The Good Shepherd Calls You by Name

In one paragraph

Carl preached from John 10:1-21, using the image of Jesus as the good shepherd to show what Jesus is doing, why he is doing it, and how he is able to do it. The surrounding context of John 9, where a man born blind is healed and responds with belief and worship, runs through the whole message. The two chapters together press toward a single question: do you hear his voice, and do you believe him?...

Read together

1. Lamentations quoted briefly at the opening as an encouraging word to lead worship: 'you came when I called, Lord, you told me do not fear'
2. John 9 context for John 10: Jesus heals a man born blind, the man believes and worships, the Pharisees grow more unbelieving
3. John 10:1-21 the main text of the sermon, the good shepherd passage, read in full from the New Living Translation
4. Psalm 23 connected to John 10 as a parallel word picture of the Lord as shepherd leading to green pastures and still waters
5. Romans 15:13 used as the closing benediction: 'may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl walked through John 10 alongside John 9, pointing out that the blind man's healed sight led him to say 'Lord, I believe' and worship Jesus, while the Pharisees saw the same miracle and grew more hardened. What do you think makes the difference between a miracle or answered prayer drawing someone closer to Jesus versus pushing them further away?
2. Pastor Carl described Jesus as both the shepherd and the gate, saying the sheep 'come and go freely' and are not prisoners. How do you personally experience that tension between the freedom Jesus gives and the trouble that freedom can sometimes lead us into?
3. Pastor Carl shared that he has been waking up in the middle of the night with crushing anxiety after sending a child off to college, and that reciting 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' has helped him through it. Has there been a time when a specific scripture has functioned that way for you, and what made it land in that moment rather than feeling like just words?
4. A key point in the sermon was that Jesus had the authority not only to lay his life down but to take it up again, and that this authority is what makes an abundant life possible for the flock. In your own words, why does the resurrection matter to that promise, and how does it change the way you think about the hard seasons of your life?
5. Pastor Carl said that Jesus does not offer anything in between belief and unbelief, and that belief leads to worship understood as a whole way of life, not just singing. What does a life of worship look like day to day for you, and where do you find it hardest to live that out?