The Coolidge examiner., 1937-02-11

LESSON IEXT-John 10:1-16.
GOLDEN TEXT am the good shep-
herd: the good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep. John 10:11.
PRIMARY TOPIC-A Good Shepherd.
JUNIOR TOPIC-The Good Shepherd.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
IC-How Jesus Is Like a Shepherd.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
IC-Jesus Our Good Shepherd.
The blind man who had been
healed had been cast out of the
synagogue because he had given the
glory for his healing to Jesus Christ,
(see ch. 81. The door to that which
stood for all that was sacred to
him had been closed. Whittier
should he turn? Look! here comes
someone seeking him. 1t is Jesus,
who now declares that the door
which men had closed was no true
door at all, for he says, II am the
door of the sheep" Those who pro-
fessed to be shepherding the focks
and who had cast this poor man out
were but hirelingS. Now he speaks
to the One who says, II am the
good Shepherd.
Someone has suggested that the
parable of the good shepherd pre-
sents the whole day in the life of
the shepherd and his flock, morning,
noon, and night, and typifies the
ministry of Christ on our behalf in
the varying circumstances of life.
1. In the Morning John 1915.
Flocks were sometimes kept in
the field at night, as was the case
on the night when Jesus was born
in Bethlehem. But ordinarily they
were brought into sheepfold where
many flocks gathered for protec-
ton. Thieves would climb the wall
to steal sheep, but the shepherd.
when he came in the morning to
lead forth his flock, entered in by
the door. He called out his flock
by name and they knew his voice.
1t is said that only a sick sheep
will follow stranger, which may
explain why so many false isms of
our day appeal to the sick and lead
them away from the Good Shep-
herd.
Do you know his voice? Have you
responded to his call? Will you fol-
low him? Decide now.
III. In the Heat of the Day (vv.
7-1O.
Perhaps the sheep need to enter
the fold to rest, if so he is the
door. But they may wish to go out
to the pasture-again he is the door.
Belonging to Christ is not bondage.
If any man enter in by Christ, the
Door, he is free to go in and out, to
find pasture, to live for and to
serve him.
1.-The Door" What a striking fig
ure! 1t is a means of entry, the
only way in. Every door has two
sides and the side we are on de-
termines whether we are inside or
outside-saved or lost. Children
used to sing, and still do:
One Door and only one,
And yet its sides are two
Inside and outside,
On which side are you?
III. When Night Comes (vv. H.
16).
The wolves come out as the shad-
ows gather. They come to kill and
to scatter. Where is the shepherd?
If he is only hireling, serving
for what may ''be in it, for him,
he will flee. How perfectly this pic
lures religious leaders who, in spite
of their swelling words and ingra-
tiating manners, desert the flock in
the hour of adversely. Fair weather
friends are they, who disappear
when darkness and danger appear
In the darkest hour Jesus is near
est at hand. He never fails. He
has no fear, for has he not tasted
the bitter death of Calvary's tree
for you and for me? He is the
good shepherd. He giveth his life
for the sheep. Those who have put
their trust in him shall never be
put to shame.
Because he has given his life for
the sheep we must not forget nor
neglect the truth found in verse 16.
There are "other sheep" that have
not yet been brought into the fold.
They must be brought in, and we,
on his behalf, must bring them, that
there may ''be one fold and one
shepherd"