The Shepherd's Voice (John 10:1-10)
Today's Gospel reading is the story of the good shepherd and sheep
SheepThis sheep activity can be done by all ages -- and while the instructions are to use fondant icing, you might like to try other materials like modelling clay, salt dough, or marshmallows!
You may like to name your sheep after one of your friends, neighbours or family and then prayer for that person as you work. 
Playdough matA Good Shepherd playdough mat from Flame Creative Children's Ministry. Print out the mat, laminate and provide a lump of play dough for kids to make their own model of the good shepherd.
Activities
Ice block stick sheep
When Jesus told this story, the people didn’t understand. Do you understand what Jesus was talking about? In this story, we are the sheep and Jesus is our shepherd. He loves us and only wants what is best for us. He will watch over us and care for us and keep us from harm. He will give us everything we need.
When someone tries to get you to listen to what they say, just wait long enough to listen to what Jesus might be saying to you… Make a sheep puppet to remind you that Jesus looks after you, his little sheep. Craft instructions are found at the Crafts by Amanda website. Visio LectioA beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission.
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Know my voice! A game for older childrenWhat you need/Preparation
Record snippets of famous people’s voices -- you can do this on your cell phone and play back with a speaker (e.g. Justin Timberlake, the Prime Minister, Scooby doo, Hermione Granger, Spongebob square pants, the vicar, yourself!) Also, paper and pens for each group. What to do Divide people into two or three teams. Explain that you will play voices of famous people. As you do, the teams have to write down the name of the person that they think it is. At the end, check the answers and see how they did! This could lead into a discussion about how we recognise people by their voices. Whose voices/ opinions do we listen to most? How do we listen to Jesus? Re- read John 10:1-10... What gets your attention in this reading? Why do you think God brought that to your attention? What might God be asking you to do about that? Follow the leader - a game for younger childrenPreparation: Nothing!
What to do: Get the children in one long line. The person at the front is the leader. Tell the group that they need to copy what the leader does. After a short time, change the leader by making the person at the front go to the back of the line. At the end, you could talk about how easy it was to follow someone else? How do we follow Jesus? What makes it easy/hard? Sheep and shepherd game
SermonJesus is the gate and the gate is open
A 6 minute sermon reflection from Archdeacon Julie Rokotakala, the vicar of Kapiti Anglicans. |
Intergen Australia resourceThe fourth Sunday of the Easter season is often referred to as “Good Shepherd” Sunday. As we continue on through the Season of Easter, we stop to reflect on one of the most well recognised images of Jesus, that of the Good Shepherd. Resources written and compiled by Rev Sandy Brodine are suitable for the 30 April. Download now from https://intergen.org.au/
The Seven Minute SermonHow to Hear God - A seven minute podcast sermon about today's gospel passage from Rev. George Penk, deacon assistant at St Mark's Remuera in Auckland, and a freelance broadcaster. Great insights shared from Pete Grieg's book, 'How to Hear God' about how we learn the acoustics, nuance and tone of God's voice in our lives.
My sheep hear my voiceRead Read the story of John 10:1-5 together
WatchThen watch this youtube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDvb1tXuRrU
In Jesus’ day, where he lived, was very much a farming community. Although usually each shepherd would care for His own flock of sheep on his own, sometimes 3 or 4 flocks would be combined together in a larger pen. A watchman would put at the gate to guard the sheep on behalf of the shepherds. When they came back for their flock, each shepherd would go in to the pen and call the sheep that belonged to him. The sheep would recognise the voice of their master and would leave the pen to follow him. A friend of mine has actually seen this happen! She was on a trip to Israel. She was on a bus tour and they stopped for a rest break at a roadside cafe. I looked over a wall and saw an Israeli shepherd leading his sheep out of a sheep pen. He was calling them individually by their names, “Bella, Mary...” and they were following him! Some of the sheep stayed behind - he obviously wasn’t their shepherd! We stopped at the same spot the next day, and I ran to the wall with my video camera ready, wanting to capture the beautiful scene. To my horror, the shepherd was not calling the sheep forward like before – he was hitting them with a big stick, driving them from behind. I asked the coach driver what on earth the shepherd was doing! He replied, “That’s not the shepherd, it’s the butcher and he’s just bought them!" Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He leads from ahead, calling us by name. The sheep recognise the Master’s voice, and when they obey and follow Him, they enjoy good pasture. However, there’s an enemy who’s much like the butcher, driving the sheep from behind and hitting them. He came only to steal, kill and destroy. The Good Shepherd has laid down His life for the sheep, in order to save them from the enemy. Not only did He willingly lay His life down, He also took it up again – just as He said He would. Questions
Story for younger children
** Depending on your audience you may prefer to not include the the paragraph beginning with two ** in your story.
This part of the good Shepherd is not in the children’s bible, but you can read this story to them : Jesus often used pictures and stories to explain things to his disciples. Today we are going to hear about how Jesus tells us he is a the Good Shepherd of the sheep. In Jesus’ day, where he lived, was very much a farming community. Although usually each shepherd would care for His own flock of sheep on his own, sometimes 3 or 4 flocks would be combined together in a larger pen. A watchman would put at the gate to guard the sheep on behalf of the shepherds. When they came back for their flock, each shepherd would go in to the pen and call the sheep that belonged to him. The sheep would recognise the voice of their master and would leave the pen to follow him. A friend of mine has actually seen this happen! She was on a trip to Israel. She was on a bus tour and they stopped for a rest break at a roadside cafe. I looked over a wall and saw an Israeli shepherd leading his sheep out of a sheep pen. He was calling them individually by their names, “Bella, Mary...” and they were following him! Some of the sheep stayed behind - he obviously wasn’t their shepherd! **We stopped at the same spot the next day, and I ran to the wall with my video camera ready, wanting to capture the beautiful scene. To my horror, the shepherd was not calling the sheep forward like before – he was hitting them with a big stick, driving them from behind. I asked the coach driver what on earth the shepherd was doing! He replied, “That’s not the shepherd, he’s just bought them!" Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He leads from ahead, calling us by name. We can trust him. Sometimes it is hard to know what the right thing to do is, that is when it is good to stop and think about what you know about Jesus, the important things he has taught us about how what kind of person we should try and be, you can even just quickly pray in your head, to ask him to help you to follow his lead, his voice. Everyone needs to do this, adults, vicars, teachers, parents and you too. Because you can trust Jesus to guide well because we know how much he loves you. Most of us are lucky enough to have parents who are good shepherds and we know they love us and want the best for us - so it is important to listen to them too! Story for older childrenPreparation
In Jesus’ day, where he lived, was very much a farming community. Although usually each shepherd would care for His own flock of sheep on his own, sometimes 3 or 4 flocks would be combined together in a larger pen. A watchman would put at the gate to guard the sheep on behalf of the shepherds. When they came back for their flock, each shepherd would go in to the pen and call the sheep that belonged to him. The sheep would recognise the voice of their master and would leave the pen to follow him. A friend of mine has actually seen this happen! She was on a trip to Israel. She was on a bus tour and they stopped for a rest break at a roadside cafe. I looked over a wall and saw an Israeli shepherd leading his sheep out of a sheep pen. He was calling them individually by their names, “Bella, Mary...” and they were following him! Some of the sheep stayed behind - he obviously wasn’t their shepherd! We stopped at the same spot the next day, and I ran to the wall with my video camera ready, wanting to capture the beautiful scene. To my horror, the shepherd was not calling the sheep forward like before – he was hitting them with a big stick, driving them from behind. I asked the coach driver what on earth the shepherd was doing! He replied, “That’s not the shepherd, it’s the butcher and he’s just bought them!" Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He leads from ahead, calling us by name. The sheep recognise the Master’s voice, and when they obey and follow Him, they enjoy good pasture. However, there’s an enemy who’s much like the butcher, driving the sheep from behind and hitting them. He came only to steal, kill and destroy. The Good Shepherd has laid down His life for the sheep, in order to save them from the enemy. Not only did He willingly lay His life down, He also took it up again – just as He said He would. Reflection Question Ask the children how they feel about the shepherd protecting them. How they felt about the wild animal threatening them. Then talk about how Jesus is our shepherd, that we need to learn to listen to his voice, through praying to him, through learning to feel him inside us, through reading the bible etc. Do you yearn to hear the voice of the shepherd more clearly? PrayerInvite the children to hold their sheep while you pray this prayer : Dear Lord Jesus, I want to hear and recognise Your voice today. Would You come and speak to me by name, in ways that I can’t possibly misunderstand. Please help me to recognise Your voice, to follow You and to trust You as my Good Shepherd. In Jesus’ name, Amen. |
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My sheep listen (John 10:22-30)
In the gospel reading today, Jesus claims to be the Son of God. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me" John 10:28-29. As mentioned above, shepherding or pastoral care is a pervasive theme across all of our readings.
It's helpful to know that this story comes right after Jesus has told the story of the Good Shepherd, where Jesus says "I am the good shepherd". If you are sharing this story with children, you might like to unpack this story further.
It's helpful to know that this story comes right after Jesus has told the story of the Good Shepherd, where Jesus says "I am the good shepherd". If you are sharing this story with children, you might like to unpack this story further.
Input for Leaders
Visio Lectio
A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission. Download Terms of Use |
Gospel Conversations 2025: This week is about an extremely familiar passage - Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Yet with gentle wisdom and brevity the discussion points us to profound ways of thinking about this story again.
Gospel Conversations 2022: We take a step back in Jesus' story this week to an encounter at the feast of Hannukah. Who is this Jesus? How can we know?
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Intergenerational WorshipIntergen Easter 4: A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Rev Beth Nicholls Intergen Australia. Bible references: John, Psalm.
In some traditions the 4th Sunday after Easter is known as Shepherd Sunday, so it’s very apt that the Bible readings for today are John 10:22-30 and Psalm 23 – which both reference sheep and shepherds. They tell of God and Jesus as Shepherd and us as the sheep who are called to follow the Shepherd and know his voice. 
Kids TalksThe Good Shepherd (Gary Neal Hansen) - John 10:11-18
My Sheep Hear My Voice (Ministry to Children) - Lesson Plan Jesus Glues Us To God (RFour) - Ask, Tell, Share Questions
Listening GameYou will need: a list of verses or phrases.
Get the kids to sit in a circle. Ask for a volunteer. Whisper in their ear the first verse or phrase on your list. You can only whisper it once. Then, get them to whisper what they heard to the next person. Keep going until you get to the last person. Ask them to say out loud to the group what they heard. Then get the first person to say what it was. See if they are different! You can repeat this with different people starting. Things to chat about:
We can trust that God hears us when we talk to him. We can use the words we want to, whenever we want to, and he always hears us clearly. |
Activities
Preschool PlayHere are some ways you can invite your preschoolers to play their way into the bible story and spending time with God.
Share the Story: Tell the story with props, like this lovely version (Faith Sprouts). Listening Stations: Have a large box with a variety of things that make sound inside. Try them one by one and see if the kids can guess what they are. Alternately organise some visitors from 'big church' and get them to talk from behind a sheet - can the kids guess who they are? Things to talk about: How do we know what the sound is / who the person is? Farmyard Play: Plastic/duplo/playmobil farm toys especially sheep and people. Set them out on a green blanket or in a sand tray. Things to chat about - the story and what happened. Herding Sheep: Blow up a bunch of white balloons to be your sheep. Ideally more balloons than kids. For added hilarity feel free to add faces of varying expressions. Tape a square on the floor. Line up the kids on the other side of the room. Drop the balloons in front of them and challenge them to get them into the square and keep them there without using their hands. Is it easy or hard? Things to talk about: What is it like being the 'shepherd'? Is it easy or hard? What makes it easy or hard? Pray itLove this Holy Listening Connection Kit (Novo.org) by Lacy Finn Borgo. You could add a wee puff of cotton wool to remind them of the sheep and the shepherd.
Tactile Prayers It's often easier for kids to 'listen' in a tactile way. For a simple way to do this, give each child a piece of playdough or a pipecleaner to hold and shape as you pray. As they sit, talk quietly together with each other and God:
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Ever dreamt of country dancing a memory verse? Now's your chance. You're welcome.
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Parable of the Lost Sheep Media
Although this is a differen parable, this story may also be helpful in sharing how God is like a loving shepherd who protects and cares for his sheep.
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