April 26th, Sermon & Ministry Resources

"Gate Crashers and Good Shepherds" (John 10:1-10)

Lectionary Readings — Fourth Sunday of Easter — April 26, 2026

Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10

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Call to Worship (based on John 10:1-10)

Leader: Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.”

People: But You, Lord Jesus, are no thief. You came openly, honestly, and sacrificially — the rightful Shepherd of our souls.

Leader: “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice.”

People: We have heard Your voice, Lord! Among all the competing voices of this world, Yours is the one that calls us by name.

Leader: “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

People: You know us, Lord — not as a crowd, but by name. You do not drive us from behind; You lead us from the front. Where You go, we will follow.

Leader: “They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

People: Tune our ears, Good Shepherd. In a world full of strange voices promising what they cannot deliver, teach us to recognize the sound of the One who truly loves us.

Leader: Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”

People: You are the gate, Lord — the only way into safety, the only path to life, the only entrance to the Father’s fold.

Leader: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

People: Protect us, Lord, from every voice that would lead us astray, every false promise that would rob us of life, and every lie that seeks to destroy what You have built in us.

Leader: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

People: Not just survival, but abundance! Not just existence, but life overflowing!

All: Come, let us worship the Good Shepherd — who knows us by name, leads us into green pastures, guards us as our gate, and gives us life beyond anything we could ask or imagine. He has called, and we have come! Amen.

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Opening Prayer (based on Acts 2:42-47)

Let us pray:

Father in heaven, we come before You this morning as Your gathered people — drawn together not by habit or obligation, but by the same Spirit that drew those first believers together in Jerusalem. On the day Your church was born, they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. And so we come today, seeking that same devotion, that same hunger, that same holy togetherness that marked the earliest days of the faith.

We confess, Father, that devotion does not come naturally to us. We live in a world of distraction and drift. We are tempted to treat the gathering of Your people as one option among many rather than the lifeblood of our faith. Forgive us for the times we have settled for casual Christianity when You have called us to committed community. Forgive us for showing up in body while our hearts remain elsewhere.

Teach us again, Lord, what it means to sit under the teaching of Your Word with ears that are truly open. Teach us what it means to share life with one another — not surface-level pleasantries, but the kind of fellowship where needs are known and met, where burdens are shared, and where no one among us is overlooked or forgotten. Teach us the sacred mystery of the broken bread and the poured-out cup. And teach us to pray — not as a ritual we perform but as the very breath of our life together.

Father, we read that awe came upon everyone in those early days, that wonders and signs were being done, that the believers shared everything in common, and that they ate together with glad and generous hearts, praising You and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day, You added to their number those who were being saved. What a picture of Your church as it was meant to be! We long for that, Father. Not as nostalgia for a bygone era, but as a present reality in this congregation.

We ask You to Do it again, Lord. Pour out Your Spirit among us. Make us generous and glad. Unite our hearts. Break our selfishness. Draw the lost to Yourself through the witness of a people who genuinely love one another. And may everything we do in this place today — every word spoken, every song sung, every prayer offered — bring glory to Your name and reflect the beauty of the church Your Son purchased with His own blood.

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.

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[NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon]

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Sermon Outline: "GOOD SHEPHERDS AND GATE CRASHERS"

Based on John 10:1-10

I. The Intruders Who Exploit (vv. 1-2)

II. The Intimacy That Identifies (vv. 3-5)

III. The Illustration They Missed (vv. 6-8)

IV. The Invitation That Transforms (vv. 9-10)

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Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers