Sunday, October 27, 2013

sermon, "The Good Shepherd", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, October 20, 2013

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


All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 27,520+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

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