Luke 15 v 1 – 7

Lesson Aim

To understand that God loves those who repent

Hook 1: Lost sheep

Have lots of pictures of sheep to display as you tell the story (this can also be shown on PowerPoint). Hide one image of a sheep somewhere in the room and ask the children to find the picture.

Hook 2: Puppet

A puppet of a sheep or a plastic sheep could be introduced as the lost sheep. Then begin telling the story. When you get to the part that the sheep is missing, get the children to close their eyes while someone (a child, an adult or yourself) hides the sheep. The rest of the children can then hunt for the sheep.

Hook 3: Questions

Have you ever lost a pet? Perhaps it was a hamster that disappeared down the back of your sofa or your dog who wandered off and didn’t come back when you called for him. How did you feel when you realised that it was lost? Did your feelings change when your pet was found? Today’s Bible story is a story that Jesus told about a lost sheep.

Application

In this story Jesus said that the shepherd rejoiced and had a party when his sheep was found. In the same way God rejoices when lost people are found, when lost people repent and ask for God’s forgiveness for all the wrong things in their lives.