The Lost Sheep

[Song] “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.  Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life.”

Hello, my name is Miss Barb!  Welcome to Lifeline English, the podcast that helps you know God and know English.

You can read the written script for today’s lesson online at lifelineenglish.com.

Today I’ve got three new words for you. 

The first is “sheep”.  Can you say “sheep”?  Good job!  A sheep is an animal with four legs.  It says, “baaaa!”  The hair of the sheep is called wool.  A small sheep is called a lamb.  The plural of sheep is sheep, not sheeps. 

The next word is “shoulder”.  Repeat after me: “shoulder”.  Very good.  Your shoulder is the part of your body that connects your arms to your body.  If you want to play baseball, you need strong shoulders. 

And the last word today is “neighbor”.  Neighbors are people who live near to us.  Do you know your neighbors?  People who live in cities often do not know their neighbors. 

Our story today was first told by Jesus.  It’s called, “The Lost Sheep”. 

A man has one hundred sheep.
Who has sheep?  A man has sheep.
How many sheep does the man have?  The man has one hundred sheep. 

The man loses one of his sheep.
Is the man lost?  No, the sheep is lost.
How many sheep are lost?  One sheep is lost.
Who loses the sheep?  The man loses the sheep.

The man leaves the ninety nine sheep.
Who leaves?  The man leaves.
How many sheep does the man leave?  The man leaves ninety nine sheep.
Does the man stay with the sheep?  No, the man leaves the sheep.

The man goes looking for the one lost sheep.
Where does the man go?  The man goes looking for the one lost sheep.
Why does the man leave the ninety nine sheep?  The man leaves to look for the lost sheep.
Does the sheep look for the man?  No, the man looks for the sheep.

The man keeps searching until he finds the sheep.
How long does the man search?  The man searches until he finds the sheep. 
Does the man find the sheep?  Yes, the man finds the sheep.

When he finds the sheep, the man is very happy.
How does the man feel?  The man is happy.
When is the man happy?  The man is happy when he finds the sheep.
Why is the man happy?  The man is happy because he found his sheep.
Is the man angry at the sheep?  No, the man is happy to find the sheep.

The man puts it on his shoulders and goes home.
Where does the man put the sheep?  The man puts the sheep on his shoulders.
Does the sheep carry the man?  No, the man carries the sheep.
Where does the man go?  The man goes home.

He calls his neighbors and friends to come.
Who calls?  The man calls.
Who does the man call?  The man calls his neighbors and friends.
What does he call them to do?  He calls them to come.

“Be happy with me! I have found my lost sheep!”
Who should be happy?  The neighbors and friends should be happy.
Why should they be happy?  They should be happy because the man found his sheep.

Let’s listen to the whole story together. 

A man has 100 sheep.  The man loses one of his sheep.  The man leaves the 99 sheep.
The man goes looking for the one lost sheep.  The man keeps searching until he finds the sheep.  When he finds the sheep, the man is very happy. The man puts it on his shoulders and goes home. He calls his neighbors and friends to come. “Be happy with me! I have found my lost sheep!”

This story is told in the present tense.  Let’s change it to the past tense.  First, let’s see if you know how to change these verbs to the past tense.  I will say the present tense verb, and I will leave a space.  You say the past tense verb.  Then I will tell you the answer.  See how many you know!

Has … had.  Has is the present tense, had is the past tense.  Ready for the next ones?
Loses … lost.
Leaves… left.
Goes… went.
Keep… kept.
Finds… found.
Is… was.
Puts… put.
Calls… called.

Wow, those were hard!  Normally to make a verb past tense, we add “ed” to the end of it.  But in this story, most of the verbs are irregular.  In this story, “call” is the only regular verb.  There is no easy way to learn the past tense of irregular verbs.  You just have to memorize them.

Okay, now I’ll tell the whole story again in past tense. 

A man had 100 sheep.  The man lost one of his sheep.  The man left the 99 sheep.
The man went looking for the one lost sheep.  The man kept searching until he found the sheep.  When he found the sheep, the man was very happy. The man put it on his shoulders and went home. He called his neighbors and friends to come. “Be happy with me! I have found my lost sheep!”

We are like sheep.  We go away from our shepherd, God.  We get lost.  The Bible says, “All of us have gotten lost like sheep.  We have each gone our own way.  But God put our sin on Him (Jesus).”  Jesus is like a good shepherd.  Jesus did not stay with the good people.  He went to look for the lost people.  Jesus is very happy when He finds a lost person. 

Are you lost?  Ask Jesus to find you.  He will bring you home.   

I would love to hear from you.  You can write me.  Go to our website, lifelineenglish.com.

Until next time, may Jesus help you know Him and know English.  Good bye!

[Song] “Jesus only savior, sanctify forever, beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.”