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1 Beginners' Church Guide for May 10th Jesus, Our Good Shepherd" ********************************************************************** TODAY is our 4th Sunday with the new arrangements. We are meeting IN THE BASEMENT. An extra volunteer should be at the check-in table to help with check-in and check-out time. Leader and Helper, please remember to sign the new checkin sheet as you are coming in. Stop at the check-in table and see there are blanks for your signatures at the top of the check-in sheet. Thanks! The children will check in at a table in the basement AWANA room with their parent(s), and then the children should go to the FIRST-GRADE (green doors!) Sunday School room (LOOK for the signs). After class time begins, you are welcome to take the children into the basement AWANA room for any or all of your activities. At the end of class, please take the children back into the First-Grade Sunday School room to color or play with blocks while they wait for parents to come. This is especially important for early service, for the Sunday School children start a singing program in the basement AWANA room after 9:35. ********************************************************************** FOR BATHROOM NEEDS: Page the parent by following the instructions on the paging system. Tell little Johnny, Mom or Daddy is coming. Just wait a minute. Please don t announce to the child or to the class that you are paging a parent just do it quietly on the side. Jesus is our Hope. Jesus is our Righteousness. Jesus is our Master -- our Boss. Jesus loves us. Have you started praising Him yet? Take a few moments to praise God right now. Lessons only prepared in our heads rarely touch someone's heart. Ask

2 God to help you prepare for the lesson today with your heart. Ask Him to come and teach through you. Thank you for your help in making this a smooth transition. I thank God for you! We are NOT in the Big Picture Story BIble this week. There is a story book on the table entitled Blister the Lamb." 1. (5-10 minutes) Welcome a. Have kids sit down and open with a short, simple prayer (i.e. "Dear God, thank you for listening. Thank you that we could come to church today. Help us learn new things about you! In Jesus name. Amen. ) b. Have each child share their name, how old they are, any other fun or seasonal questions. After each child shares their answers, have the entire class say, Hi Stacey, etc. 2. (3-5 min) Memory Verse Review: (use lots of motions/actions - - this is a good time to get the wiggles out before prayer) Our Bible verse for today is an excerpt from Revelation 22:12 say it this way: Jesus said, Behold, I am coming soon. Last week we learned about the End when Jesus returns to make all things new. Consider taking the Big Picture Story Bible and reviewing the pictures of the final story (Part 26) as you review this verse. Do take time to explain the word behold. It means to look and listen for something important. When explaining it to preschoolers, motions help immensely. A great illustration is crossing the road or a railroad track. That may seem amusing to say Behold, the train! but it works! Many of the preschoolers know John the

3 Baptist s words when he saw Jesus, Behold, the Lamb of God. That is a great verse to use as well. _ 3. (5 minutes) Prayer Time: Lead the kids in sharing prayer requests. At this age, many children are new to class time and praying as a group. Expect to do a lot of modeling how to pray and encouraging children in sharing what's on their hearts. Praise for who God is/ Thanks for things / Hurts/ Needs, etc. Depending on the size of the group, tell them how many volunteers you can have pray (example: today I need 2 volunteers to pray. Who would like to pray? ) If you have more than 2 volunteers, adjust your number to allow more. You pray to close (short & simple). 4. (2 minutes) Opening illustration: (not today we ll use this time later in the lesson) 5. (10 min) Lesson Time: For Teacher Preparation: John 10:1-21 For the children: (We are NOT using the Big Picture Story Bible this week.) Please open your Bible in your lap and turn to John 10. Read aloud verse 11, 14, 15. Then say, Children, this story (show Blister book) is about a shepherd and his sheep. Let s listen." Read the story Blister the Lamb. Consider reading John 10:1-13 and acting it out as you tell it, using blocks to build a sheepfold with a gate, or by drawing. Use

4 cotton balls for sheep. (The children LOVE this!) Never underestimate the value of reading God's Word straight to the children. God's Word is living and active -- and even preschoolers need to hear His Word. Talking points: Wow! A good shepherd takes care of his sheep. Discuss with the children what a good shepherd would do (provide good food and clean water, protect the sheep from danger, guide them so they don't get lost, keep them in sheltered places during storms). I am so glad that Jesus is THE Good Shepherd. He is always watching over us and taking care of us. 6. (10-15 minutes) Moving Time: If you would enjoy doing more craft time with the children, consider bringing in cotton balls and gluing them to the sheep on the color picture. There will be glue sticks with the crayons. Also, the children love to pretend the cotton balls are sheep and make a pen for them with blocks and act out the story that way. There are coloring sheets to go with the story. Two games to choose from: 1) Consider playing Hide & Seek with a twist -- one child is the lost sheep, one is the shepherd, and the rest are the flock. Be creative and have fun! 2) Act out the story by playing Follow the Leader with a twist -- "Follow the Shepherd" -- assign a shepherd, sheep, and a wolf &/or robber. Build a sheepfold with chairs in one corner of the room. Have the shepherd lead the sheep around to a stream in one corner, good grass in another, sleeping time in the sheepfold... Remember the shepherd calls his sheep and they know his voice. They follow him... Use your imagination (I know

5 mine can get a bit rusty -- the children are GREAT at helping get my imagination back into shape!). Thank you for teaching the children today! As you watch all the new flowers coming into bloom, please be reminded you are planting the seeds of God s Word, which will bloom in God s timing. God gives the growth! ****Coloring Sheet: Matthew 18:10-14