Sermon Based Group Homework
For the message on April 11, 2021
Passage: John 10:10-18
QUICK REVIEW
This Sunday, Sellers continued our “Jesus” series by showing us what it means that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. In the message, we see that Jesus is good because He knows me, accepts me, died for me, and rose from the dead for me.
Looking back at your notes from Sunday’s message, was there anything you heard for the first time, caught your attention, or challenged you?
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Do you think that God is good? What evidence can you provide to support your answer? Why do some people struggle with the notion that there is a good God who exists?
LET’S GO DEEPER
1. Some people see God as uncaring or distant. Theologian and author A.W. Tozer wrote, “Too often we reduce God to ‘the man upstairs,’ the one who helps when we’re in trouble and doesn’t bother us when we’re not.” The coming of Jesus dispels this mindset about God. In John 10:14, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” What do the following passages say about the personal nature of God?
Psalm 34:17-18 (NLT2)
17 The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
Acts 17:24-27 (NLT2)
24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.
John 1:10, 14 (NLT2)
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
How has God shown you that He is personal in nature?
What steps might you take this week to get to know God better?
2. Not only does Jesus, the Good Shepherd, provide for His sheep, He went so far as to lay down His life for them. What do the following passages say about this kind of love?
John 15:13 (NLT2)
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Romans 5:6-8 (NLT2)
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
1 John 3:16-18 (NLT2)
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
Do you think Jesus had to die for us? Why or why not?
Why do you think Jesus chose to endure the agony of the cross? How does this make you feel?
3. As our Good Shepherd, Jesus demonstrated His deity by choosing to not only lay down His life but also take it back up again. Not only is Jesus our Good Shepherd, He is our powerful God who holds authority over death. What did the Apostle Paul say about this same power available to us in the following passage?
Romans 8:9-13 (NLT2)
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. 12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
According to this passage, how will this resurrection power help you after your physical body dies?
How will this power help you today? What role do you play in accessing and utilizing this power?
As you finish this study, go around the group and have each person give one way that God has been good to them this week.
TAKE IT HOME
1. What is your biggest takeaway from this sermon and study?
2. Do you have any prayer requests for your group?
Prayer Requests:
