Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gathers us, saves us and keeps his flock together.
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle B
Theme For The Day: Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gathers us, saves us and keeps his flock together.
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Acts 4:5--12 (C); Acts 4:8--12 (RC)
Peter and John are arrested by the temple guards for preaching the resurrection and healing the crippled man in the temple. The suspects are brought before the family of the High Priest for questioning. The interrogators wanted to know by what power Peter effected the healing. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter boldly proclaims that this man was healed through the name of Jesus. Jesus is the stone which the builders (the religious establishment) rejected, but God has made him the cornerstone.
Lesson 1: Acts 4:(23--31) 32--37) (E)
(See Easter 2)
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:16--24 (C)
God shows his love for us by calling us his children (vv. 1--2) and by laying down his life for us (v. 16). Therefore, we also should lay down our lives for one another and share our goods with those in need. John sums up God's commands in two phrases: to believe in Jesus Christ and to love one another (v. 23). These are the marks of obedience.
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:1--2 (RC); 1 John 3:1--8 (E)
(See Easter 3)
Gospel: John 10:11--18 (C, RC); John 10:11--16 (E)
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who truly cares for his sheep. Those who are hired to tend the sheep flee in the face of danger, but not the Good Shepherd, who stands ready to lay down his life for his sheep. The relationship between the Good Shepherd and his sheep is characterized by mutual knowing and self--revelation. There are other sheep, not of his fold; he must bring them into the flock so that there might be one flock and one Shepherd. The image of shepherd is widely employed by the prophets to describe the leadership of God's anointed king. Jesus employs the shepherd style of leadership for those who follow him as the Christ.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 23 (C, E) - "The Lord is my shepherd..."
Psalm 117 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
Shepherd and guardian of our souls, when we wander away from your tender care, gently lead us back into your fold, where we are known and loved. In your precious name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Acts 4:5--12
The godfathers. After the arrest of Peter and John, there was a confab amongst the high priestly clan - Annas, Caiaphas, John and Alexander. They were the godfathers of the temple; Jesus had disrupted the family business when he walked as a mortal, now he was causing even more trouble after his death. A follower of Jesus was healing in his name and hundreds of Jews were becoming disciples of Jesus. The priestly clique was intent on doing whatever was necessary to dispose of those who were meddling in the family business.
Prescription for good health (v. 10). The apostles carried on Jesus' healing ministry. Health, in all its dimensions, is associated with the coming of God's kingdom. Health begins with holiness, knowing one's self as God's child and being centered in the Lord.
Stumbling stone or cornerstone? Peter preaches that Jesus is like a stone which the religious establishment (God's builders) has rejected. It becomes a stumbling stone of offense. Peter boldly asserts that God has made Jesus the cornerstone, the most important building block of all, for it ties the whole edifice together.
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:16--24
How do you know you're in love? This is the question that young people ask. Of course, they are thinking of love primarily as an emotional state rather than something we do. John would phrase the question differently. He would say: How do we know love? The answer would be: We know love in Christ, who loved us so much that he offered up his life for us (v. 16). We also know love when we share ourselves and our substance with those in need. We know love through actions and deeds (vv. 17--18).
Blessed assurance (vv. 18--22). The best antidote for a guilty conscience is to live in love and to live out our love. The acts of love will help reassure our hearts that we really are God's children. If love is an emotion, we are always in a quandary as to whether or not we have attained the proper love feeling. And even if our hearts or consciences condemn us, John reassures us with the knowledge that God is greater than our hearts. We have the blessed assurance, through Jesus, that God knows us and yet loves us, even when our hearts condemn us.
Prescription for a powerful prayer life (vv. 22--23). John suggests that a holy life leads to a clean conscience, which leads to a bold and powerful prayer life. This makes sense because sin separates us from God. When we know we're forgiven and are trying to live in obedience to God's will, this makes us bold to storm the gates of heaven. The alienation caused by sin has been overcome when we trust in Christ and embrace God's grace.
Gospel: John 10:11--18
Employee mentality. The passage contrasts the owner of the sheep from the hired hand. The shepherd cares for the sheep because they belong to him. Their lives are intertwined with his own. In contrast, the hired hand is only doing the job for money. He doesn't really care for the sheep; no personal bond exists. For the shepherd there is a "me and mine" relationship; for the hired hand it's "me and them." The shepherd will sacrifice for those who are precious to him but the hired hand refuses to give himself for those who are only a number.
The Ground of Being. The phrase I am repeats itself with some regularity in the tenth chapter of John. When Moses asked God who he was that was sending him to free the Hebrew people, the Lord told Moses to say that I Am has sent you. Paul Tillich refers to God as the Ground Of Being. Such a title seems philosophical and impersonal. The Gospel of John gives content to this title. "I am the way, the truth and the life." "I am the vine and you are the branches." "I am the bread of life..." In this pericope, the object of the verb "to be" is the word shepherd. This title is the most beloved of all the I Am passages in the Gospel of John, because it connotes a personal relationship of love and caring. How wonderful to know that within the Ground Of Our Being there beats a shepherd's heart.
One flock, one shepherd (v. 17). This passage, expressing missionary consciousness, suggests that the missionary spirit of the early church had its source in the Spirit of Jesus himself. Salvation was not limited to the Jews. Jesus had other sheep that were not, as yet, in his fold. When the kingdom had fully come, there would be only one flock and one shepherd. This word of Christ encourages us to manifest not only a missionary spirit to non--Christians, but an ecumenical attitude toward those who find themselves in other Christian sub--folds.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Acts 4:5--12
Sermon Title: Credentials
Sermon Angle: During the interrogation Peter and John were asked the source of their authority for the healing of the crippled man (v. 7). Peter boldly appeals to a higher authority, the name of Jesus, the One whom God raised from the dead. Peter states that it's in the name of Jesus, the One they had rejected and tried to destroy, that the crippled man stood whole and well. In Christ's name this man was healed. We are empowered with the same name in baptism. No other credentials are needed.
Outline:
1. The high priestly family called Peter to present his credentials for healing the crippled man.
2. They considered him to be practicing without papers (credentials).
3. Peter appealed to the authority of the risen Christ (Christ's name).
4. The One whom they disbarred and killed is Lord and judge of all.
5. Our baptism gives us the credentials (we bear Jesus' name) we need to make others whole.
Sermon Title: The Rock Preaches The Rock And Becomes A Rock
Sermon Angle: A student of Scripture is struck by the difference in Peter's demeanor right before the crucifixion, when he denied his Lord, and after the resurrection, when he boldly proclaims Jesus as Lord. In the first instance he is the rock in name only. He behaved more like a quavering bowl of jello. After the resurrection Peter is reborn and preaches Jesus as the main rock (cornerstone) in the edifice of God's kingdom. Christ, the rock discarded by the Jewish leaders, is the building block that gives the kingdom its shape and form. The difference between the former and the latter Peter derives from the power of Jesus' resurrection and the Holy Spirit.
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:16--24
Sermon Title: How To Find Your True Love
Sermon Angle: John informs us how we can find our true love. First of all, he tells about the One who truly loves us and gave his life for us, Jesus Christ. This informs us about how we can be the object of love. This is love as a noun. If he left us here, however, we would not yet know the fullness of love. No, John instructs us how we can find our true love as a verb, as something that we do to and for others. The second love flows from the first. "We love because He first loved us." To put it simply, true love consists not only in being loved but in loving others. If only people were as interested in giving love as they are in receiving love, there would be love overflowing.
Outline:
1. Most of the magazines and movies deal with finding one's true love.
2. Society defines love as something we receive from another.
3. Finding true love means finding the right person.
4. God defines love as the willingness to lay down one's life for another.
- Christ gave his life for us (v. 16).
- We are to give our lives to one another (vv. 17--18).
5. We find our true love in Christ (as the objects of love and as the subjects of love).
Sermon Title: The New Commandments
Sermon Angle: John reduces the Christian life into two imperatives. We are to believe (trust) in God's Son and love one another (v. 23). The Jewish religion had become entangled in a morass of rules and restrictions. John cuts to the core of true religion. Namely, to trust in God's forgiving grace and then to extend this freeing grace to others through acts of love.
Gospel: John 10:11--18
Sermon Title: The Shepherd's Psalm
Sermon Angle: The good shepherd theme is also featured in the Psalm Of The Day, Psalm 23. This Psalm is attributed to King David, who was a shepherd himself. This shepherd/king realized that he needed an over--shepherd. A sermon on this most beloved and widely used of all scripture passages would certainly be appropriate.
Outline:
Introduction: What does it mean to say that "the Lord is my shepherd"?
1. God personally cares about us and supplies our needs (I shall not want).
- God supplies our physical needs (green pastures, still waters).
- God supplies our spiritual needs (restores our soul, leads along right pathways).
2. God will always walk with me, even when my life is threatened (valley of the shadow of death). Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down his life for us (Gospel).
3. God will honor me in the presence of those who are my enemies (a table in the presence of my enemies).
4. God's goodness and love will lead me from this life into eternity (surely goodness...).
__________
Pastors are shepherds, entrusted with the formidable task of helping people triumph over life and death. We have the privilege of shepherding our flocks through the "valley of the shadow of death." Our task is to enable those facing death to do so in a spirit of openness and faith. Our natural tendency is to shun that which causes us pain. Sometimes pastors also need shepherds to lead them through the valley of shadow. My mother was shepherd to her family while she was dying. She made it possible for both herself and her loved ones to triumph over death by requesting that we write her notes and letters for her last birthday. These notes prompted us candidly to deal with life, with death, with the past, present and future. One thing is sure. Nobody wants to die alone. When it comes to this business of dying, we all need a shepherd and pastors can't do the job by themselves. The family of God needs to be instructed in ways that they too can shepherd others through the valley of the shadow of death. An article I found in the Leadership magazine would be of great help in this task. "Asimakoupoulos: Shepherding in the Shadow of Death" by Greg Asimakoupoulos: 1994, Christianity Today, Inc./Leadership journal.
__________
Some pastors are like the hired hand that Jesus speaks of in the Good Shepherd discourse; it's just a job for which they are paid, but inside the majority of pastors there beats a true shepherd's heart. In a survey conducted by the Leadership journal, only a little over ten percent of the pastors polled would leave the ministry for a secular pursuit that paid more money. Over seventy percent of them reported that pay was not a key factor in determining whether of not they remained in the ministry. Some 86.5 percent of the pastors polled cited a strong sense of call as the reason they remained in the ministry. When asked if they would select a career in the ministry if they had it to do all over again, 83 percent responded affirmatively. (Statistics gleaned from "Pastor's Pulse" by Richard Doebler, a contributing editor for Leadership, 1995)
Sermon Title: Stand Up Together With God's Flock
Sermon Angle: The risen Christ appeared primarily to his disciples as they assembled together. They were able to stand up again through their common experience of the risen Christ. In the real crisis of life and faith, we are not able to "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again." We are empowered to stand through Christ's resurrection but we are only able to stay erect if we stand together in faith with other members of his flock.
Sermon Title: What's Good About The Good Shepherd?
Sermon Angle: Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd (leader). This implies that there must also be such a thing as a bad shepherd (leader). We'll start with the bad shepherd; what does he look like? He's merely an employee (v. 13). He doesn't care personally for the sheep (v. 13). There is no sense of relationship; he doesn't know the sheep. They are merely numbers to him. In contrast, what does the Good Shepherd look like? He cares for his sheep with his life (v. 11). He owns them and therefore they are precious to him. He knows them and loves them (v. 14). He yearns for those sheep who have strayed and seeks to bring them back into his fold (v. 16).
Outline:
1. The world longs for genuine leadership (real shepherds).
2. The world is filled with examples of bad shepherds. (Give examples.)
3. Give characteristics of the bad shepherds (noted in Sermon Angle).
4. Give characteristics of Christ, the good shepherd (Sermon Angle).
5. Use Jesus as a model for leadership.
__________
A legend about John, known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, has the elderly man teaching some of his young disciples the principles of the kingdom. After he got their attention, John raised his hand for emphasis and uttered a word of wisdom: "Little children, love one another." One of the eager recruits retorted: "That's fine, John, but how do we heal as Jesus did?" The old gentlemen replied: "Little children, love one another." Another neophyte chimed in: "We get your point, John, but how can we be truly great and dynamic leaders?" A third time, the beloved disciple repeated: "Little children, love one another." Love remains the essence of Jesus' shepherding style of leadership.
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Acts 4:5--12 (C); Acts 4:8--12 (RC)
Peter and John are arrested by the temple guards for preaching the resurrection and healing the crippled man in the temple. The suspects are brought before the family of the High Priest for questioning. The interrogators wanted to know by what power Peter effected the healing. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter boldly proclaims that this man was healed through the name of Jesus. Jesus is the stone which the builders (the religious establishment) rejected, but God has made him the cornerstone.
Lesson 1: Acts 4:(23--31) 32--37) (E)
(See Easter 2)
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:16--24 (C)
God shows his love for us by calling us his children (vv. 1--2) and by laying down his life for us (v. 16). Therefore, we also should lay down our lives for one another and share our goods with those in need. John sums up God's commands in two phrases: to believe in Jesus Christ and to love one another (v. 23). These are the marks of obedience.
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:1--2 (RC); 1 John 3:1--8 (E)
(See Easter 3)
Gospel: John 10:11--18 (C, RC); John 10:11--16 (E)
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who truly cares for his sheep. Those who are hired to tend the sheep flee in the face of danger, but not the Good Shepherd, who stands ready to lay down his life for his sheep. The relationship between the Good Shepherd and his sheep is characterized by mutual knowing and self--revelation. There are other sheep, not of his fold; he must bring them into the flock so that there might be one flock and one Shepherd. The image of shepherd is widely employed by the prophets to describe the leadership of God's anointed king. Jesus employs the shepherd style of leadership for those who follow him as the Christ.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 23 (C, E) - "The Lord is my shepherd..."
Psalm 117 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
Shepherd and guardian of our souls, when we wander away from your tender care, gently lead us back into your fold, where we are known and loved. In your precious name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Acts 4:5--12
The godfathers. After the arrest of Peter and John, there was a confab amongst the high priestly clan - Annas, Caiaphas, John and Alexander. They were the godfathers of the temple; Jesus had disrupted the family business when he walked as a mortal, now he was causing even more trouble after his death. A follower of Jesus was healing in his name and hundreds of Jews were becoming disciples of Jesus. The priestly clique was intent on doing whatever was necessary to dispose of those who were meddling in the family business.
Prescription for good health (v. 10). The apostles carried on Jesus' healing ministry. Health, in all its dimensions, is associated with the coming of God's kingdom. Health begins with holiness, knowing one's self as God's child and being centered in the Lord.
Stumbling stone or cornerstone? Peter preaches that Jesus is like a stone which the religious establishment (God's builders) has rejected. It becomes a stumbling stone of offense. Peter boldly asserts that God has made Jesus the cornerstone, the most important building block of all, for it ties the whole edifice together.
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:16--24
How do you know you're in love? This is the question that young people ask. Of course, they are thinking of love primarily as an emotional state rather than something we do. John would phrase the question differently. He would say: How do we know love? The answer would be: We know love in Christ, who loved us so much that he offered up his life for us (v. 16). We also know love when we share ourselves and our substance with those in need. We know love through actions and deeds (vv. 17--18).
Blessed assurance (vv. 18--22). The best antidote for a guilty conscience is to live in love and to live out our love. The acts of love will help reassure our hearts that we really are God's children. If love is an emotion, we are always in a quandary as to whether or not we have attained the proper love feeling. And even if our hearts or consciences condemn us, John reassures us with the knowledge that God is greater than our hearts. We have the blessed assurance, through Jesus, that God knows us and yet loves us, even when our hearts condemn us.
Prescription for a powerful prayer life (vv. 22--23). John suggests that a holy life leads to a clean conscience, which leads to a bold and powerful prayer life. This makes sense because sin separates us from God. When we know we're forgiven and are trying to live in obedience to God's will, this makes us bold to storm the gates of heaven. The alienation caused by sin has been overcome when we trust in Christ and embrace God's grace.
Gospel: John 10:11--18
Employee mentality. The passage contrasts the owner of the sheep from the hired hand. The shepherd cares for the sheep because they belong to him. Their lives are intertwined with his own. In contrast, the hired hand is only doing the job for money. He doesn't really care for the sheep; no personal bond exists. For the shepherd there is a "me and mine" relationship; for the hired hand it's "me and them." The shepherd will sacrifice for those who are precious to him but the hired hand refuses to give himself for those who are only a number.
The Ground of Being. The phrase I am repeats itself with some regularity in the tenth chapter of John. When Moses asked God who he was that was sending him to free the Hebrew people, the Lord told Moses to say that I Am has sent you. Paul Tillich refers to God as the Ground Of Being. Such a title seems philosophical and impersonal. The Gospel of John gives content to this title. "I am the way, the truth and the life." "I am the vine and you are the branches." "I am the bread of life..." In this pericope, the object of the verb "to be" is the word shepherd. This title is the most beloved of all the I Am passages in the Gospel of John, because it connotes a personal relationship of love and caring. How wonderful to know that within the Ground Of Our Being there beats a shepherd's heart.
One flock, one shepherd (v. 17). This passage, expressing missionary consciousness, suggests that the missionary spirit of the early church had its source in the Spirit of Jesus himself. Salvation was not limited to the Jews. Jesus had other sheep that were not, as yet, in his fold. When the kingdom had fully come, there would be only one flock and one shepherd. This word of Christ encourages us to manifest not only a missionary spirit to non--Christians, but an ecumenical attitude toward those who find themselves in other Christian sub--folds.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Acts 4:5--12
Sermon Title: Credentials
Sermon Angle: During the interrogation Peter and John were asked the source of their authority for the healing of the crippled man (v. 7). Peter boldly appeals to a higher authority, the name of Jesus, the One whom God raised from the dead. Peter states that it's in the name of Jesus, the One they had rejected and tried to destroy, that the crippled man stood whole and well. In Christ's name this man was healed. We are empowered with the same name in baptism. No other credentials are needed.
Outline:
1. The high priestly family called Peter to present his credentials for healing the crippled man.
2. They considered him to be practicing without papers (credentials).
3. Peter appealed to the authority of the risen Christ (Christ's name).
4. The One whom they disbarred and killed is Lord and judge of all.
5. Our baptism gives us the credentials (we bear Jesus' name) we need to make others whole.
Sermon Title: The Rock Preaches The Rock And Becomes A Rock
Sermon Angle: A student of Scripture is struck by the difference in Peter's demeanor right before the crucifixion, when he denied his Lord, and after the resurrection, when he boldly proclaims Jesus as Lord. In the first instance he is the rock in name only. He behaved more like a quavering bowl of jello. After the resurrection Peter is reborn and preaches Jesus as the main rock (cornerstone) in the edifice of God's kingdom. Christ, the rock discarded by the Jewish leaders, is the building block that gives the kingdom its shape and form. The difference between the former and the latter Peter derives from the power of Jesus' resurrection and the Holy Spirit.
Lesson 2: 1 John 3:16--24
Sermon Title: How To Find Your True Love
Sermon Angle: John informs us how we can find our true love. First of all, he tells about the One who truly loves us and gave his life for us, Jesus Christ. This informs us about how we can be the object of love. This is love as a noun. If he left us here, however, we would not yet know the fullness of love. No, John instructs us how we can find our true love as a verb, as something that we do to and for others. The second love flows from the first. "We love because He first loved us." To put it simply, true love consists not only in being loved but in loving others. If only people were as interested in giving love as they are in receiving love, there would be love overflowing.
Outline:
1. Most of the magazines and movies deal with finding one's true love.
2. Society defines love as something we receive from another.
3. Finding true love means finding the right person.
4. God defines love as the willingness to lay down one's life for another.
- Christ gave his life for us (v. 16).
- We are to give our lives to one another (vv. 17--18).
5. We find our true love in Christ (as the objects of love and as the subjects of love).
Sermon Title: The New Commandments
Sermon Angle: John reduces the Christian life into two imperatives. We are to believe (trust) in God's Son and love one another (v. 23). The Jewish religion had become entangled in a morass of rules and restrictions. John cuts to the core of true religion. Namely, to trust in God's forgiving grace and then to extend this freeing grace to others through acts of love.
Gospel: John 10:11--18
Sermon Title: The Shepherd's Psalm
Sermon Angle: The good shepherd theme is also featured in the Psalm Of The Day, Psalm 23. This Psalm is attributed to King David, who was a shepherd himself. This shepherd/king realized that he needed an over--shepherd. A sermon on this most beloved and widely used of all scripture passages would certainly be appropriate.
Outline:
Introduction: What does it mean to say that "the Lord is my shepherd"?
1. God personally cares about us and supplies our needs (I shall not want).
- God supplies our physical needs (green pastures, still waters).
- God supplies our spiritual needs (restores our soul, leads along right pathways).
2. God will always walk with me, even when my life is threatened (valley of the shadow of death). Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down his life for us (Gospel).
3. God will honor me in the presence of those who are my enemies (a table in the presence of my enemies).
4. God's goodness and love will lead me from this life into eternity (surely goodness...).
__________
Pastors are shepherds, entrusted with the formidable task of helping people triumph over life and death. We have the privilege of shepherding our flocks through the "valley of the shadow of death." Our task is to enable those facing death to do so in a spirit of openness and faith. Our natural tendency is to shun that which causes us pain. Sometimes pastors also need shepherds to lead them through the valley of shadow. My mother was shepherd to her family while she was dying. She made it possible for both herself and her loved ones to triumph over death by requesting that we write her notes and letters for her last birthday. These notes prompted us candidly to deal with life, with death, with the past, present and future. One thing is sure. Nobody wants to die alone. When it comes to this business of dying, we all need a shepherd and pastors can't do the job by themselves. The family of God needs to be instructed in ways that they too can shepherd others through the valley of the shadow of death. An article I found in the Leadership magazine would be of great help in this task. "Asimakoupoulos: Shepherding in the Shadow of Death" by Greg Asimakoupoulos: 1994, Christianity Today, Inc./Leadership journal.
__________
Some pastors are like the hired hand that Jesus speaks of in the Good Shepherd discourse; it's just a job for which they are paid, but inside the majority of pastors there beats a true shepherd's heart. In a survey conducted by the Leadership journal, only a little over ten percent of the pastors polled would leave the ministry for a secular pursuit that paid more money. Over seventy percent of them reported that pay was not a key factor in determining whether of not they remained in the ministry. Some 86.5 percent of the pastors polled cited a strong sense of call as the reason they remained in the ministry. When asked if they would select a career in the ministry if they had it to do all over again, 83 percent responded affirmatively. (Statistics gleaned from "Pastor's Pulse" by Richard Doebler, a contributing editor for Leadership, 1995)
Sermon Title: Stand Up Together With God's Flock
Sermon Angle: The risen Christ appeared primarily to his disciples as they assembled together. They were able to stand up again through their common experience of the risen Christ. In the real crisis of life and faith, we are not able to "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again." We are empowered to stand through Christ's resurrection but we are only able to stay erect if we stand together in faith with other members of his flock.
Sermon Title: What's Good About The Good Shepherd?
Sermon Angle: Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd (leader). This implies that there must also be such a thing as a bad shepherd (leader). We'll start with the bad shepherd; what does he look like? He's merely an employee (v. 13). He doesn't care personally for the sheep (v. 13). There is no sense of relationship; he doesn't know the sheep. They are merely numbers to him. In contrast, what does the Good Shepherd look like? He cares for his sheep with his life (v. 11). He owns them and therefore they are precious to him. He knows them and loves them (v. 14). He yearns for those sheep who have strayed and seeks to bring them back into his fold (v. 16).
Outline:
1. The world longs for genuine leadership (real shepherds).
2. The world is filled with examples of bad shepherds. (Give examples.)
3. Give characteristics of the bad shepherds (noted in Sermon Angle).
4. Give characteristics of Christ, the good shepherd (Sermon Angle).
5. Use Jesus as a model for leadership.
__________
A legend about John, known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, has the elderly man teaching some of his young disciples the principles of the kingdom. After he got their attention, John raised his hand for emphasis and uttered a word of wisdom: "Little children, love one another." One of the eager recruits retorted: "That's fine, John, but how do we heal as Jesus did?" The old gentlemen replied: "Little children, love one another." Another neophyte chimed in: "We get your point, John, but how can we be truly great and dynamic leaders?" A third time, the beloved disciple repeated: "Little children, love one another." Love remains the essence of Jesus' shepherding style of leadership.
