Makes Me Lie Down

Has your mom ever made you go to bed when you really didn’t want to? I bet most of you have to go to bed before you really want to. Is your mom being mean to you? No, she makes you go to bed because she loves you. She wants you to get lots of rest so you won’t be tired the next day. She knows that if you don’t get enough rest, you can get sick a lot easier and you can’t concentrate as well, and you get into more fights because you are tired.

A good shepherd makes his sheep lay down and rest because he knows that they need rest just like we do. He watches over them and keeps them safe so they can be at peace and get lots of rest.

God is a lot like a good shepherd. Sometimes we want things that are not good for us or that God thinks we don’t need right now. Have you ever wondered why your prayers don’t seem to get answered sometimes? Sometimes we ask him for things that he doesn’t want us to have right now. He may say, “no” or he may say, “wait”.

Leads Me to Safety

A good shepherd leads his sheep to places that are safe. He doesn’t just let them wonder where they want. He shows them where it is safe to get a drink of water. He doesn’t take his sheep to a rapidly moving streams where they might fall in a drown.

God is our shepherd. He is a good shepherd. He knows what is good for his sheep. He leads us through his words in the Bible. He gives us good advice about how to live. He also leads us through prayer and his Holy Spirit. He knows what is good for us. He may even let us go through some hard times because he wants us to learn to depend on him. But we can trust him that he makes everything work out for the good because he loves us.

Prayer

Father, We thank you for being a good shepherd. Help us to trust you and depend on you. We know that you love us and want the best for us. Amen

Directions

1.Have your children ice half a Graham cracker with green icing and the other half with blue icing and then sprinkle green coconut on the green icing. Lay a Teddy Graham or marshmallow “sheep” in the “green pastures”

Directions:

How to make:

1. Before class print out the sheep head pattern onto card stock (Heavy Paper) and cut it out.

Sheep Head Pattern

2. Cut the top off the cup to fit the head pattern. Tape the pattern onto the paper cup matching the edge of the pattern to the bottom edge of the paper cup.

3. Fold down the ears.

4. Print out the background pattern onto green paper.

Background Pattern

5. Cut the cotton balls in half so they are thinner and go farther.

6. In class have your children glue cotton balls onto the sheep pattern, draw a face on the cup, color the legs with white crayons or colored pencils, and glue a pink pompom on for the nose. Then have them glue the cup head to the pattern page.

Before class blow up ten balloons and draw faces on them for sheep. Roll up several layers of newspapers to make a “Shepherd’s staff” and tape them closed. Spread out a green blanket or green paper at each end of the room for the “green pastures”. Place the balloon sheep in the middle of the room on the floor. Pick two children to be the shepherds and give them each a “staff”. Designate them each a pasture at one end of the room. Before each round remind the children that their sheep need rest and they should make their sheep lie down in the green pastures. On the word “go” the “shepherds” try to get the sheep onto their pasture to lay down. Players can use any of the sheep that are not on the green pastures. But any sheep that is on the “green pastures” cannot be touched by the other shepherd. The game ends when all the sheep are laying on the “pastures”. The shepherd who has the most sheep laying down on his “pasture” wins the game. (Sheep balloon picture sent in by Sylvia)

Comments About His Activity

We have one child that is terrified of balloons and adapted this game using white plastic shopping bags stuffed with Styrofoam peanuts and/or shredded paper. They don’t float or guide as easily but it eliminated the fear and all children did play. Other possible substitutions might be white Styrofoam balls or aluminum foil balls (made by crushing foil into ball shapes, adding layers of foil until the size of ball desired is achieved). For the “staff” use empty wrapping paper tubes or reinforce 2 paper towel tubes to make the stick/staff. Sent in by Dian Dodson, Missoula, MT.

Directions

• Pick one person to be the shepherd and blindfold that child.

• All the other children are now sheep and have to be quiet as the find somewhere in the room (pasture) to lay down and be very still and quiet while the shepherd is blindfolded and has to go find all of his sheep. **Note that if the kids are following their shepherds order of "laying down in green pastures" then they won't get caught quickly!