October 20, 2013
Stetson Memorial United Methodist
Church
Sermon
1 of Fall Series
“Shepherd
Us O God”
John
10:1-10 The Message Bible
John
10:11-18 The Message Bible
“Shepherd
Me O God” by Marty Haugen
“The
Good Shepherd”
“Shepherd me O
God beyond my wants, beyond my needs, from death into life”. . . (Sing)
Let us pray. .
. (Pray for the Spirits illumination of
the scriptures)
Almighty,
Loving God, you who love your children and give them rest. We pray for you to
be with us, guide us into that glen by the still waters so that we may sit at
your feet and hear what you have to tell us this day. Holy Spirit of
discernment, we pray that you would be with us as we listen to the Shepherds
voice, speaking to us and giving us peace. Speak Lord; your flock is listening.
. .
A reading from
the Gospel of John, chapter ten, verses eleven through eighteen. . . listen for
the voice of the Shepherd to you and me, the sheep of His flock.(Read from the
Message Bible)
One of my most favorite children’s songs
is Mary Had A Little Lamb. That little lamb surly loved Mary. It followed her
every where she went. Even to places that it didn’t belong like to school. It
must have known the voice of Mary and so whenever it heard her voice it would
run right away to where she was. I am sure she must have taken good care of it
because if she hadn’t, it wouldn’t have followed her wherever she went.
I was looking at the church calendar a
few weeks ago to try and plan my sermons for the season and I can’t believe
that the Season of Advent starts in about 6 weeks. It always begins the Sunday
after thanksgiving and I was shocked that it is coming so soon. Where has the
year gone? It seems just like yesterday that we were celebrating Holy Week and
Easter Sunday. Now the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus is just a few weeks
away.
As I pondered over the fact that Advent
is beginning soon I thought about all the stories we hear during the Advent
Season. The one story that really got me thinking is the story about the
shepherds and how they were the first to hear about Jesus’ birth. Jesus’ birth
announcement was first heard by “lowly” shepherds. I really think God has a special place in His
heart for shepherds. Moses was a shepherd and God used him to free his people
from Egypt. David was a shepherd and he was considered “a man after God’s own
heart”. Even Jesus called Himself the “Good Shepherd”. These shepherds were appointed to watch over
God’s people. They were trusted by God to lead His people into a land of “milk
and honey”, a land that was promised to them, a place by still waters of peace.
I love the image of the shepherd. The image, to me, is one of love and
compassion. . .
All this talk about shepherds this
morning has got me thinking. . . Who are the shepherds in my life? Why have
they been shepherds for me? What is a shepherd any way. . . what do they
actually do? Well. . . the definition of
a shepherd is:
• watch
over like a shepherd, as a teacher of her pupils
• a
clergyman who watches over a group of people
• tend
as a shepherd, as of sheep or goats
• sheepherder:
a herder of sheep (on an open range); someone who keeps the sheep together in a
flock.
These are great definitions of a
shepherd but there is one thing that is missing. We can learn lessons from the
shepherds in our lives. They not only watch over us but they also teach us
things we need to know in life. They give us those lessons that other people in
our lives can’t. For instance. . . my children ((believe it or not) are
shepherds in my life. . . They teach me how not to take myself so seriously
(especially Ms. Shanequa). . . They teach me how to love life and laugh with
all my heart. . . They show me how to take something ordinary and turn it into
something extraordinary. . . they have taught me how to love unconditionally. .
. With all my heart. I thought I was going to teach them but they in turn have
also taught me.
As we begin the countdown to the
beginning of Advent, I would like for us to take a look at the ultimate
Shepherd. . . the one found in the Good Shepherd, our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
We are going to take a look at a Psalm that is probably one of the most famous
Psalms written. . . Psalm 23. This Psalm reminds me of the Good Shepherd that
we are about to celebrate. . . to contemplate. . . on His birth.
So, who is this Good Shepherd? So. . . what’s
so good about the Good Shepherd? In the Gospel read this morning, we hear about
this Good Shepherd. This shepherd. . . Jesus. . . lays down His life for the
sheep of His pasture. Jesus laid down his
life for the “sheep” of God’s pasture. He took our sin in order for us to enter
the green pasture that gives us new life. This shepherd knows His sheep. Jesus
knows us. . . His sheep. We have a shepherd that watches over us and when we
cry. . . when we bleat. . . in pain and sorrow. . . in fear, He hears us and is right there to
save His sheep. He gathers in his sheep. Jesus gathers us in. . . His sheep. .
. together so that we may be one flock, not divided like sheep and goats. (Jesus
is the Good Shepherd)
Shepherd
me o God beyond my wants, beyond my needs, from death into life. . . (Sing)
There is healing and salvation found in
the name of Jesus. . . in the name of the Good Shepherd. The words healing and salvation come from the Greek word sothenai
(sow-than-a-i) which means to be saved and made whole. There is physical
healing for the body and a spiritual healing for everyone who calls on the name
of the Good Shepherd. We are made whole. . . we are made one with and in God
and each other. When we are one there is peace. (Jesus is the Good Shepherd)
Shepherd
me o God beyond my wants, beyond my needs, from death into life. . . (Sing)
We live in a world that has so many
things trying to get our attention. There are so many people and things that
want us to follow them and it that it can be very confusing. We try to follow
what is right but we sometimes come up short. We try to do the right thing but
sometimes what we follow leaves us just as empty and fearful as we were in the
beginning. We think we hear the voice calling to us but it only ends up being
an echo of the hired hand running away leaving us alone and afraid, bleating. .
. crying out for someone to rescue and lead us into peace.
But we need to attune our ear to the
voice of the One who laid down their life for us. . . the One who will never
leave us. . . the One who is with us wherever we go...the voice of the Good
Shepherd. Who is the shepherd that you and I are following? Are we being lead
into green pastures with peaceful waters or are we following the leader of the
world around us? How can we. . . you and I. . . follow the example of the
shepherd and not that of the hired hand? It can be hard in a world full of
noise and confusion all around us. . . in a world full of “wolves in sheep’s
clothing”. . . in a world where there are things that call us out of the
pasture and into the “dung heap”.
Shepherd
me O God beyond my wants, beyond my needs, from death into life. . . (Sing)
We are called to follow the True
Shepherd. . . the one who wants us to have a new life, restored and forgiven.
We are called to know the Shepherd who calls us out of the darkness and into
the light of His pasture. We are called to obey the True Shepherd who asks us
to help Him find the lost sheep and to bring them into the sheepfold of His
love, His mercy, His grace and forgiveness. We are called to be mirror images
of the Shepherd. Kind of like apprentices to the Shepherd. . . learning from
Him and going out to practice what we have learned. . .
So. . . What’s so good about the Good
Shepherd? What’s so good is that He came to bring in the least, the lost and
the forgotten into the pasture of peace. . . He came so that we could have
forgiveness and redemption. . . as a matter of fact, this Shepherd became a
sheep. . . that paschal Lamb. . . that
sin offering for you and for me. That’s what is so good about this Good
Shepherd. . . that’s the message we share with the world around us. Do you know
of any lost sheep? Is there anyone around us that needs the healing and
restoration found in the One True Shepherd? Brothers and sisters of the pasture.
. . It’s round up time. . . we. . . all of Christ’s sheep. . . need to be out
there listening for the sound of those lost sheep bleating in the dark and
bringing them back to the one who can make them whole and so that the “Son”
(Capital S”o”n) can shine on their lives.
Let
us pray:
Loving,
merciful God, we thank you for the Good Shepherd you have given us in Christ
Jesus. We thank you that you watch over the sheep of your pasture and would never
let them be devoured. Speak to us this morning in that voice that we all hear
and know. Thank you for bringing us to green pastures by still waters.
Shepherd
us O God beyond our wants, beyond our needs, from death into life. . . (Sing)
Amen.
October
27, 2013
Sermon
2 of Fall Series
“Shepherd Us O God”
Psalm
23:1-2 (King James Version)
James
3:18 (Common English Bible)
2
Samuel 22:3 (New Living Translation)
Proverbs
14:30 (New International Version)
Psalm
121:8 (King James Version)
“Shepherd
Me O God” by Marty Haugen
2st
service of Fall Sermon Series:
Psalm
23
Lord’s
Prayer
Offertory
– “I Stand In Awe”
children’s
message
“listen
to the right voices, listen to God’s Word”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Safe and Sound”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
October 27, 2013
&
1st
service of Fall Sermon Series:
“Shepherd Us O God”
John
10:11-18 (The Message)
John
10:1-10 (The Message)
John
10:1-18 (The Message)
Psalm
23
Lord’s
Prayer
children’s
message
follow
the bible
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “The Good Shepherd”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
October 20, 2013
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Contact me at Ray Foss
for usage. See all 27,520+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
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