You are not lost

Welcome to Families on Faith Adventures @ Home!

This resource has been put together for you by the United Reformed Church Children’s and

Youth Work team and the synod CYDOs and their equivalents.

We hope you will enjoy sharing a time of faith and fellowship together as a family through

these stories, games, activities and prayers.

They are designed as a ‘pick and mix’ of ways to experience God’s message through the

Bible, explore what it means to you and express that in words and action.

The Walking the Way challenges are one way of continuing our walk with Jesus throughout

the week.

These ideas are designed to be intergenerational - maybe even to be shared with members

of the family you can’t see now except via the internet.

The resources are based on our non-uniformed children’s groups, Friends on Faith

Adventures and Pilots, but have been modified to make them suitable for all families at

home.

These activities are planned to be used together as a family and under adult supervision.

Please be aware of your family’s ages and abilities as some activities may need more adult

support than others. Stay safe and have fun!

With many varieties of activities and things to

do to help explore the theme. Look out for this

‘hands on’ symbol.

Illustration by richardgunther.org

You are not lost

Luke 15 v 1-7

This week’s Bible story is:

From

and

Get to know your Bible

The Bible is like a library made up of 66 books written by many different people over many

years.

The Old Testament books were written before Jesus was born. They are the holy stories he

would have grown up hearing and reading. There are 39 of these.

The New Testament tells us the stories of Jesus and his followers. There are 27 books in the

New Testament.

Can you find

and colour the

book on the

bookshelf that

this week’s

story is from?

If you have a

Bible, see if

you can find

the story in

there.

You could print this out once and colour each new book on the bookshelf as you read stories from it.

Image from https://www.clipart.email/download/2541558.html

Bible context

This book is named after the disciple who wrote it, around 60 AD.

Luke was a doctor and an historian who became one of Jesus’ Disciples.

Jesus often told stories (Parables) to teach about God and Heaven.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep – Luke 15: 1 to 7

One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, the Pharisees

and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, “This man welcomes outcasts and even eats

with them!” So Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and

loses one of them—what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture

and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. When you find it, you are so happy

that you put it on your shoulders and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and

neighbours together and say to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us

celebrate!’ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who

repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.”

Scripture Quotation taken from the Good News Translation

(Today’s English Version, Second Edition)

Watch and listen

Animated version (without words) - https://vimeo.com/3188992

Suitable for older age groups - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUjpxwN4dfM

Dance and sing

Reckless Love - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xx0d3R2LoU

You will be found (Dear Evan Hanson) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFZmT-LRMBM

Online versions of the story

Finding the hidden message in the parable

Using this code, see if you can find the hidden message in the parable from Luke 15 v 1 – 7

14 27 43 57 85 117

Ideas For Telling The Story

Before reading the story you might like to explore some of the feelings or themes in the

parable. Cut out or draw 2 big circles of paper - one titled Lost, the other titled Found. Then

explore together what other words or feelings come to mind. E.g. lost = alone, forgotten,

sad, scared. Found – joy, happy, saved, safe. It is a useful way to begin to discuss feelings

that the family might be having at the moment.

This story can be simply told or acted out around your house or even told at different points

on your daily walk. We have included many ideas that you might find useful to do at

different stages of the story as you go along.

The shepherd and the sheep

(in the style of This is the House That Jack Built)

This is the shepherd, who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the flock, all fluffy and white

that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the sheep who’s about to get lost

Who wandered away

From the flock,

that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the shock that the shepherd felt

When he spotted the sheep had wandered away

From the flock,

that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the journey the shepherd took

Leaving his flock and taking his crook

To find the sheep that had wandered away

From the flock, that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the bush all spikey and sharp

that grabbed the clothes, and scratched the skin

of the shepherd on the journey he took

Leaving his flock and taking his crook

To find the sheep that had wandered away

From the flock, that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the river cold and wide

That the shepherd swam to the other side

Near the bush, all spikey and sharp

that grabbed the clothes, and scratched the skin

of the shepherd on the journey he took

Leaving his flock and taking his crook

To find the sheep that had wandered away

From the flock, that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is field all squelching with mud

That the shepherd found on the other side

Of the river he had to swim

Near the bush, all spikey and sharp

that tore the clothes and scratched the skin

of the shepherd on the journey he took

Leaving his flock and taking his crook

To find the sheep that had wandered away

From the flock, that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the snow so cold and fun

That the shepherd felt on his cheeks and tongue

After the field all squelching with mud

Past the river so cold and wide

That he had to swim to the other side

Near the bush, all spikey and sharp

that grabbed the clothes, and scratched the skin

of the shepherd on the journey he took

Leaving his flock and taking his crook

To find the sheep that had wandered away

From the flock, that follow the shepherd

who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the sheep the shepherd found

all alone; now homeward bound

these are the shoulders so big and strong

that carried the sheep the journey long

through the snow so cold and fun

That the shepherd felt on his cheeks and tongue

After the field all squelching with mud

Near the river so cold and wide he had to swim to

the other side

Near the bush, all spikey and sharp

that grabbed the clothes, and scratched the skin

of the shepherd on the journey he took

Leaving his flock and taking his crook

To find the sheep that had wandered away

From the flock, all fluffy and white

that follow the shepherd who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the party and this is the smile

On the shepherd’s face after journeying miles

To find his sheep that had wandered away

From the flock, all fluffy and white

that follow the shepherd who loves his sheep

That Jesus told this story about.

This is the story and now it is done

Remember that God loves everyone

When we feel lost and scared and alone

Remember the good shepherd that carries us

home

What’s in the box?

What treasures can you find to put in the box

for your little ones to explore?

Perhaps older children could help find the

things.

Use a box or a bag to hold the treasures and

encourage any little ones to explore what’s in

the box/bag each week to go with the Bible

story.

Sensory bags or bottles (see ‘to do together’ pages)

Illustration by richardgunther.org

This week’s Bible story is:

You are not lost

Luke 15 v 1-7

A Toy Sheep

Rough material such as sandpaper

or scourer – not too rough!

Duplo or Lego bricks to

make a pen for the sheep

Party hat (you could make this!)

Something with

rainbow colours

A toy dressed as a shepherd

So

fabric

Pray Together

Remembering Prayers

Overflowing with Thanks

‘You honour me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows.

Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life’. (Psalm 23: 5-6 CEV)

Cut some strips of paper and decorate them with words and

pictures that represent things that would like to thank God

for. This might include places, people, natural objects - just let your

imagination go.

Place the strips inside a cup so that they overflow over the edges.

When everyone has placed their strips inside the cup, say thank

you together, mentioning some of the things you have written or

drawn.

End with a loud joyful Amen.

Decorate your sheep to remind you of

someone you cannot meet.

A friend, family member, make as many as

you want.

As you decorate your sheep, think of the

person and give thanks for all they mean to

you.

Have fun turning your sheep into family and

friends!

Sheep templates – see Activity Sheet 1

Pray Together

Finger Prayer Walk

Collect some items that will help create a finger prayer walk linking to the different

parts of the story. Here are a few ideas: -

➢ sandpaper

➢ rough side of a scouring pad

➢ blue paper or material

➢ foil paper

➢ pocket mirror

➢ a squishy sponge

➢ bubble wrap

➢ corrugated card

➢ soft wool

➢ pom poms

➢ cotton wool or

➢ your favourite cuddly toy

Place the items in a circle on the table or floor and use your finger to walk around the

different textures. Stop and think how each one makes you feel. With the hard and rough

surface talk to God about things that are difficult and frightening. God knows our tears and

sadness. With the shiny and water-like items, talk to God about what is making you sad.

With the squishy items like the sponge, sink your fingers

into the sponge or move your fingers over the ups and

downs of the cardboard. Sometimes things make us feel

we are stuck and don’t know what to do. Ask God to help

you and be with you when you feel stuck.

With the bubble wrap, have some fun popping the bubbles

and talk to God about things you are worried about. As the

bubbles pop, know that God hears our prayers and knows

us, just like he knew the sheep in the story.

At the end of the story of the sheep, the shepherd finds the sheep and carries the sheep all

the way home. Feel the items that are soft and comforting and remember that God loves

everyone. Quietly talk to God about the people that you want to know God’s comfort and

quietly say their names.

As you reach the centre you can be still and, when you are ready, say Amen.

Illustration by www.lambsongs.co.nz

I wonder why we are

so important to

God…

I wonder what things

you would never stop

looking for if they were

lost….

I wonder what different emotions

you’re experiencing right now and

how God can help you to make

sense of them?

I wonder why we find it so difficult

sometimes to trust God to find

us…

I wonder what things

lead us away from

God…

I wonder if there are more

up to date ways to express

the same meaning as Jesus

was sharing in this story…

I wonder what the 99 sheep

in the story might represent

if we apply the story to our

current situation – what

stops people feeling lost?

TO DO TOGETHER… GAMES

Lost and Found You’ll need: a blindfold, or a scarf.

This is a game of trust and listening to instructions, or allowing ourselves to be led.

Plan a route around a room, negotiating different furniture, or perhaps in the garden. Make

sure there is a clear route to guide a person with distinct left and right turns.

Take it in turns to be either blindfolded or the guide.

Using voice only, guide the blindfolded person through the route from beginning to end.

Variations:

To make it more challenging, you could create a mini obstacle course but take care to maintain a

safe activity.

Rather than using directional instructions (left, right, straight on for three steps etc), the guide can

move around the blindfolded person calling ‘lost’ to indicate the direction to go… The blindfolded

person, following the direction of the voice can respond with ‘found’. The guide will need to move

quickly to the next place to call from.

If you do not have a lot of space, you could draw a maze on a large sheet of paper or use books or

other solid items and create a maze on a tabletop. The blindfolded person uses their finger to follow

the route being called. This will be trickier, but still a good challenge.

The Tray Game You’ll need: a tray, a collection of items,

and something to cover them (e.g.: a tea-towel).

This is a memory game, looking out for the missing item.

Arrange all the items you have gathered on a tray. You could use some of the items

gathered for the ‘What’s in the Box activity which help with the theme. The more items you

have the higher the difficulty level will be, so have sufficient items for your family’s ability.

Maybe ask them how many they think they could cope with remembering, letting them set

their challenge.

Allow the group to see all the items on the tray for a moment. Then cover the items and

remove the tray. Away from the group remove one item from the tray. Return the tray to

the group and uncover the items. Take it in turns to see who can correctly see which item is

missing.

Variations

Usually when playing this game you would not rearrange the items each time you remove an item,

leaving a gap where the missing item was. However, with older children it can increase the difficulty

level if you rearrange the items each time so there is not an obvious gap where the missing was. This

requires the player to actually remember the items rather than the image of the items on the tray.

TO DO TOGETHER…

Sensory Bags

What you need: 4 Ziplock bags

tape (I would recommend duct tape!)

sensory materials

What you do:

Jagged bush - pick up some broken twigs from the garden

or on your daily walk (alternatively you could use broken up

Weetabix). (Hide some shiny leaves to find if you have

them, or cut some out of kitchen foil)

For the deep, cold river - colour some water blue with food colouring. (You can put in some

special jewels to find, if you have some)

For mud - mix flour, cocoa powder and water. Or you can get some mud from the garden

and add water to it. (If you have a farm animal figure like a pig, you could add it to the mud)

(You may want to double bag the mud and water)

For the snowstorm - put some cotton wool or scrunched up paper tissues. (You can add some

glitter and some sequins which look like snowflakes if you have them)

Seal all the bags with strong tape like duct tape. You can hang these bags on the window by

taping them with masking tape or Sellotape.

So, are you ready to go on a sheep hunt?!

Alternatives:

Another way to explore the story using these bags is by setting them out on the

table with some toy people. Create a sheep or print off an image of a sheep (using

Activity Sheet 1).

Sensory Bottles

River – water with food colouring, baby oil (or simple

vegetable oil) and blue glitter glittery jewels.

Mud – or (cocoa, flour water mixture)

Bush – twigs or Weetabix broken up. Shiny leaf sequins if

you have them

Snowstorm – cotton wool and silver snowflake sequins

TO DO TOGETHER… More sensory ways to explore

Sensory Boards

A tray of twigs from your daily walk or broken up Weetabix. As

an extra challenge, draw 2 squiggly lines on a piece of paper

under the twigs – one would lead to the next station and the

other leads back to where they started.

A basin full of blue coloured WATER. See what will sink or float

in the water using wine cork, a coin a feather and a pencil, you

can try lots of things for this station.

A baking tin filled with MUD, or cocoa powder, flour and water

mixture. Draw some pictures in the mud, or even write your

name.

A tray with polystyrene packaging or cotton wool balls. The

challenge would be creating things with the polystyrene noodle,

(if you dip them in water and stick them together) or sticking

the cotton wool onto a sheep template

Sheep Mask

You will need:

Paper plate

Glue

Cotton wool or Tissue paper or paper tissues.

What you do: Cut the centre out of a paper plate, and form 2 ears

using the centre piece. Stick cotton wool or scrunched up tissues to

create a sheep’s fleece. Sellotape the ears in position.

TO DO TOGETHER… More sensory ways to explore

Homemade Party Poppers

You will need: A paper cup

Balloon

Metallic confetti or sequins

What you do: Cut the end off the cup. Tie the bottom of the

balloon and cut the other end of the balloon off. Stretch it over

the bottom of the cup and Sellotape in place. Place confetti into

the cup and pull the balloon and release. You now have a party

popper to celebrate the return of the sheep that got lost.

Sheep Cupcakes

You will need: Vanilla cupcake mix

Small marshmallows

Icing sugar

Chocolate eggs (cut in half)

or Chocolate buttons

Writing Icing

What you do:

Make the cupcakes as directed on the mix packaging.

Once the cakes are cool, if the cake has a point, slice the top off to make it flatter so that it is

easier to position the marshmallows.

Mix up some icing sugar and water (quite thickly), to make icing to spread on your cup cake.

Place marshmallows around the top of the cakes, with half an egg or a chocolate button

placed roughly in the centre.

Using 2 dots of icing for eye, and then using the writing icing to create the ears and eye

detail.

TO DO TOGETHER… More sensory ways to explore

Microwave Meringue Sheep

You will need: 300g icing sugar

1 lightly beaten egg white

What you do:

A grown up may need to do this. Separate the egg into the yolk and white

A child can do this. Lightly beat the egg white until frothy.

Sift 300g of icing sugar over the lightly beaten egg white. Stir until the mixture is a thick,

pliable icing and roll into small balls.

Place on a piece of kitchen paper.

Put 3 balls at a time on the plate and microwave them on high for 1½ mins – and watch, in

amazement, as the balls balloon and puff into meringues. – Be aware that the smaller the

balls the less time they will need. Check to see if they are done every 30 seconds. When they

are cool, use writing icing to create sheepy faces on them.

Please be aware that if meringues are cooked for too long in the microwave

they can burn and possible cause a fire.

Our Walking the Way Challenge

this time is…

At Home:

Outside:

For Others:

Take some time this week to do

something encouraging for

someone in your family. Could you

make breakfast in bed? Do a chore

without being asked? Mend

something for them? Buy or make

them a treat? Practice ways of

letting them know you are there for

them without needing to say it.

On your walk or in your garden, look

for signs of spring appearing. Maybe

you can spot a flower you did not see

before. Maybe you can listen out for

birds singing. Maybe you can see more

sunshine, or see the grass growing

with the rain. Even the cracks in the

pavement may be filling with tiny

plants and flowers. And you may be

lucky enough to live in the countryside

and see lambs and calves in the fields.

After the dark and dismal

months of

winter, we see spring as a message of

hope from God.

Think of someone you know who

might be feeling isolated or lost at

the moment. If you don’t know

anyone, perhaps think of the people

in your local care home. Write a

letter and draw a cheery picture to

send to them, then say a prayer for

them as you post the letter.

Adventurers Go!

You’ve shared together, now share with us!

Why not send photos of your crafts, your treasure boxes, your Walking the Way challenges -

or dress up to make a tableau of the Big Story and take a photo to send in.

Email your photos to: [email protected]

with parental permission for them to be used in publicity and online URC social media.

Alternatively, share them on our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/URCchildren.and.youth/

Remember you can find more resources on our website:

https://urc.org.uk/resources-for-children-and-youth

And if you’ve enjoyed these activities, why not see whether your local church runs Pilots or

Friends on Faith Adventures (FOFA) when things get back to normal again.

Created for you by Nicola Grieves (Eastern Synod), Judy Harris (National Synod of Wales),

Hannah Middleton (Northern Synod), Phil Ray (Wessex North), Lorraine Webb (Programme

Officer for CYW) and Ruth White (Wessex South) on behalf of the CYDO+ and Children’s and

Youth Work team and Pilots.

Acvity Sheet 1