The Phil Files

Why is God so hung up on this one image, this one metaphor, as He seeks to help us understand His relationship with us? I am talking about the image of sheep and shepherds. This image runs throughout the Bible. All sorts of leadership positions are tied to the term shepherd — prophet, priest, king, pastor, elder, teacher.

Clearly, one of the reasons this image was used had to do with the culture and nomadic lifestyle of early Israelites, yet even in a more urban world in which the church was born, this image and style of leadership was used to describe church leaders.

My weekly heartlight.org article, A Really Inconvenient Truth, focuses on this the subject of shepherd-leaders. Great chapters of Scripture focus on this subject as well — Ezekiel 34, Psalm 23 and John 10 are probably the three most notable, but many others exist.

So let’s do some thinking about the shepherd image in Scripture and answer some questions to get us going:

Why do you think the image of a shepherd, as a leader, is so important in the Bible?

Why is it used to describe God so frequently and intimately?

Who has been the shepherding leader in your life — whether the shepherd was an official leader or not?

For whom can you be a shepherding leader?

What trait of God as Shepherd blesses you most?

Target Date: 12.06.09 – See CTT Page

The focus this week is on Jesus’ willingness to give His life for us, His sheep. Unlike false shepherds who are only out for their own good and gain, Jesus is willing to lay down His life for us. There are two powerful ways this is true. The faithful shepherd lays down across the opening of the pasture sheep pen to protect the sheep at night and he is willing to give his life to protect the sheep from predators.

The Key Scriptures

• John 10:15, 17
• John 13:37-38
• John 15:13
• Mark 10:45
• 1 John 3:16-18; 4:7-12
  
• 1 Samuel 16:11; 17:34-37

Please share the link to any online pictures, YouTube movies, or video clips of sheep or shepherds or Scripture graphics you think illustrate the main focus of this week’s passages!

Target Date: 11.29.09 – See CTT Page

The focus this week is on how Jesus knows us, inside and out, and calls us by name. This focuses on the Shepherd’s knowledge of His sheep — and His knowledge of me! The Shepherd’s knowledge of us is complete and personal.

The Key Scriptures

• John 10:3
• Proverbs 27:23
• John 20:15-17
• Matthew 10:29-31
• Psalm 139
  

Please share the link to any online pictures, YouTube movies, or video clips of sheep or shepherds or Scripture graphics you think  may help us better understand this principle.

Target Date: 11.22.09 – See CTT Page

The focus this week is on how Jesus led people out from where they were – danger, hunger, brokenness, rejection, bondage – to a better place. A good shepherd leads his sheep to still waters and has them rest in green pastures. He restores their souls. Even in difficult times, even during the long dark valley of the shadow of death, the good shepherd stays with his sheep and leads them out to find food and leads them in to find safety. I wonder which is hardest for most real shepherds and most spiritual shepherds, leading them out to pasture or leading them back to safety?

The Key Scriptures

• John 10:3, 9-10
• Psalm 23
• Ezekiel 34
• Luke 9:23-26

Please share the link to any online pictures, YouTube movies, or video clips of sheep or shepherds or Scripture graphics you think illustrate the main focus of this week’s passages! What are the differences between driving cattle and herding sheep? Share your own ideas on how to listen to the Shepherd’s voice! What are some examples of this principle? Please share any video clips or YouTube links that you think may help us better understand this principle.

Target Date: 11.15.09 – See CTT Page

The focus on this message focuses on how sheep listen to their shepherd’s voice. They recognized his voice even in the noise of many voices. The message that we need to hear is that we need to know how to recognize “Jesus’ voice” because we have listened to Him so long that we can tell the words of the evil impostors as well as the misguided shepherds. Like Jesus’ saw through the Devil’s temptations using the Word of God, we know our Shepherd and His words so well, we recognize when they are being misused. In addition, no matter what any other shepherd may say to us — a biblical author or a Spirit equipped church leader — we evaluate and understand what they say based on Jesus’ guidance adn words. In fact, one of the waays Jesus ministered to God’s sheep who were scattered and without a shepherd was through His teaching. So this will be a clear call to know what Jesus has taught! Of course, one of the best biblical examples of this principle is when Mary met the resurrected Jesus and didn’t recognize Him until He called her by name: then, just by the sound of His voice, she knew it was Jesus and cried out, “Rabboni!” Isn’t it interesting that disciples (followers) of Jesus followed Him around to learn from Him for several years, similar to the way sheep follow their shepherd.

The Key Scriptures

• John 10:3-5, 14, 27
• John 20:11-16
• 1 Peter 2:25
• Luke 4:1-12
• Matthew 9:36
• Mark 6:34

Inputs and Ideas

Share your own ideas on how to listen to the Shepherd’s voice! What are some examples of this principle? Please share any video clips or YouTube links that you think may help us better understand this principle. Is there someone you know who has learned to truly hear the “voice” of Jesus among all the competing voices: how did they do it and how can you tell that they know the words of Jesus and have incorporated them into their life? Please also share the link to any online pictures, YouTube movies, or video clips of sheep or shepherds or Scripture graphics you think illustrate the main focus of this week’s passages!

Target Date: 11.08.09 – See CTT Page

The focus on this message is Jesus. Jesus is God’s chosen Shepherd for His people. Jesus enters by the gate to sheep pen. He doesn’t sneak His way in, but comes in as the approved Shepherd. Jesus comes as descendant of David and Abraham, two of the three great shepherds of God’s people. Jesus is the promised great prophet like Moses, whose teachings help pastor God’s people. God saw His people scattered, harassed, and abandoned, and sent the only One who could truly Shepherd His people, Jesus, the Great Shepherd of God’s sheep.

The Key Scriptures

• John 10:1-3
• Matthew 1:1
• Acts 3:22; Acts 7:37
• Hebrews 13:20
• 1 Peter 2:25; 1 Peter 5:4

Inputs and Ideas

Share your own ideas on Jesus as God’s chosen Shepherd. Why is this important? Do you have any video or drama ideas that illustrate how Jesus is God’s chosen Shepherd? Why is it important to you that God sent Jesus to be both the Lamb that was slain and also the Chief Shepherd of His sheep? Please share the links to any online pictures, YouTube movies, or video clips of sheep or shepherds or Scripture graphics you think illustrate the main focus of this week’s passages!