The Very Important Sheep

Read the beginning

Your child loved being a shepherd's helper. Every morning, as the sun peeked over the Judean hills, your child would run to help Shepherd Eli with his flock of fluffy white sheep.

"Good morning, your child!" Shepherd Eli would call with a warm smile. "Are you ready to help me count our sheep today?"

Your child nodded eagerly. "Yes! I can count all the way to one hundred now!"

Shepherd Eli chuckled and handed your child a wooden staff. "That's wonderful! We have exactly fifty sheep in our flock."

Together, they would guide the sheep to green meadows where sweet grass grew in abundance. Your child knew each sheep by name and could recognize them by the special markings on their wool.

"Look, there's Spotty with the black patch on his back," your child pointed. "And there's Curly with the extra fluffy wool!"

"You have a good eye," Shepherd Eli praised. "Just like our Good Shepherd knows each of us."

"Good Shepherd?" your child asked, puzzled.

"Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd who knows each of His sheep," Eli explained gently. "God knows you by name, your child, just as you know each sheep in our flock."

One evening, the Village Elder visited your child's family. They sat together around a flickering oil lamp as he told stories about Jesus.

"Jesus once told a story about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep," the Elder began, his eyes twinkling. "When one sheep wandered away, the shepherd left the ninety-nine others to search for the lost one."

Your child leaned forward, completely captivated.

"When the shepherd finally found his lost sheep, he was so happy!" the Elder continued. "He carried it home on his shoulders, rejoicing. Then he called all his friends together to celebrate."

"Why did the shepherd care so much about just one sheep?" your child wondered aloud.

The Elder smiled kindly. "Jesus told this story to show how much God loves each one of us. To God, you are special and important."

That night before sleeping, your child's family knelt together in prayer. "Thank you, God, for watching over us just like the Good Shepherd," their father prayed.

Your child fell asleep thinking about sheep and shepherds and God's special love.

The next afternoon, as the golden sun began to sink toward the horizon, Shepherd Eli called, "Time to count the sheep before heading home, your child!"

Your child helped guide the sheep into their pen, counting carefully. "Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine..." your child stopped, a worried feeling growing. "Shepherd Eli! We only have forty-nine sheep. Where's Woolly?"

Woolly was your child's favorite sheep, with the softest, whitest wool in the whole flock.

Shepherd Eli looked concerned as he recounted. "You're right, your child. Woolly is missing."

"What should we do?" your child asked, heart racing.

In the full story, your child is the star: their name is woven throughout, read aloud in a warm, engaging voice. Preview it with your child's name.