a Family Ministries resource from Victoria Baptist Church

Dear friends

We hope you’re all keeping safe and well.

This week, at Church at Home, we will be thinking about another of Jesus’ I AM sayings: I am the gate.

What purpose does a gate have? Well it has 2 purposes: to let people in or out and to keep people in or

out. In Jesus’ time on earth, the sheepfold wouldn’t have had a gate, it was up to the shepherd to lie across

the entrance once the sheep were safely inside and to keep wild animals from entering. When Jesus says

He is the gate, He is telling us that He will keep us safe and protect us. He is the way to a good life and the

way to salvation. In John 10: 7-10, Jesus tells us what that life will look like– if we follow Him, He will make sure we have everything we need; life in all its fullness.

What a comforting thought to know that Jesus is always looking after us and wants the best for us.

We are continuing to pray for you all and our prayer this week is that you will experience the peace and

comfort of knowing that Jesus is there for you, keeping you safe just as the shepherds would keep their sheep safe in the fold. We pray that you will listen to Him and not be distracted by others who try to lead

you away from the truth.

“ Acknowledge that the Lord is God.

He made us and we belong to Him;

We are His people, we are the sheep of His pasture.”

Psalm 100:3

Be blessed and be a blessing,

a Family Ministries resource from Victoria Baptist Church

Try to learn this verse together.

Close your Bibles and see who can find the verse first and read it out. Do this several times.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, Thank you that You came to earth to be our gateway to God. Thank you that when we follow You, we will have eternal life. Help us to be bold enough to tell others about You. Amen

Activities:

Make a model of a sheepfold like those in the Bible using Lego, junk, stones etc.

When you are out and about, take pictures of any interesting or unusual gates you see. Send them to us so we can put them in the newssheet with the memory verse.

Complete any of the other activities in this pack.

Act on It:

Who do you know that needs God’s protection and love? Who do you know that doesn’t know Jesus? Get an orange -the peel of the fruit is its protector just as God protects us. Write the names of those people you have thought about on the orange and use the fruit as a reminder to pray for them. Ask God to show you how you can speak to them about His love and protection.

5th July - I am the gate

Opening Song suggestion:

Reading: John 10:1-10. Read the story from your Bible or read the attached story which is from The Message.

a Family Ministries resource from Victoria Baptist Church

a Family Ministries resource from Victoria Baptist Church

a Family Ministries resource from Victoria Baptist Church

a Family Ministries resource from Victoria Baptist Church

John 10:1-10 The Message (MSG)

He Calls His Sheep by Name

10 1-5 “Let me set this before you as plainly

as I can. If a person climbs over or through

the fence of a sheep pen instead of going

through the gate, you know he’s up to no

good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd

walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper

opens the gate to him and the sheep rec-

ognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by

name and leads them out. When he gets

them all out, he leads them and they fol-

low because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will

scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”

6-10 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.