John 10:11-18
Lead in: Given the presence of thieves, bandits, and wolves the good shepherd has a dangerous job. Yet he is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. To make that clear, the phrase “lays down his life” appears five times in John 10:11-18. This good shepherd who lays down his life for us is Jesus. He loves us that much.
Prompt: When you hear Jesus described this way, what do you want your response to him to be?
Lead in: Jesus mentions that other sheep will be included in his sheepfold. We as sheep do not get to decide who belongs or doesn’t belong to the sheepfold. Instead, we are to strive to make room for everyone, even those that we may think are not worthy.
Prompt: Who then may be the “other sheep” we need to include in the divine sheepfold of the church today? What is your part in making that happen?
Lead in: Like the Good Shepherd does for his sheep, most of us would like to think that if it were in a life or death situation that we would be willing to lay down our lives for the one we love. Even though most of life is not that dramatic, each day presents us with opportunities to lay down our lives for others in the little things we do for each other. Small as these things might be, they do call for us to die to ourselves in order to be there for them.
Prompt: If laying your life down for others ordinarily consists in little things we do for each other, coming up this week what opportunities are there for you to lay your life down for others?
Lead in: We humans have wired in us the need to love, to be loved, and to feel worthwhile. That’s why it means so much when someone truly loves us for who we are. This is how Christ the Good Shepherd loves us.
Prompt: Reflect on a time when you connected with another in a way that you felt accepted, appreciated and loved for who you are.
Lead in: In John 3, we are told that “What we shall be has not yet been revealed, when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Prompt: What does that verse mean to you?
