Loved | John 10:11-18
February 13, 2023
Loved | John 10:11-18
WHEN EVERYONE ELSE RUNS AWAY

Our world has certain strategies when it comes to dealing with threats: flight, fight, or freeze are the usual options. Our world views intimacy largely as a sexual thing and most often operates on the principle of “birds of a feather flock together.” Fascinatingly, Jesus has a completely different view on all three of these important matters: how to respond to intimidation, how to be intimate, and how to be inclusive. He laid down his life for the sheep to save us and show us his heart and his plan.

Listen to an audio version of the message

Songs for this week: Spotify

John 10:11-18

  1. Have you ever seen a shepherd at work? What did you observe?
  2. In calling himself ’the Good Shepherd’ Jesus was actually claiming to be King! Comb through the verses and observe how Jesus is a king who is different from all other kings.
  3. What is it that drives your life? When your thoughts drift, where do they go to? Sometimes we actually have a different (or competing) king to Jesus. What or who might be that competing king in your life?
  4. Is God prompting you to step towards a threat for the good of your family or friend? Is God prompting you towards new intimacy either with Him or a friend? Are you moved to be more inclusive? Explain what that may look like.
Share with a friend

Recent Sermons

April 13, 2025
John 12:9-19 -When Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the shouts and cheers of the crowd, there was no mistaking what was happening: the King was back in his rightful place. There were several responses to this long-awaited event: some celebrated, some grumbled, and then… everyone went home. It may have looked anticlimactic, but Jesus wasn’t going anywhere. He had come to do what only the true King of Israel could do.
April 6, 2025
John 14:1-14 -John’s biography of Jesus slows as he chronicles the week leading up to Jesus’ death. Jesus has a long, careful conversation with the disciples, and today, we listen to the beginning of that conversation. He begins with a strong command: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He then reinforces it with three unshakable assurances: He is going ahead of them, He has cleared the way to the Father, and He will send supernatural power so they can continue His work.
March 23, 2025
John 8:48-59 -Jesus’ friend John was very careful to record the things that Jesus said about Himself. As an observant Jew, John knew that there is only one God. From time to time, God sent prophets, ordained priests, and crowned kings so that the people of God had someone to lead them to Him. Everyone knew that these leaders only ever pointed to God; they never claimed any status beyond being messengers. But when Jesus came, He was different. He claimed to be “the Light of the World,” “the Truth that sets you free,” and “the Resurrection and the Life”—all of them ridiculous claims for anyone but God to make. That was exactly His point.
March 16, 2025
Luke 15:11-32 - Jesus tells a story about a father with two lost sons. The rule-breaking younger son was lost in self-indulgence, and the rule-keeping older son was lost in self-righteousness. The father loved both generously and even recklessly. Both needed to be found. Were they?
March 9, 2025
John 4:4-26 - Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God had arrived and everyone wondered what that would look like. Would it mean swords and fighting or a political takeover? John records a couple of one-on-one conversations that Jesus had. What an interesting Kingdom! It turns out that each person matters in the Kingdom of God, each woman and each man matter eternally.
March 2, 2025
John 1:1-14A - The story of the Bible is the Story of Jesus, God’s plan all along was to come as one of us to rescue us from sin and death and to reset us to live radically different lives. Today’s passage offers a different (still true!) beginning to the story of Jesus' life on earth.
All Sermons