Sermons 2026

Text: John 10:1-10

Theme: Listening to the Shepherd's Voice

Outline

   Beware the wolves: False teachers

   Listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, Word proclaimed= life abundantly περισσός

   Jesus is the shepherd who knows, cares, leads, and protects and gives an abundance of enduring life to his sheep.  

Sermon

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation is the Holy Gospel according to Saint John the tenth chapter verses one through ten.

Beloved Lambs, I pray that you are well this beautiful morning. Do you know what this is? This is a shepherd’s staff. The shepherd has the job of caring for the sheep. He uses this part to poke the sheep. Maybe they are going the wrong way down the path, about the fall of a cliff, the shepherd pokes the sheep to get them to safety. The shepherd uses this part, called the crook, to rescue the sheep. Maybe they have fallen into a hole. They cannot get out themselves; the shepherd hooks the sheep and lifts them up to safety again. Did you know that Jesus shepherds us? That means that we are His sheep. Baa! Jesus is our good shepherd. How does Jesus continue to poke us, and bring us to safety, still today? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.  

   Beware the Wolves

This is one of our Lord’s most familiar and well-loved parables. It is told to a mixed crowd of believers and unbelievers, including our Lord’s disciples and the Pharisees, within the Temple courts. Immediately before our text, a man born blind was healed, investigated by the Pharisees, and has fallen in worship at our Lord’s feet. To this crowd, our Lord gives this beautiful parable. Here, our Lord uses the common picture of a sheep pen at night. Winter was approaching at the time of this feast. During the cool winter months, sheep were kept inside a pen at night; the pen usually had a stone wall, which might have briers on top of it.1 They were guarded by a doorkeeper who would open the door to the shepherd when he arrived in the morning. Our Lord describes Himself as both the door as well as the good shepherd of the sheep for two reasons.

The first reason is to warn the people against following the thieves and robbers. The robber has climbed in another way. He has not entered by the right and proper way but has come a different way. These robbers and thieves do not have the sheep’s interest in mind but have come in only to thyo, to kill and slaughter the sheep. In our Lord’s time, these where the Pharisees. They said nice sounding things, not for the good of the people but solely for their own gain. They did everything to increase their own power, wealth, or authority. A thief leads people astray through false doctrine and theology with their end being everlasting death.

This is a warning that applies to us still today. We must be on guard from the false doctrine that surrounds us. It may sound good. It may even sound Christian and Christ-like, but it leads to destruction. The false doctrine of the Prosperity Gospel, which teaches that God wants all believers to be wealthy and healthy. God desires that you have everything that you want upon the earth, the best of the best physical things. If you do not have the best car, Television, or health, then your faith is too weak. You need to strengthen your faith. Maybe we fall into the false doctrine of universalism. This doctrine teaches that everyone will be saved eventually regardless of what exactly they believe. Others might deny the mercy and grace of God, choosing instead to depend upon their works to save them. Still other people might confess Jesus as Lord but deny His incarnation, divinity, or deny the Holy Trinity entirely. We could be here for hours discussing the false doctrines that can so easily creep into the church and harm our faith. It is well that we be on guard against all false doctrine and error, clinging solely to the true faith.

   Listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd

How do we avoid false teachers and the false doctrine that they teach? We follow the true voice of our shepherd. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.2  

We hear the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. We are His sheep. Our Shepherd cares deeply for His sheep. He loves us and calls us each by name. We are all known to Him. Our Shepherd who loves us so much that He lays down His life upon the cross. Jesus gives His life that you and I, plus all the other sheep in the fold, may have life and have it abundantly. We, who were facing utter destruction by the thieves, Jesus has rescued. Jesus destroyed the power of sin by shedding His own blood. Jesus is no longer death, by dying He has destroyed the power of death. Jesus leads us away from the tempting voice of the Devil, all the false teachers and doctrines that surround us. How? by listening to His voice. We hear His voice, not in a voice from heaven, a dream, or a vision, but in the Word that He has given to us though the Prophets and Apostles, men who wrote while carried along by the Holy Spirit, as Saint Peter declares. When we read the words of Holy Scripture we hear the voice of our shepherd.  

You are hearing the voice of your Great Shepherd now. As I remind you of every Sunday, you are my dear beloved flock, not my flock but members of Jesus’ dear beloved flock. The voice of the Good Shepherd is heard through Christ’s preaching office—that is through Christ’s office of pastor.  The word pastor means shepherd, and a pastor is a shepherd under the Chief Shepherd. It is through faithful pastors that the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard. It is my job as your pastor, not only to proclaim what Jesus has done for you. That because of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead, your sins are forgiven, your souls saved, eternal life guaranteed with Jesus forever. It is also my job to warn you of thieves. To help you avoid false teachers and false doctrines, because I do not want any of you to fall into their trap, to be slaughtered by them. I want you to have what Jesus promises that you have, life abundantly through His death and resurrection from the dead.

My dear beloved flock, continue to listen to the voice of your Shepherd, given you in and through His word, as well as the preaching of the Pastoral Office in your mist, that when Jesus comes in glory, we may be with our Shepherd in His fold, forever and ever.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus. Amen.