The Lost Sheep

Stories of Jesus  ·  Luke 15:4–6

Jesus looks for me when I'm lost.

Have you ever lost something you really loved? A toy or a blanket? You looked and looked until you found it! Jesus told a story about a shepherd who felt exactly that way about one little lost sheep.

A shepherd has one hundred sheep. He knows every one. Their names, their faces, even their voices.

One evening he leads them home. He counts them as they go through the gate. One, two, three. Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine.

He counts again. Ninety-nine.

One is missing.

The shepherd doesn't shrug and say, 'Well, ninety-nine is enough.'

No.

He leaves the ninety-nine safe in the pen. He takes his staff. He goes back out into the dark to find the one.

He calls. He searches. He looks behind rocks and in gullies and on the hillside.

Then he hears it. A small, frightened sound, far away.

There! Caught in a bramble bush. Scared.

The shepherd lifts the little sheep onto his shoulders. He carries it all the way home.

Can you pat your shoulders like the shepherd carrying the sheep?

When he gets home, he is so happy he calls all his friends. 'I found my sheep!' he shouts.

Jesus says: that is how God feels about you when you are found.

Prayer

Let's pray. Repeat after me:
Dear God,
Thank you that you look for me.
Thank you that you never
give up on me.
We love you!
Amen.

Listen to this devotional with audio narration and illustrations in the Seedling: Bible Stories app — short devotionals for Christian families with children ages 2–5.