is always with us.” (Have volunteer read Deuteronomy 31:6.)
o “God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In other words, He will never give up on us, even if we mess up sometimes.”
o “Because of this, we can be strong and courageous! God is all-powerful, and He will protect us!”
o “#2 – If you want your sheep to lie down, they can’t be in fights with other sheep.”
o “Sheep are mean to each other.”
o “You would think that with all their other enemies, they would be nice to one another, but they aren’t.”
o “Older sheep stiffen their legs, tilt their heads, arch their necks and butt the young ones as hard as they can.” (Demonstrate this behavior playfully with your flock.)
o “And rams are even worse. When they are fighting over girlfriends, their necks swell and get strong.”
o “They furiously butt their heads and horns together to see who is the strongest, and some even die this way.”
o “When the young sheep are worried about bullies, they start to get edgy and lose weight, so a good shepherd will defend the weaker ones.”
o “With the rams, he puts grease on their heads so that they slip off each other when they collide. That way, none of them get hurt.” (Playfully demonstrate this with two of your flock.)
o “Our Good Shepherd knows about the bullies in our live, but He says in His Word that He will take care of us.” (Have volunteer read Ezekiel 34:15-16 and then Ezekiel 34:20-22.)
o “The third thing that needs to happen for sheep to lie down and rest is that the sheep must be free from flies and other insects.” (Ask for a volunteer to come up and put on the fly hat.)
o “There is a certain type of insect, called a nose fly. They love sheep and buzz all around their heads, trying to deposit their eggs in the wet places on the sheeps’ noses.”
o “If the flies lay their eggs in the sheeps’ noses, worms will hatch and crawl up into the sheeps’ heads, causing irritation and inflammation.” (Have fly volunteer ‘buzz’ around the sheep and pester them.)
o “It drives the sheep crazy! To get relief, they will beat their heads against trees, rocks, posts, bushes…anything. They will rub them on the ground, and some even kill themselves just to get rid of the feeling.”
o “A good shepherd will dip the sheep in chemicals and coat their heads in oil to keep the flies off of them.” (Shoo away your fly volunteer, but don’t have them sit down just yet.)
o “For us, the flies represent our worries, our fears, and our frustrations that keep us from resting and having peace.”
o “They buzz around in our heads, looking for a place to land and lay their eggs.” (Have your fly volunteer buzz around you.)
o “If we allow them to stay, these fears and worries will paralyze us and keep us from doing all the things God wants us to do.”
o “Our Good Shepherd knows about these, and He offers us perfect peace if we will just trust in Him.” (Have volunteer read 2 Corinthians 10:5.)
o “Every time we have a negative thought, He asks us to capture it and take it prisoner until our thinking becomes obedient to God.” (“Capture” your fly volunteer, and hold him/her still for a moment.)
o “You see, Satan is the father of lies. He lies to us all the time. In fact, he can’t even tell the truth, because his native language is lying.”
o “But God will always tell us the truth.”
o “When we have a negative thought, we should ask God about it. He will tell us if it is true or not.” (Have fly volunteer have a seat.)
o “The fourth and final thing that a good shepherd has to do to help the sheep rest is to make sure they aren’t hungry.”
o “Sheep will eat bad grass and drink bad water even when good grass and good water are available, because….well….they just aren’t that smart.” (Offer your flock a choice between the Ziplock bags of good grass and bad grass. Then offer them a choice between the clean water and the dirty water. Try to really sell the bad stuff.)
o “I’m sorry to say this, but we are a lot like those dumb sheep.”
o “Our spirit is thirsty for what God calls ‘living water.’”
o “Living Water is the Word of God – the Bible.”
o “It satisfies our spiritual thirst and gives us peace and joy.” (Take a drink of the clean water.)
o “Unfortunately, we will drink just about anything but Living Water in order to satisfy our thirst.”
o “We want sticky, sweet things, and we try to satisfy our spiritual thirst with money or entertainment or other things that can sometimes be bad for us.”
o “We drink lots and lots of them, because even after we drink, we are still thirsty.”
o “The only thing that can satisfy our spiritual thirst is God and His Word.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:2 again.)
o “The second part of that verse talks about quiet waters. Some Bible translations call them ‘still’ waters.”
o “You see, sheep need quiet or still waters, because rivers and streams are dangerous for a 300 lb washcloth with ears.”
o “If the sheep slips into the water, it will start soaking up water and sink to the bottom.” (You might sprinkle some water on the sheep just for laughs at this point.)
o “So the shepherd would go to the stream and use stones to divert some of the water into a pool.” (Pretend to use rocks to divert a stream.)
o “There, the sheep could drink without being afraid.” (Have your flock pretend to drink.)
o Water in Scripture often points to God’s Word. I told you that it is sometimes called, ‘Living Water.’”
o “We need to drink deeply of God’s Living Water every day during the still hours of the morning.”
o “If we will make the time for Him, He will divert some special truths for us and teach us wonderful things.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:3.)
o “Sheep sometimes get ‘cast down,’ a term that means they get turned upside down like a turtle.” (Demonstrate with one of your flock.)
o “Sheep get cast down when their wool gets too heavy or when they lie down in a place that isn’t level.”
o “When they realize that they can’t get up, they panic and start kicking their legs frantically.” (Demonstrate with your flock.)
o “This causes gasses to build up in its body and cut off the blood supply to its legs.”
o “If the shepherd doesn’t ‘restore’ the sheep to its feet soon, it will die.”
o “He restores it by gently rolling it on its side and massaging its legs.” (Demonstrate.)
o “Sometimes, we get ‘cast down.’”
o “We feel sad, depressed or hopeless, but we can’t get back on our feet.”
o “God comes along during those times and encourages us through prayer, His Word or through other people.”
o “I mentioned that a sheep would often get cast down because of the heavy weight of his wool coat.” (If you have it, put the imitation wool coat on one of your flock.)
o “To prevent this, the shepherd would shear the sheep.” (Pretend to shear your flock.)
o “Sheep hate being sheared, and they will fight it with all their energy sometimes.”
o “But once it’s over, they feel so good, because their wool coat is always caked with mud and poo and fleas and ticks and burrs.”
o “Wool represents our sinful nature. Priests were not allowed to wear it into the Temple of God for this reason.”
o “Our sinful nature gets so clogged up with dirt and nasty stuff that it’s a huge relief when God takes the shearing clippers to us, but we don’t like to be sheared.” (Show children the clogged wool coat.)
o “Shearing represents God’s discipline in our lives. It’s uncomfortable and sometimes painful, but it is very necessary to help us get free from our sin.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:3 again.)
o “Sheep are creatures of habit, and they will blindly follow a sheep in front of them even if they are going in the wrong direction.” (Have flock demonstrate by getting a “lead” sheep to walk in circles.)
o “We do that sometimes, too, but God will lead us down new, righteous paths that honor Him.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:4.)
o “Sheep are low on the food chain, and almost everything is a threat to them.”
o “Wherever they go, they are surrounded by enemies.” (Have “enemies” circle in close to the sheep.)
o “Christians, too, have enemies everywhere. Satan attacks us whenever he sees a chance.”
o “But God is with us, and we never need to be afraid.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:4 again.)
o “A shepherd has two main tools for leading the sheep – a rod and a staff.”
o “A rod looked like this.” (Show rod.)
o “It was typically cut from a young tree and carved to specifically fit a young shepherd’s hand.”
o “A young shepherd boy would spend hours and hours practicing his throw with his club, learning how to send it whistling through the air with speed and accuracy.”
o “This way, he could defend the sheep from their enemies (pretend to scare away some of the enemies with the rod) and keep the sheep from going into places they shouldn’t.” (Demonstrate how you could use the rod to scare a sheep away from a place where one of their enemies (i.e., a snake) could be hiding.)
o “The shepherd’s staff was entirely different.”
o “It was designed like this (show staff) in order to be of the most help to the sheep.”
o “It was a long, slender stick with a hook at the end.”
o “The hook was used to bring sheep closer for inspection or to unite a new lamb with its mother without getting the scent of a man on it.” (Demonstrate.)
o “It was used to guide the sheep along the right path or as a gentle way to let the sheep know that the shepherd was near.” (Demonstrate.)
o “This is a picture of God’s justice and His mercy – of His discipline and His grace – of His protection and His care.”
o “The rod represents God’s authority, power and discipline, and the staff represents His grace and unconditional love.”
o “Some people think of God as only power, justice and discipline; some think of Him as only love.”
o “Neither are a complete picture. God is both justice and mercy – both discipline and grace – and all of it is done because of His love for us.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:5.)
o “A table to a shepherd is a table mesa – a high place in mountain country, where sheep are led to graze in the summer months.”
o “The shepherd goes ahead of the sheep and prepares the area by pulling poisonous weeds and scouting the area for dangers.”
o “He takes salt and minerals and spreads them over the whole area so that the sheep will eat them and improve their diet.” (Pretend to spread the minerals, and then have your sheep graze.)
o “God does the same for us. He blesses us even in the middle of all our enemies.”
o “And Jesus told us in John 14:1-4 that He is preparing a place for us in heaven.”
o “He said that He’s coming back to get us and that He will lead us to that place He has prepared.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:5 again.)
o “David, the writer of the psalm, is talking about a few things in the last part of this verse.”
o “When guests came to your home for dinner in Israel, your responsibility to them included anointing their heads with oil and to making sure they had plenty to drink.”
o “The anointing was to moisten the skin, since Israel is surrounded by desert.”
o “But it was also a token to say that this person is special.”
o “Shepherds used anointing, too.”
o “Remember about the nose flies I told you about?”
o “Remember how the shepherd would put oil on the sheep’s head to keep the flies away?”
o “The shepherd would mix olive oil or linseed oil with sulfur and tar.” (Mix oil, cinnamon and mustard powder in the bowl, and then smear a little on the forehead of each of your sheep.)
o “The flies couldn’t land, so the sheep stayed calm.”
o “God anoints us – not with oil typically but with the Holy Spirit.”
o “This anointing sets us apart as special to God. It marks us as His children, and it protects us from Satan’s evil plans.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 23:6.)
o “Sheep have really good poo. It’s so good that they are sometimes called, ‘the animals with the golden hooves.’”
o “After they have left a grazing place, all their poo fertilizes the ground and makes it even better for growing things.”
o “So when David talks about ‘goodness following him all the days of his life, it’s kinda funny.”
o “The sheep poo; everything grows – goodness follows them everywhere they go.” (Have your flock walk around, and follow them. Say, ‘A little goodness here; a little goodness there. Goodness, goodness, everywhere. Thanks, little guys!’)
o “For us as Christians, we ought to leave everything better than we found it. By doing that, we leave goodness and mercy everywhere.”
o “Finally, David tells us that he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
o “This will be true for any Christian – especially when we get to heaven.”
o “But with the sheep, this last line tells about how sheep are safe if they stay with the good shepherd.”
o “As they dwell in his house (a shelter from the weather), they can be sure of their safety.” (Dismiss volunteers, and thank them.)
o “We are all a lot like sheep. The Bible says that we are all like sheep who go astray (Isaiah 53:6). That’s why we need a Good Shepherd to lead us and to help us in this world.”
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