Children's Liturgy Series: 4th Sunday of Easter

In today's Gospel, Jesus explains how he is like the shepherd who knows the voice of each of his sheep (us).

Come Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and our minds. Fill us with your peace, love, and understanding. Help us to hear God's message today and recognize His voice in our daily activities. Amen

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Play this guessing game. Ask the children to put their heads down on their desk, eyes covered. When all eyes are covered, choose one volunteer to speak aloud. Ask the rest of the group to guess the name of the speaker. Play the game several times so a number of voices are identified. Say: Was it easy or difficult to identify the voices you heard? We have to know a person pretty well to be able to recognize her voice without seeing her.
Say: This is what Jesus describes in today's Gospel, his close relationship with his followers. Let's listen carefully to this Gospel.

Ask: How does Jesus describe the relationship he has with his sheep? (The sheep hear Jesus' voice and follow him; Jesus knows his sheep.) What does Jesus do for his sheep? (He protects them, and he gives them eternal life.) How does Jesus describe his relationship with the Father? (They are one.)

Say: We are Jesus' followers; we are the sheep he is talking about in today's Gospel. Jesus knows us as well as our family and our best friends. When we share eternal life, we will be closer to God as well. We will see God as he is and share fully in the life of God.

Father in heaven, for the sake of bringing others closer to you, we give you today, all that we think and do and say, and we join it with all that was done by Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen