NEXT STEP 2017
NE
XT STEP 2017
MESSAGE: “NEVER STOP: LIVING” SERIES: NEVER STOP PASSAGE: John 10:7-18
FIRST STEP: (Pick one or more as a WARM-UP) 1. What is the one thing you NEVER want to STOP doing? 2. What is the one thing you would like to STOP doing? 3. What does Jesus mean when he talks about abundant life or living life to the fullest? What does an abundant life look like for you personally? 4. In which area of life do you need to start living the most; spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, financially, vocationally or something else? What is your NEXT STEP to living?
FOCUS OF THE WEEK: John 10:7-18 1. John 10:7-18: Read this in a fresh translation like The Message (see back). What does Jesus want us to know about him as our Savior and Lord? What does Jesus want us to know about people (sheep)? WHY did Jesus come? WHY does Jesus want us to hear HIS VOICE? WHO is the THIEF? 2. John 10:7-18: What are the hurdles or obstacles to entering through the DOOR and listening to the SHEPHERD? How would your life be different if you entered through the DOOR every day and listened to the SHEPHERD daily? Why do you think Jesus added the qualifier of GOOD to Shepherd? 3. GO IN AND GO OUT: This is a well-known idiom for experiencing life and community. What does living with Jesus and in community with one another in a daily experience look like for you? How does anxiety, depression and isolation work against entering the pasture and feasting upon life? 4. ABUNDANT LIFE: Jesus came to give us LIFE and MUCH MORE of LIFE! In what ways have Christians just settled for life vs. the abundant life? Do ever feel like you have stopped living life? Who is the THIEF in your life right now? What is the THIEF taking from you that is keeping you from a better life? 5. LAY DOWN: 4x Jesus mentions that he lays down his life for the sheep. Why does Jesus lay down his life for the sheep? What are the benefits of this sacrifice for him and what are the benefits for us? How can you apply the principle of laying down your life for others? What roles does sacrificial living play in living life to the fullest? 6. John 1:4: What does John want us to know about life and what living with Christ means? 7. John 15:13: What example does Jesus want us to follow? Whom does Jesus want you to love? 8. John 20:31: John’s last reference to life! What does it mean to have life in name of Jesus? 9. NEXT STEP: How can you make NEVER STOP LIVING a core conviction of your life? What is the first step you need to make to ensure that you will NEVER STOP LIVING? How will your life be different from here on out if you start living life to the fullest? Who can you invite to live life with you? FINAL STEP: Read John 10:7-18. Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you where you have stopped living a more abundant life. Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you how you can start living life each and every day.
John 10:7-18 The Message (MSG) Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. 6-10
“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him. 11-13
“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.” 14-18
XT STEP 2017
MESSAGE: “NEVER STOP: LIVING” SERIES: NEVER STOP PASSAGE: John 10:7-18
FIRST STEP: (Pick one or more as a WARM-UP) 1. What is the one thing you NEVER want to STOP doing? 2. What is the one thing you would like to STOP doing? 3. What does Jesus mean when he talks about abundant life or living life to the fullest? What does an abundant life look like for you personally? 4. In which area of life do you need to start living the most; spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, financially, vocationally or something else? What is your NEXT STEP to living?
FOCUS OF THE WEEK: John 10:7-18 1. John 10:7-18: Read this in a fresh translation like The Message (see back). What does Jesus want us to know about him as our Savior and Lord? What does Jesus want us to know about people (sheep)? WHY did Jesus come? WHY does Jesus want us to hear HIS VOICE? WHO is the THIEF? 2. John 10:7-18: What are the hurdles or obstacles to entering through the DOOR and listening to the SHEPHERD? How would your life be different if you entered through the DOOR every day and listened to the SHEPHERD daily? Why do you think Jesus added the qualifier of GOOD to Shepherd? 3. GO IN AND GO OUT: This is a well-known idiom for experiencing life and community. What does living with Jesus and in community with one another in a daily experience look like for you? How does anxiety, depression and isolation work against entering the pasture and feasting upon life? 4. ABUNDANT LIFE: Jesus came to give us LIFE and MUCH MORE of LIFE! In what ways have Christians just settled for life vs. the abundant life? Do ever feel like you have stopped living life? Who is the THIEF in your life right now? What is the THIEF taking from you that is keeping you from a better life? 5. LAY DOWN: 4x Jesus mentions that he lays down his life for the sheep. Why does Jesus lay down his life for the sheep? What are the benefits of this sacrifice for him and what are the benefits for us? How can you apply the principle of laying down your life for others? What roles does sacrificial living play in living life to the fullest? 6. John 1:4: What does John want us to know about life and what living with Christ means? 7. John 15:13: What example does Jesus want us to follow? Whom does Jesus want you to love? 8. John 20:31: John’s last reference to life! What does it mean to have life in name of Jesus? 9. NEXT STEP: How can you make NEVER STOP LIVING a core conviction of your life? What is the first step you need to make to ensure that you will NEVER STOP LIVING? How will your life be different from here on out if you start living life to the fullest? Who can you invite to live life with you? FINAL STEP: Read John 10:7-18. Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you where you have stopped living a more abundant life. Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you how you can start living life each and every day.
John 10:7-18 The Message (MSG) Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. 6-10
“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him. 11-13
“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.” 14-18
