Ask your children how turtles protect themselves from predators. How do horses protect themselves? Explain that sheep have no way to protect themselves. They would die if someone stronger and wider weren’t caring for them. Have your children draw pictures of sheep with the defense mechanisms of other animals, such as the powerful kicking legs of a horse.

Long ago, shepherds had a difficult, but important, job. A shepherd lived with his sheep to keep them safe from wild animals. He travelled with the sheep to places where they could find food and water. If a sheep was lost, the shepherd rescued it. Jesus called himself the “Good Shepherd” because He protects and rescues His own sheep—you and me—from harmful things that separate us from God.

John 10:1-18