4th Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday
Welcome
Opening Hymn 710 The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
Confession and Absolution, p. 184
Pastor: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen
Pastor: Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.
Pastor: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
People: who made heaven and earth.
Pastor: I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,
People: and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Pastor: O almighty God, merciful Father,
People: I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You, and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them, and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy, and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
Pastor: Upon this, your sincere confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord, Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Collect
First Reading Acts 2:42-47
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Pastor: This is the Word of our Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Epistle 1 Peter 2:19-25
19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Pastor: This is the Word of our Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel John 10:1-10
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Pastor: This is the Gospel of our Good Shepherd. People: Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed, p. 192
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn 709 The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Sermon Living in Our Shepherd’s Care
Grace, mercy, and peace…
Living in our Good Shepherd’s mighty and loving care…
We will look at our lessons so you may want to pause this and pull up the service up on our website, where the lessons are printed out, or turn to them in your Bible…
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, featuring a favorite psalm for many, Psalm 23. Psalm 23 is always comforting, but especially now in this difficult and uncertain time due to the Corona Virus sweeping though our nation and around the globe.
When we live in the personal care provided to us by the Lord, our Good Shepherd, it results in the health of our minds and the care of our souls.
Our 1st reading gives us a picture of the spiritual health of the first Christian congregation as they lived under the care and protection of their Savior. We can see this in many ways in our reading from Acts 2:42-47.
First we see it in their devotion and dedication toward God and each other…
Verse 42 says, And they devoted themselves to 1) the apostles' teaching and 2) the fellowship, 3) to the breaking of bread and 4) the prayers…
Verse 43 says, And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles…
Verses 44 and 45 say, And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need…
Verses 46 and 47 say, And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people…
Verse 47, And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved…
So it is with our spiritual health…
Our Epistle… teaches us about suffering for our faith when necessary, as our Shepherd needed to suffer for us… 1 Peter 2:19-25.
Verses 19 and 20 say, For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
Verse 21 says, For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
Verses 22 and 23, He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Verses 24 and 25, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness… By his wounds you have been healed… For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls…
This leads to our Gospel, the Good Shepherd, John 10:1-10.
Verse 1, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber…
Verses 2-5, But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
God hears us and we hear him…
We know Him when we know His Word, we learn to discern what’s from God, and what isn’t, what’s true, to heals our souls, and what’s a lie, to mislead us and injure our souls…
Verses 6 – 7 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Jesus is the gateway to heaven…
Verse 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them…
Verse 9 and 10 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly…
Finally our psalm, Psalm 23…
Verse 1, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…
Verses 2 and 3a, He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul...
Verse 3b He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake...
Verse 4, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me…
Verse 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows...
Verse 6, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever…
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
As the flock of our Good Shepherd, we live in His loving care, and under His divine protection… now… and forever.
Knowing this, we have the peace of God, which passes understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Good and Risen Shepherd. Amen.
Prayers and Lord’s Prayer
Benediction
Closing Hymn 805 Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above you heavenly host.
Praise Father. Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
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