Theme: The believer's intimacy with Jesus

Exegetical note
The mixture of "shepherd" and "door" images for Jesus in this passage suggests two originally separate sayings of Jesus fused and interpreted by the evangelist. The more accessible, though dated, image is that of the shepherd (vv. 1-6 and again in 8 and 10ff.), the point of which here is the intimate relationship of trust between the care-giver and the cared-for: they know and heed his voice, while he protects their lives with his very life.

Call to Worship
(based on Ps…