1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
2) Scripture Reading: John 10: 14-21
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” 19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” 21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
3) Devotional:
Red Sox fans…. The most hated and revered of all baseball teams. If you are a baseball fan, you know that you either love the Red Sox (and hate the Yankees) or you hate the Red Sox (and LOVE the Yankees). No such thing as in between. You choose a side and stick with it. In the following passage Jesus does the same thing. His public ministry is starting to wind down and He is pushing people to make a difficult choice. Either embrace Him as God, the Messiah or reject Him. There is no middle ground with Jesus. It’s either you are all in or all out. Many people in our society, including Christians, haven’t chosen to follow Jesus with everything. We know that if we choose to follow Him it will require everything, all we have, all we are, and all we would ever want to be. Jesus isn’t looking for fair-weather fans, but passionate, unruly, untamed, and unquenchable followers who will go after Him to the ends of the earth and back.
4) Questions to Consider:
What would it look like for you to become a passionate, unruly, untamed follower of Jesus? What is holding you back? What steps can you begin to take to get there?
5) Prayer:
5) Prayer:
Jesus, forgive me when I don’t choose to give you the best parts of my life? Show me where I fall short so that I can repent and get back on the path you’ve created for me.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
