Timothy: God is Our Shepherd

Scripture reference: “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus…”

Objectives:

Children should be able to discuss how a shepherd cares for his sheep.
Children should know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
Children should understand that our priests, deacons, etc. are also shepherds, given by God to help Him care for us.

Possible Lesson Plan:

First, talk about sheep. If you have a sheep puppet or stuffed animal, bring it in and introduce it to the children. Have it talk to the children. What are sheep like? (soft, woolly, also helpless, easily lost, easily frightened). What dangers do they face? (wild animals, cliffs, hunger, storms, floods, etc.) Who cares for them? How? Why? Review with the children the story of David, the shepherd boy and of the Nativity (who visited the baby Jesus first?). These stories are in your children’s Bibles. The shepherd knows every sheep in his flock and cares for each sheep.

Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. What does that mean? What dangers do we, His sheep, face? How does He protect us? Remind the children of many people in the Bible saved from danger by the Lord – the three children in the fire, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, etc. Review these stories in the Children’s Bible Reader. The Good Shepherd even was willing to protect His sheep by dying for them on the cross. Who should we run to when in danger? (Jesus) How? (in prayer). Read Psalm 23 to the children.

God gives us men to be our earthly shepherds, helping us and teaching us. Who are these people? Who is your priest? Timothy was a young man, chosen by God and ordained by St. Paul to be a priest, a shepherd. Paul spoke in his letters to Timothy about how to be a good shepherd to God’s people and how important it is to love them as Jesus Himself does.

Make a sheep: Take a plastic 8-10 oz cup, white or clear color, short and fat. Glue on a black 2 inch pompom with 2 wiggle eyes near the bottom of the cup. Attach 4 small clothespins as legs and decorate with white cotton balls.