PSALM 23
Lesson 2: “The Lord is my shepherd”
List of the items needed to do the lessons as written.
This list does not include the items needed for the review games.
Lesson 2
· 3 sheep puppets…Note: these 3 puppets will be used in all the lessons
· 2 shepherd puppets…the main one and a helper shepherd
· video(s) of David (anointed by Samuel, singing Psalm 23, talking to Saul and
and Saul’s army, talking and killing Goliath
· offering lesson: game timer, egg timer, stop watch, alarm clock, wall clock, etc
Note: Because of the poetry of Psalm 23 in the King James Version, the scriptures used will be in the KJV.
Lesson 2
“The Lord is my shepherd”
Objective…to know Who is their shepherd (who they follow)
Lesson 2
>BRING UP WORSHIP LEADERS
>WELCOME
Good morning God’s little sheep! If you were here last Sunday, you may know what I’m getting at when I call you God’s sheep! Do you understand? Can someone explain (quickly) what I mean when I call you and for all that matter ME…sheep? (Allow answers or have it pre-staged with one of your kids)
Yes! Today we are going to really start looking at Psalm 23. You know it’s okay to be a sheep…in God’s flock! But I think many of you boys don’t like the idea of being called a “sheep”…do you?
Don’t worry…here is some reasons you won’t have to worry about being called a sheep…
· Only God thinks of you as a sheep.
· Sometimes Pastor’s will refer to us as sheep.
· If someone calls you a “sheep”…instead of getting mad you can learn to take it as a compliment…WHAT? A Compliment?
· YES…today we will start to see why it’s a compliment.
Let’s stand together for worship
>PRAYER
Gracious Father, thank you for loving each of us and desiring our friendship. You are God and I’m just a little person in a big world. Yet, you still desire me to know you and you to know me. Help us to fully understand that. In Jesus' name, Amen.
>WORSHIP
>TALENT TIME
>OFFERING
LESSON 1 ‘TIME: RIGHT TIME’
[Obtain game timer or egg timer; stop watch, alarm clock, wall clock, etc. Have more than one item.]
Look at these items. (Show the items and describe as necessary) What do you think these are for…their use? (Allow answers)
YES…Time and the keeping track of time.
Open your Bible to Ecclesiastes 3:1 and read;
“To every thing there is a season, and a TIME to every purpose under the heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)
These items all measure time for different reasons…this timer I use to time games and answers, but your mom may use it to time an egg cooking. This alarm clock is made to make noise at the right time, etc
Right now is our time when we collect our God's tithes and our offerings. It’s the right time! Always when we give to the Lord some of what He has given us it’s the right time!
The neat thing is we don’t need a loud noise to know that we are giving at the right time…(hold up alarm clock).
Right now, right this minute is ‘a TIME to every purpose under the heaven’
Collect tithes and offerings…have one of the kids’ pray for the offering.
>ANNOUNCEMENTS
>REVIEW
(6-8 year old girls) 1. Who wrote Psalm 23? {David}
(6-8 year old boys) 2. David when he was a boy was a ______? {Shepherd}
(9-12 year old boys) 3. The Bible compares sheep with ______(whom)? {Us}
(9-12 year old girls) 4. Which Old Testament prophet said this: “all of us have strayed
away like sheep. We have left God’s path to follow our own”?
{Isaiah…53.6}
>REVIEW GAME “DAVID VS GOLIATH”
[Need a sling shot, a plastic giant mask or piñata, bag small marshmallows]
4 players (selected from ‘Review’ questions) use a slingshot to hurl marshmallows at a "medieval shield" target or a plastic mask of a giant (like “Shrek”). Give each player 3 shots. Most hits wins.
Award prize to winner...perhaps a package of some type marshmallow candy (like peeps)
>LESSON
I think I saw some sheep milling around…
>PUPPETS
(Puppets or actors)
*Sheep enter, calmly milling around, whispering to each other.
· Two shepherds enter….one is the shepherd who corralled the sheep in lesson 1
· Two shepherds talking to each other.
· Sheep are looking at them with a big question in the eyes
Sheep 1: “Hey, look at those two humans. I wonder what they are talking about?”
Sheep 2: “One of them is the man that took care of us yesterday.”
Sheep 3: “Will he care for us today I wonder?”
Sheep 1: “I don’t care if any one takes care of me, I’m independent!”
Sheep 2: “You don’t know what independent means, silly!”
Sheep 1: “Okay, okay but I really don’t care.”
Sheep 2: “I like the one who helped us yesterday, I hope he is going to be with us today.”
Shepherd of sheep: “Well I have to be going it’s time for me to let the sheep know that I’m here for them.”
Shepherd #2: “You have all the tools for your job today?”
Shepherd #1: “I do, so I will see you soon. Goodbye for now.”
(Shepherd #2 exits) [Shepherd #1 moves closer to the sheep, talking calmly too them]
Shepherd #1: “Good morning my little ones. Today I have a special job I need to do. I’m going to place
my mark on you, this way everyone will know that you are mine! (Moves close to sheep #3 and using knife pretend to cut on it’s ear……)
All exit.
Wow…that shepherd said something very interesting and then he did something…? He said…to the sheep…”I’m going to put my mark on you” and then he took out his knife and cut the sheep’s ear. (For our purposes, the puppets will have tags hanging on one ear)
Do you think it hurt the sheep? (Allow noise) I bet it did! Even if the shepherd was gentle. So why did the shepherd do that? (Allow answers) Yes…to identify his sheep from other shepherd’s sheep.
Do you have a mark?
In some countries of the world, they probably still mark their sheep by a certain cut on the ear.
However, many today use metal tags or ink tattooed into the ear for identification.
The question today that I want us to answer and learn is…
How do I know who is my shepherd? To say it another way…
WHAT MARK HAS GOD MY SHEPHERD PUT ON ME?
I go to church is that it?
I talk Jesus talk and sometimes I pray…is that how I know?
I’m a good kid, never get in trouble…is that it?
My parents have been going to this church as long as I have been born…that’s it?
{{{PERSONEL EXAMPLE: When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, My God. I wanted to show who was now “in charge” of my life. I went out and bought a cross with a chain for hanging around my neck. It also helped me…a constant reminder that Jesus was my Lord}}} [use one of your examples or use the one that’s provided.]
>SCRIPTURE VERSE (On overhead)
[Note: I like to help motive kids to learn scripture by heart. So I would announce during this lesson that all who memorize the entire Psalm 23 and can quote it to me with NO mistakes by the end of our series will receive a prize/award. I usually will do CD’s, major Chocolate items, or if you have some type of special club, a special badge or T-shirt, etc]
[I will be using the King James Version and that is what I would expect the kids to memorize. The poetry and beauty of the KJV is the reason I will use it in this series.]
“the Lord is my shepherd” Psalm 23:1a KJV
Say this with me a couple of times. I bet everyone here knows this verse (If time allows, have a few quote it and award them with a treat)
This opening statement by David is pretty simple. Except how did David determine that God was his shepherd? I wonder what ‘MARK’ David had? If David has a shepherd, that makes David a….yeah…a sheep! King David a sheep! Who would have thought of that! Let's look at some video and see how David became a sheep and a king.
[Obtain a video of David being 1. Anointed by Samuel, 2. Singing Psalm 23, 3. Testifying about God to Saul’s army before fighting Goliath, 4. Testifying to Saul before fighting Goliath, 5. Testifying to Goliath before he slew him…I have listed two options…it may take both: Video: Jeff Chandler as David made in the 1950’s, Richard Gere in King David made in 1985. Caution the Gere movie has some nudity, but not in the scenes you will use it for.]
>Show Video(s) (Stop and discuss scenes of importance)
So…Pastor ______(your name) HOW do I know who is my shepherd? That was the original question…Easy…in fact easy as ABC!
>BIBLE LESSON 1 Samuel 17
Almost everyone here (especially if you have ever gone to any Sunday School classes) knows the story of David and the big bad dude…Goliath.
(If time allows…have someone come up and quickly tell the story from the time David was a boy until the big bad dude lost his head OR show video of David and Goliath… then go into the Bible lesson)
Here is the story told as simple as ABC…
Saul was king but God was not happy with him in a huge way. So unhappy that he had sent his main man, Samuel, to anoint a boy to be the next king. Now Saul and his army were going to fight a big battle against some dudes who didn’t believe in God and wanted to destroy God’s chosen people. These dudes had a very large guy as their star player. He could slam dunk without jumping…he was a big boy!
David’s oldest three brothers were with Saul’s army getting ready to fight. David’s dad sent him one day to his brothers with some goodies…some food, some candy-chips-soda, and maybe a change of underwear!
David arrived at the camp and noticed that everyone was just hanging around…you see they were afraid to fight…they didn’t (pause for affect)-well David started asking his brothers and others…”what’s up with this?” He said.
[Option: use overhead or a software presentation with… A Acknowledge B believe C confess…on it. Only uncover the letter you are talking about]
“A”- ACKNOWLEDGE A sign of who your shepherd is…the first way to know you have God’s mark on your life.
David could not believe that God’s army wasn’t out just kicking some backsides! He started telling everyone around him….”Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” David was so loud and sure of his shepherd, his God that he didn’t care who heard him. His brother’s were really mad and embarrassed about him.
David was not afraid to ACKNOWLEDGE who his Lord was, who his shepherd is! Even if his brothers were embarrassed. Are you? (Afraid?)
Anyway even the king, you know Saul, heard David. So he had David brought to him.
“B” BELIEVE Another sign of who your shepherd is…another way to show God’s mark on your life.
David told Saul…”what are you so worried about, I’ll go get rid of this bully for you”. You see David believed in his Shepherd, he knew what his shepherd could do in his life. Faith is how belief in your shepherd starts and then action is showing your belief, your faith to those around you. David told Saul all about how he while being the shepherd of his families sheep had killed a lion and a bear…even taking a lamb right out of the mouth of the beast. He told Saul that if God would help him in just protecting sheep imagine what God would do in protecting his people, His sheep. Wow what belief. It was so powerful that Saul, a grown up, said to David a young boy, Go do it then, rid us of this giant!
Well you know what happened, don’t you? But do you remember what David said to the giant just before he fought him?
“C” CONFESS The last sign of who your shepherd is but probably the most important one. This mark of your shepherd can impact the world just as it changed the battle for God’s army against the pagan Philistines.
David as he is putting a rock into his slingshot said to the loud and dumb tall guy. (Right from the Bible) David was confessing his belief in his shepherd, he was witnessing if I can say it that way to this unbeliever, he was bragging about his shepherd. Sheep you know do that kind of thing…brag about their shepherd. Anyway, back to the story. “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty…today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head…everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours, The Lord will give you to us!” And we know that he did.
Simple as ABC….Acknowledge that He is your shepherd, He is your God. Believe in your Shepherd and show everyone this belief by your actions. Then Confess, testify to all who your Shepherd asks you to. How you ask? Well one good way is to use your mouth as an encouragement, good and helpful not full of foul or abusive words.
>CLOSING
“The Lord is my shepherd” …say it with me one more time…”the Lord is my shepherd”
How do I know? Because He has marked my life. Not in a physical way like a tattoo or a body piercing. Yuck…those are nasty. But He has marked it by and with an intimate relationship with me.
Do I really want to belong to Him? I think so! In fact for myself the answer is YES!
This morning if you also want to be marked by Him, the Good Shepherd, and you desire to have an intimate relationship… [Altar call can go many ways…let the Holy Spirit so lead you]
>PRAYER
Close in prayer for those who express their desire to become one of the Shepherd’s sheep!
Finish the prayer in encouragement for those who still are not sure.
The Lord is my shepherd
Psalm 23:1a
Psalm 23
Lesson: 2
A cknowledge
B elieve
C onfess
Psalm 23
Lesson: 2a