Sunday, November 24, 2013

sermon, "From Here To Eternity", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, November 24, 2013

November 24, 2013
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Sermon 6 of Fall Series
“Shepherd Us O God”
Jeremiah 29:11 Common English Bible
2 Timothy 4:7-8 Common English Bible
John 14:1-3 Common English Bible
Psalm 23:6 King James Version
“Shepherd Me O God” by Marty Haugen

“From Here To Eternity”

A reading from the Psalms, Psalm 23, verse 6. . . listen for the voice of the Shepherd to you and me, the sheep of His flock. (Read from the King James Bible)

Psalm 23:6 King James Version (KJV)
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

“Shepherd me O God beyond my wants,
beyond my needs, from death into life.
Surely your kindness and mercy follow me all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of my God forevermore. (Sing)

I don’t know about you but there are times. . . I hate waiting. It is usually those times when I am in a hurry and I have to wait. . . being in a hurry probably makes the time seem to go by slow. I may be in a line at the grocery store and it just seems to take forever. How bout at the doctor’s office? That seems to take so long. You get there before time so that you can be sure to be on time and you get to hurry up and wait. Why do so many things take so much time? We may use sayings like “it seems like an eternity” when we have to wait. But what is eternity really like? Actually, how long is an eternity?

Over the past few weeks, we have been journeying with the Shepherd found in the 23rd Psalm, the Good Shepherd. We have learned that we have no wants because of our Shepherd, our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. . . how we are never without Him. . . this same Shepherd. . . wants to bring us to peaceful pastures where we can rest beside the calm streams of living water He gives so freely to all of His sheep. We know that He is the only one who can truly restore us and when we are restored we are guided on the path of righteousness for His name. . . not our own. And when we can become “cast sheep” stuck on our backs unable to get up . . . Jesus is the only one who can set us right again. We know that we can feel comfort from our Shepherd in times of chaos. . . because we have His presence. Last week. . . we will heard how we have victory in and with our Shepherd but we also need to have that daily anointing with the oil of God’s Word that pours down from heaven. . . for you and for me. . . so that we can draw close to our Shepherd. This week we are at the end of the Psalm. . . when we recite that God’s goodness and mercy follows us as we live out our faith walk and after our journey is complete, we get to be with God forever. . . for an eternity. . . in heaven.

So. . . what is an eternity? Well, Webster’s Dictionary defines it as:
: time without an end
: a state that comes after death and never ends
: time that seems to be without an end

Wow. . . that seems really long. . . a time without end. We, as Christians, live here on earth and everything has a time table. To be somewhere without time is almost mind boggling.
Vocabulary.com states:
“Eternity means "forever," like living for all eternity. Or it can mean something that seems like it will go on for forever, like waiting an eternity for your sister to get out of the bathroom.
Eternity means "time without end, or infinity," like people who promise to love one another for eternity — they aren't planning to ever split up. When you put the word an before eternity, you can use it to describe a very long — too long — period of time, so that you can use it to complain. For example, you might use the phrase "it felt like an eternity," after waiting twenty minutes to get an ice cream cone.”

Now I don’t know about you but being with God for “an eternity” is not something I would complain about, it will be awesome to be in His presence for “an eternity”. . . a time that never will end. . .

So. . . we have been talking about sheep during our journey with the God Shepherd and how we are very much like our four legged friends son let’s see what the shepherd has to say. . .  Now throughout this journey we have talked about how the flock’s welfare depends completely on the shepherd who cares for them. If the shepherd is good and cares for the sheep they are safe and secure. But. . . if the shepherd cares not for the sheep their life has a much different outcome. . . one of danger and despair. Now we come to the part where the Psalmist puts it all out there with a simple statement “Surely goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.” The sheep knows, without a doubt, that their good shepherd will treat them with goodness and mercy. They have been cared for with tenderness and love and they can believe that it will continue.

We. . . as with the sheep of the pasture. . . can rest assured in our Good Shepherd who wants nothing but good in and for our lives. But how many Christians really feel this way about Christ? How many really feel that no matter what happens they are being followed by goodness and mercy? I mean I would love to say “hey that’s me. . . I never feel any different. . . I always know that goodness and mercy follow me.” It is easy to say but how about those times when things aren’t going so well. How about those times when our health fails or our finances are in a rut? How about those times when the enemy seems to be winning in our lives or the world around us? What is our reaction when we lose a job and there is no income coming in?

These are the times that our confidence in Christ is put to the test. In these times our natural reaction may be fear and doubt. We, as humankind, don’t always comprehend what God is really doing. We may even think that He doesn’t know what He is doing or even worse, we may think He no longer cares for us. But even as we may doubt God’s good intention, He never gives up on us. He continues to follow us with His goodness and mercy. God is love and that’s all there is to His motives, love. There is no difficulty, dilemma or disaster that can come into our lives that the Good Shepherd can’t eventually turn good out of the chaos we are in. This is what build our faith and trust in the Shepherd.

Look at sheep. Now when they are managed right, they can be such a benefit to the world around them and for others who come after. When they are taken care of and moved along as they should, their manure provides for the land they leave behind. Not too much and not too little time spent there will be a benefit to those who come after with creating lush, we fertilized, good soil. They eat the weed and other things that can invade a field make them kind of a weed killer. And you know what. . . we too can help others. . . even in our moments of chaos. You see the Shepherds goodness and mercy follows us all the days of our lives and this same goodness and mercy can be left by us. . . pour out onto the world from our cup that runneth over. . . leaving a legacy for others as we go through our lives. Do we leave a trail of gladness or sadness behind us? Do people think of goodness and mercy when they remember us or would they rather forget us? Do we leave blessings or curses behind? Is our life a pleasure or a pain to those around us?

And now my favorite part of the Psalm “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Here the Psalmist. . . and hopefully we Christians, is so utterly satisfied with their life and fully content under the Shepherds care that there is no other place they would rather be than with his Shepherd. There has been an affection that has grown with time with the Shepherd that is unshakable. You see, a good shepherd, builds a great affection and devotion to his sheep. He would never part from the sheep of his herd.

Healthy, happy, productive sheep are his delight. His good and kindly acts towards the sheep are always part of his mercy for and to them. We, as humanity are often harsh and vindictive with one another. You can always see his compassion and tenderness towards the sheep. Even the most flagrant of sinner find forgiveness with the Good Shepherd whereas there is only condemnation and cruel criticism found at the hands of other humans. Do we, as Christians sit up on our “high horse” and look down at others or do we identify with the sinner and extend to goodness and mercy we are given by our Shepherd? Do we see them with the compassion and love of Christ? Are we willing to overlook the faults of others and give them the forgiveness and mercy we are given from God for our own mistakes? We live in a fallen. . . hurting world. . . how do we welcome others when they come to find affection, love and forgiveness? The person who knows firsthand about the goodness and mercy of God in their own life will be warm and loving with goodness and mercy towards others. We can be that blessing of and to God. We are blessed to be a blessing.

As our Shepherd looks upon us as we share that love for others tenderly and with pride. He loves His sheep dearly. He see the years that His goodness and mercy have followed us without slacking. . . and longs to see the same goodness and mercy in His sheep. . . in you and in me. And not only shared with others but shared back with Him as we sing for joy to Him our Savior. He longs for our love and we love Him because He loved us first.

Let us continue to be that sheep of the sheepfold of the One who came to give us life, our Risen Lord Jesus Christ who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. You see our Good Shepherd is not just a shepherd; He is also the King of our hearts and lives. May we truly sing along with the Psalmist as well as with the sheep of the Good Shepherds sheep fold through the ages of time for we are loved “From Here To Eternity”:

Shepherd me, O God beyond my wants,
beyond my fears, from death into life.
(Refrain)
God is my shepherd, so nothing shall I want,
I rest in the meadows of faithfulness and love,
I walk by the quiet waters of peace.
(Refrain)
Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul,
You lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth,
my spirit shall sing the music of your Name.
(Refrain)
Though I should wander the valley of death,
I fear no evil, for you are at my side,
your rod and your staff, my comfort and my hope.
(Refrain)
You have set me a banquet of love in the face of hatred,
crowning me with love beyond my pow’r to hold.
(Refrain)
Surely your kindness and mercy follow me all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of my God forevermore.
(Refrain)

Amen!

November 24, 2013
Christ the King Sunday
6th and final service of Fall Sermon Series:
 “Shepherd Us O God”
Psalm 23:6 King James Version
Jeremiah 29:11 Common English Bible
2 Timothy 4:7-8 Common English Bible
John 14:1-3 Common English Bible
“Shepherd Me O God” by Marty Haugen
Psalm 23
Prayer of Thanksgiving
“For this prayer”
by Raymond Foss
children’s sermon
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
November 24, 2013
&
November 23, 2013
Sermon 5 of Fall Series
“Shepherd Us O God”
Psalm 23:5 King James Version
Psalm 144:15 The Message Bible
Psalm 68:3-4 The Message Bible
1 Chronicles 16:30-33 The Message Bible
“Shepherd Me O God” by Marty Haugen
5th service of Fall Sermon Series:
Psalm 23
Prayer of Thanksgiving
“We come to worship You”
by Raymond Foss
children’s sermon
by Pastor Ruth Foss
and sermon “Oh Happy Day
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
November 17, 2013
&
Sermon 4 of Fall Series
“Shepherd Us O God”
Deuteronomy 7:9 MSG
Numbers 23:19
Psalm 23:4 King James Version
Psalm 139:23-24 King James Version
 “Shepherd Me O God” by Marty Haugen
4th service of Fall Sermon Series:
Psalm 23
children’s sermon
When you are afraid and need something to hold onto,
hold onto Jesus, hold onto God.
by Pastor Ruth Foss
and sermon “Just A Prayer Away”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
November 10, 2013
&
Sermon 3 of Fall Series
“Shepherd Us O God”
Psalm 23:3 (King James Version)
James 3:18 (Common English Bible)
Psalm 31:24 (Amplified Bible)
Isaiah 40:29 (Amplified Bible)
Psalm 32:8 (Amplified Bible)
“Shepherd Me O God” by Marty Haugen
3rd service of Fall Sermon Series:
Psalm 23
Lord’s Prayer
All Saints Sunday
Communion
children’s sermon
by Pastor Ruth Foss
and sermon “Strength For The Day”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
November 3, 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
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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