Here is our FREE Parable of the Lost Sheep Sunday School Lesson. Teach kids to love others like Jesus loves us. And by the end of this lesson, kids will think of specific ways to love others this coming week. This lesson is great for every Children's Ministry, Kids Church, and Sunday School!  The Bible says, “God is love.” When we live by His Spirit, we will be like Jesus and do things out of love for others instead just doing things for ourselves.  Love is the first fruit of the Spirit, and the more we grow in Christ, the more we will love others. Let’s commit to become growing Christians so that we can overflow with love to those who need it. Let’s be Christians who seek after the lost sheep so that everyone can find their way into God’s kingdom. You're also going to want to take a look at Fruit of the Spirit 9-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum. And, if you like this lesson we have over 100 more free Sunday School Lessons for Kids!

Parable of the Lost Sheep Sunday School Lesson For Kids:

BOTTOM LINE:

Love others like Jesus loves you.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will think of ways to love others this coming week.

KEY PASSAGE:

Luke 15:1-7, The Parable of the Lost Sheep

MEMORY VERSE:

“But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIrV)

SUMMARY:

The Bible says, “God is love.” When we live by His Spirit, we will be like Jesus and do things out of love for others instead just doing things for ourselves.

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Teach us to love like Jesus loves us.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

MEMORY VERSE

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

“But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIrV)

LARGE GROUP:

Divide the room into girls and boys. Have the boys read the verse aloud, and then have the girls read it aloud. Who can read the loudest?

SMALL GROUP:

Give all the kids a Bible. Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

 

SKIT

 

WHERE IS JERRY APPLE??

ITEMS NEEDED:

A counter

A cash register

A bag of grapes

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

1M, 1F

CHARACTERS:

Leo - A fruit lover

Jada - A bored fruit stand clerk

Jada stands at the counter, looking bored to death. Leo enters with a bag of grapes. Another grape is on the floor behind the counter.

JADA:(unenthusiastic) Hey, hey, welcome to Somerset Fruit Stand. Did you find everything you needed?

LEO: I sure did! I came in looking for some yummy red grapes and look what I found.

JADA: Oh wow. Amazing. I can’t believe you found grapes at a fruit stand.

LEO: These grapes are perfect. So juicy, so full of fiber. They’re so good for you.

JADA: How many grapes do you have, sir?

LEO: Just this bunch here. They should all be… Hey, where’s Jerry?

JADA: Who?

LEO: Jerry! He was right here! Jerry?

JADA: Is Jerry your kid?

LEO: My kid? No, it’s one of my grapes!

JADA: Your grapes?

LEO: Jerry? Jerry, where are you?

JADA: You named a grape?

LEO: I named all my grapes. I have Donna, Christine, Rupert, Ally, Misty, Reynaldo, Consuela, Hector, Amanda, Feliz, Robert, Dante—

JADA: Okay, I get it. The grapes all have names.

LEO: I love these grapes! I love them all so much, I can’t leave one behind. Jerry??

JADA:(talks to the audience as Leo looks for the apple) I said I wanted to work at McDonalds. I said, “Mom, please don't make me work at the fruit stand. Let me go to McDonalds.”

LEO: Jerry!!

JADA: But no. She makes me work at the fruit stand.

LEO: Jerry!!

JADA: Sir, why don’t you just get another grape?

LEO: I don’t want another grape! I love Jerry, and I am not leaving without him.

JADA: Well, sir, we close at six, so if you can’t find your grape—

LEO: Jerry! His name is Jerry!

JADA: If you can’t find Jerry before then, you will have to—

LEO: I found him! (picks up the stray grape) Jerry! I was so worried.

JADA: Not as worried as I am.

LEO: I tell you, miss, these grapes, I love them. I would never leave a single one behind.

JADA: You really are crazy about those grapes.

LEO: As crazy as Jesus is about me, lady. He wouldn't leave any of us behind either. How much do I owe you?

JADA: You know, you love those grapes so much, it’s on the house. Just take ‘em.

LEO: That’s so kind of you. I won’t ever forget this.

JADA: Really it’s my pleasure.

LEO: I will be back again next week!

Leo exits. Jada looks at the audience, afraid.

JADA: I can hardly wait!  

OBJECTLESSON

 

ITEMS NEEDED:

A bunch of grapes

Grapes grow in bunches like this. Each bunch can have dozens of grapes on it. When we go to the grocery store, we pick up a bunch like this, bag it, and move on. We don’t stop to look and see if all the grapes are still on there, do we? We don’t check to see if there are any stems without grapes, and we don’t look for those missing grapes. This is plenty of grapes for a family, and if a few grapes are missing, so what?

Here’s the amazing thing about God: he knows exactly how many grapes were originally on this bunch, just as he knows all of us by name. No one is lost or forgotten in God’s eyes, and just like the shepherd who seeks after the one lost sheep, God loves us all and wants to bring all of his people into his kingdom.

 

When we are growing in Christ, we will be filled with that same love. We will have compassion for all people, and we will share God’s love with everyone. Let's ask God to fill us with that kind of love so we can share it with all of his lost sheep.

 

LARGE GROUP GAME

 

GRAPE HERDER

ITEMS NEEDED:

A bucket

A bunch of grapes

INSTRUCTIONS:

Choose one player for this game. Have the player stand in front of a bucket, and hand them a bunch of grapes. The player has 60 seconds to get all of the grapes, one at a time, from the bunch into the bucket. If any of them miss, they can pick them up and put them back in the bucket, but they must get all the grapes into the bucket before time runs out to win a prize.

VARIATION:

Have two players race to see who can get all their grapes in a bucket the fastest. Make sure both players have the same number of grapes to start with.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

God wants us to love everyone as he loves his lost sheep.

 

LARGE GROUP LESSON

BOTTOM LINE:

Love others like Jesus loves you.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will think of ways to love others this coming week.

KEY PASSAGE:

Luke 15:1-7, The Parable of the Lost Sheep

INTRO:

Have you ever seen a tree “try” to grow fruit? Trees don’t “try” to grow fruit. Either they grow fruit - or they don’t. If a fruit tree has plenty of sunshine and plenty of water, it will grow fruit. The tree doesn’t have to “try.” With plenty of water and sun and soil, the tree will grow, and spread and yield all the apples or oranges or bananas or whatever fruit it was made to grow.

One of the most famous lines in the Star Warsmovies comes from the Jedi Master Yoda: “Do, or do not. There is no try.” Just as a tree does not “try” to grow fruit, we either grow as believers in Jesus - or we don’t grow. And just like a fruit tree, the Bible tells us that if we grow as believers, we will yield fruit.

The fruit of believers is the Fruit of the Spirit. That’s our theme for the next nine weeks, and it’s also our memory verse. If we are truly following Jesus and growing in our faith, we will produce the Fruit of the Spirit just like a fruit tree at harvest time.

READ GALATIANS 5:22-23

The first of these fruits is love, and that’s where we will start today. Love is a word people use in many ways. We love our Mom. We love pizza. We love our dog. We love snow. We love that song we just heard on the radio for the very first time.

The Bible has a lot to say about love as well. 1 Corinthians tells us that love is patient and kind. It is not boastful or proud. It is not selfish, it is not easily angered, and it never fails.

Jesus taught a lot about love. He shared several parables that described how much he loves us and how we should love others. This parable is called the parable of the Lost Sheep.

READ LUKE 15:1-7

MAIN POINT:

Sheepherding was a very common occupation in Jesus’ time. The people listening to Jesus tell this story knew how hard a shepherd worked and how dedicated he was to his flock. A shepherd cared for all of his sheep. It didn’t matter if he had ten sheep or a hundred, a good shepherd knew all of his sheep by name. He counted them every night, and if one came up missing, he would risk life and limb to go and find them.

God loved us so much, he sent his only son to die for us. God doesn’t want any of his sheep, any of us, to be lost. God loved us enough to die for us. If we are growing in our faith, we will love other people the way Jesus loved us. We won’t judge others, but we will love and care for

everyone who needs love. We will produce love like a fruit, and that fruit will help others come to believe that Jesus loves them too.

DRIVE IT HOME:

Many people today think love is a thing. They think it’s a feeling that can come and go. The   Bible teaches us that love is not an emotion, but an action. It’s easy to say you love someone, but it’s quite another to actually do it.

The shepherd didn’t just say he loved his sheep. He proved it. He left the flock behind and found the one that was lost. Jesus did the same thing when he came looking for us. He laid down his life for us. If we are truly followers of Jesus, we will do the same.

Love means we put the needs of others ahead of our own. It means we are willing to give even when someone can’t repay us. It means we are willing to help even when we are not asked. It means we are willing to sacrifice time, money, energy, whatever is required so that we can show someone else they are loved.

Love is one fruit the whole world needs desperately. We need to love people no matter who they are, where they came from, or what they believe. Just as Jesus loved everyone that crossed his path, we need to love our neighbors, our classmates, and our friends.

When someone needs help, we need to love them. When someone is mean to us, we need to love them. When someone is hurting, we need to love them.

Love is the first fruit of the Spirit, and the more we grow in Christ, the more we will love others. Let’s commit to become growing Christians so that we can overflow with love to those who need it. Let’s be Christians who seek after the lost sheep so that everyone can find their way into God’s kingdom.

CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Teach us to love like Jesus loves us.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

ICEBREAKER:

Which is better: green grapes or red grapes?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:

Galatians 5:22-23

Give all the kids a Bible. Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:

Have the kids make up a skit based on today’s parable, but have them choose something besides sheep for their skit - like fruit!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Luke 15:1-7

What is the first fruit of the spirit?

What does the shepherd do when he finds he has one sheep missing?

Why is the shepherd so happy to find his lost sheep?

Whom does God want us to love?

How can we have more love for other people?

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Help us to grow in you so we can love others more.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)

ICEBREAKER:

Which is better: green grapes or red grapes?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:

Galatians 5:22-23

Give all the kids a Bible. Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:

Have the kids make up a skit based on today’s parable, but have them choose something besides sheep for their skit - like fruit!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Luke 15:1-7

Why did Jesus tell this parable?

Why does the shepherd search for the one sheep when he already has 99?

Whom does God want us to love?

How can we have more love for other people?

What can we do to grow our faith and have more of the fruit of love?

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Help us to grow in you so we can love others more.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Parable of the Lost Sheep Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link). 

Here's a video from Saddleback kids that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on the Parable of the Lost Sheep.

Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching a Parable of the Lost Sheep Sunday School Lesson:

Sunday School Guide- Parables pt.2- The Lost Sheep - DLTK-Bible

The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin Bible Lesson Plan - DLTK-Bible

The Lost Sheep | Children's Sermons from Sermons4Kids.com 

Parable of a Lost Sheep – Mission Bible Class