Sunday School – August 2

July 31, 2020 | Kelly Herndon

Jesus is the Good Shepherd

This week’s Sunday School lesson explains how Jesus is the Good Shepherd from the book of John. Jesus offered Himself as the way into eternal life and community with the Father and His sheep—He is the gate. If you want to enter into the flock of God and into communion with the Father, you have to go in by way of Jesus. Jesus switched His metaphor from a gate to a shepherd who watches over his sheep, and He likened the religious leaders of the day to hired hands and Himself to the good shepherd. Here, Jesus is declaring how much He loves and cares for His sheep because they belong to Him. When Jesus said that He knew His sheep and His sheep knew Him, that wouldn’t have been a surprising metaphor. But what was surprising was that Jesus likened His relationship with His sheep to the way He knows the Father and the Father knows Him.

All of the activity pages and videos are below.

John 10:7-18 (NASB)

so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

Preschool (4-year-old and under)

Preschool Activity Page & Coloring Page

Preschool Activity Page – Answer Keys

Preschool Video

Gospel Plan for Preschoolers

Elementary School (K-5th Grades)

Younger Elementary Activity Page (K-2nd)

Younger Elementary Activity Page – Answer Keys

Older Elementary Activity Page (3rd-5th)

Older Elementary Activity Page – Answer Keys

Elementary School Video

Gospel Plan

Middle & High School (6th-12th Grades)

Daily Discipleship Guide for Middle School

Daily Discipleship Guide for High School

Family Connection

Additional Information for Adults

Daily Discipleship Guide for Adults

Article: Abundantly: The Meaning by Michael Priest

Article: Jesus’ Use of Allegory by Larry V. Crutchfield

Article: Sheep: Their Cultural Importance by Biblical Illustrator

Article: Sheep Folds: Their Construction and Use by Harold R. Mosley

Article: Thieves and Robbers by Timothy Trammell

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Sunday School – August 2

July 31, 2020 | Kelly Herndon