Bible Study – Fourth Sunday of Easter “Who Will We Follow”
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
“I have seen the Lord!” exclaimed Mary Magdalene. At first she does not recognize who is standing beside her. When she realizes it is the risen Jesus she wants to grasp him. He holds her off and tells her to go and share what has happened: He has walked through death and has created a path for us to follow, now and on through our own death.
In these 50 days of Easter, celebrating what Jesus has done for us, we are invited to recognize Jesus standing beside us, as he did with Mary. What is he calling us to do? Perhaps we can train our eyes to look in the direction that this Jesus, standing beside us is looking. What might he be looking at? Do we dare follow where he is leading? Can we notice and honor the various ways Jesus “appears” to people?
For the next three Sundays, to help us prepare for Pentecost, we have flashback pre-resurrection passages of Scripture. Today Jesus tells us the story of the Good Shepherd. In the story, instead of looking at ourselves as the sheep where we may be tempted to whine, what if we look at the qualities of an authentic leader? What implications can we find for ourselves?
Have you ever seen a sheep up close? If you have, what have you noticed about sheep. Jesus told stories about things people were familiar with, and all of his hearers would have had close-up experiences with sheep. Perhaps, if he were telling the story here today, instead of a shepherd and sheep he might have told about a coach and a team.
Opening Prayer: Thank you, God, for stories that help us learn what you want us to know. Amen.
Have you seen a sheepfold? It was usually a place with walls formed from stacking rocks high enough that a sheep could not hop over them but low enough that a shepherd standing inside could see a wolf coming in the distance. The sheepfold would have four walls, with a narrow opening on one side just wide enough for sheep to go through. The shepherd would station himself at the opening to keep sheep from going out and dangerous animals from coming in. Sheep are also not terribly bright. They can easily wander off if no one is watching, and if they fall into even the most shallow hole, they cannot get out by themselves.
Please open your Bibles to John 10:1-10 and read or read the scriptures below.
John 10:1-10
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Reflection Questions (Answers Below):
- What do you think it was that Jesus was trying to help the people understand that they couldn’t?
- What does Jesus mean that he is the gate?
- What is Jesus telling us life will be like if we follow Jesus? (Verse 10b)
- We could say, “But we are NOT sheep. We are people!” In what ways are we not like sheep?
- In what ways are we really like sheep?
- How do we decide whether we can trust someone we choose to follow? How do we make choices in our schools, with our friends, with the shows we watch on TV or the sites we explore on the Internet?
- When the younger children in our schools (who probably look up to us as “big kids”) watch us, what qualities of leadership would we want them to see in us?
Memory Bible Verse: John 10:10b – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Click here for the young learner’s lesson.
Videos (Click on url)
“I AM” The Door – John 10 (ShareFaithkids.com) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oemNkZo750o
The Good Shepherd & His Sheep Bible Animation (John 10) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKtW_3yQXBw
Gospel of John Summary: A Complete Animated Overview Part 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-2e9mMf7E8
Song: Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfKmwJeUvJo&list=RDwfKmwJeUvJo&start_radio=1
Activities:
Leaders: Since children in school, at church, or in your family who are younger than you, look to you as leaders, what advice would you give to younger children to help them make good choices and have life abundant? What advice would you give about dealing with bullies, making good choices about which friends to trust, etc.? (Write your thoughts on a piece of paper
WWJD Chart: Write ideas about things in one column that you would to do or are told or asked to do by your friends. Across the paper in the other column, write JESUS and another columns FALFSE LEADERS. For idea examples are don’t talk to that kid, love everyone, cheat on the test, keep that lost IPhone, help the kid to study, say hateful words, keep us from harm, climbs over the fence to get the sheep, steals the sheep, loves us, provides everything we need; watches over us, cares for us, tries to hurt us, leads us astray, tricks us, wants what is best for us etc.
The Shepherd’s Voice - Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/shepherds-voice
The Shepherd’s Voice – Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/shepherds-voice-1
The Shepherd – Maze: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-shepherd-2
The Sheep and the Shepherd – Fill in the Blank: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sheep-and-the-shepherd-1
The Sheep and the Shepherd – Multiple Choice: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sheep-and-the-shepherd-2
Prayer: Thank you, God, that Jesus shows us the way to abundant life. Amen.
Answers to the Above Questions:
- What do you think it was that Jesus was trying to help the people understand that they couldn’t? (That an authentic leader loves the people he/she is responsible for. He used this parable because people could identify themselves with and learn from the relationship between sheep and shepherds.)
- What does Jesus mean that he is the gate? (He is showing us the way to live.)
- What is Jesus telling us life will be like if we follow Jesus? (Verse 10b — abundant)
- We could say, “But we are NOT sheep. We are people!” In what ways are we not like sheep? (We can figure things out. We could roll over and get up if we fell into a shallow ditch. We can find our own way to school and back. We can read and write, etc.)
- In what ways are we really like sheep? (We tend to follow leaders: good ones and sometimes bad ones.)
- How do we decide whether we can trust someone we choose to follow? How do we make choices in our schools, with our friends, with the shows we watch on TV or the sites we explore on the Internet?
- When the younger children in our schools (who probably look up to us as “big kids”) watch us, what qualities of leadership would we want them to see in us?
