Ready for Impact (10 minutes)
Take time to welcome any newcomers and catch up on the past week (over drinks or snacks if possible). Then discuss the following question:
- Do you have a story about walking through a wrong door? What happened?
Over this term, we’re exploring eight of Jesus’ claims, each starting with the words ‘I am.’ Not only will this help us understand Jesus better, but we’ll come to understand ourselves better too.
Ask for a volunteer to read John 10:1-10. Then pray a short prayer asking that, however much group members have previously come to know God, they’d know him better as a result of your time together.
Watch
Download this video to watch offline or read the transcript here.
Impacted by the Word (20 minutes)
This is the first of two sessions we’ll spend in John 10. This session, we’ll focus on Jesus’ claim to be the gate; the next session focuses on Jesus’ claim to be the good shepherd.
- Take a few minutes to list examples of modern ‘gates’ (e.g. gym membership, security badges, airports gates etc.). What functions do these gates serve?
- Look at Jesus’ words in verses 7-10. What would happen to the flock if their gate was always open? What would happen if it was always shut? What would happen if the gate open and shut at random?
A functioning gate offered both security and freedom to the sheep.
- What’s the problem with freedom without security? Or security without freedom?
- How does all this help us understand what Jesus means by life ‘to the full’ (verse 10)?
Jesus makes his claim whilst amongst the religious authorities: the ‘gatekeepers’ of the nation of Israel.
- In claiming to be the gate, how is Jesus confronting and challenging these leaders?
- How might Jesus’ words speak to those who’ve felt unfairly shut out by gatekeepers?
- What implications are there for your own CU community?
John 10:1–21 continues directly on from Jesus’ encounter with local religious leaders, having given sight to a man born blind (John 9). These religious leaders have become hostile to Jesus (for healing on the Sabbath) and to the newly-healed man (for defending Jesus).
Jesus’ two claims in this chapter – to be both the gate and the good shepherd – expose how hypocritical and self-serving the religious leaders are. They also allow Jesus to explain how different he is from the corrupt leaders he is confronting. Next week’s study will particularly focus on this theme.
Freedom is a key Christian motif, and an important theme of Jesus’ teaching. In John 8:36, Jesus says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” This emphasis on freedom is echoed elsewhere in Galatians 5:1a: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” But what does it mean to be free?
Jesus has not come to set us free simply to do what we want. Freedom is more than having the opportunity to choose. Instead, in biblical thought, freedom is enjoying life in the environment we were made for.
Through dying in our place, Jesus does everything to qualify us to walk in relationship with God and to be the kind of people he created us to be. This is why freedom and obedience to God’s word are often tied together in biblical thought. As we obey God, we know the life we were made for. Then, once we are obeying God’s voice, we discover that there is any number of legitimate choices we can make each day. Christian freedom means celebrating the breadth of these options open to us too.
The fourth century Christian leader Augustine encapsulated these two aspects of Christian freedom when he wrote, “Love God – and do what you will.” Love for God means we obey his commands, and also recognises that – within the limits of freedom God provides for our good – we can make a range of genuinely legitimate decisions.
Impacting the University (15 minutes)
A big question students ask today is, “Why does it have to be Jesus? Why can’t a person get the life they want by whatever means they choose?”
- In twos or threes, consider how you might respond to these questions. Use John 10 and feel free to also draw from your own life.
- Report back together. What did you find hard about this exercise? What important issues came up?
If this raises questions for members of your Impact Group, there are some great resources on the Bethinking website on this theme. There’s a video that introduces the Bethinking website here.
Ask a volunteer to pray for those you know – within and beyond your group – as we ask these questions. Pray that we’d all see the trustworthiness of Jesus’ claims.
Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)
A gate provides access, offers a way through barriers and prevents threat from the outside.
- In your own life so far, how have you enjoyed the security and freedom that Jesus offers?
Use your stories as fuel for a time of praise together. Pray for any other specific needs you have among you, knowing that Jesus is fully committed to bringing you life to the full.
If you’re able to sing in your group time, there are plenty of songs that will help you celebrate how Jesus offers true safety and true freedom, including: Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone); His Mercy Is More and Jesus Paid It All.
Wrap-up – think TACOS 🌮
Thank You – Thank everyone for coming, and ask someone to thank God for your time together in prayer.
Ask – Ask those who are new to reading the Bible if they’d like to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in Mark’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate one of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life alongside one of you.
Church and CU – What does the CU have planned ahead? And what help would group members value in finding a local church?
Others – Who else could you invite to join your CU Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
See You Soon – Tell the group where and when you’ll meet next week, and arrange who will bring snacks. (You might like to alternate healthy and less healthy weeks!). See if anyone would be up for sharing a meal or just hanging out in the meantime!