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08/11/2024

Readings for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost/August 11, 2024
Old Testament lesson is from 1 Kings 19:1-8:
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

The Epistle lesson is from Ephesians 4:17-5:2:
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

The Holy Gospel is from John 6:35-51:
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” 41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.

The Message for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost/August 11, 2024
Text: Psalm 23:4 Theme: “You are with Me!”
Grace, mercy, and peace I bring to you from our Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
This morning we continue our walk through the 23rd Psalm, this time referencing 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.”
Let’s continue by starting with another question: “What are some things that you’re afraid of?” Some folks are afraid of crowds, while some are afraid of being alone. Others are afraid of Donald John Trump not getting elected back into office (I think that scares all of us). Children are afraid of the dark . And there are others who are afraid of spending eternity in hell. But by far the greatest fear of all for people is death. All of those fears are real. And when we focus on them, they can consume us, cause us to worry, and even to lose hope and certainly lose sleep some nights.
Bt if you have any of those fears or any others, I’m glad that the Holy Spirit has given you the directive to come here and read this, this morning. That’s because, right here and now, God can give you a quick refresher course on His love and His presence in your life. You were brought here to feel encouraged, to focus on your walk of faith and to receive the proclamation that your most good and gracious God will never abandon you or forsake you. He is your faithful, caring, gentle, and loving Good Shepherd.
David, the shepherd boy, who was anointed King of Israel, gives us the realization, from the words of our text, that these words are a wonderful promise, a promise that we can believe in. It’s a promise that we can trust in: “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.” David is saying that no matter what goes on in your life, the loving Good Shepherd is right there by your side.
You know, there’s an old Chinese proverb that states: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” And yet, sometimes, with each step that we take, there seems to be danger and fear. In every move that we make, sometimes we seem to be attacked by an enemy who wants to bring us down and separate us from us from the saving hands of our Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Although that proverb is certainly true that a journey begins with one step, with each step that we take, we have a helpmate for the journey ahead. He is our faithful Good Shepherd, the Son of God. No matter what steps we take, no matter what direction we go, we are never alone nor will we ever be alone! And so it’s in the words of King David that we find the truth and some peace, “You [Jesus] are with me.”
David tells us that Almighty God is with us, His children, in all of our troubles and dangers. And it’s His presence that gives us hope and confidence. This hope is found in the One who has proven Himself, over and over again, to be faithful and true by keeping every single promise that He has ever made. Go ahead. Read through the Bible. And you will not find any broken promises from God. (The people on the other hand is a far different story).
But let’s get one thing straight here; this doesn’t mean that you and I, God’s own children, will never experience the evilness that goes on in the world around us. And that’s because we really do have evil all around us. But remember this; in the midst of all that evil, the Good shepherd is with us and because of that, we don’t have to fear all of that stuff. Yes, it’s all around us. We see it on the evening news. We see read it in the newspaper and it invades our computer screens. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to find anything positive to consider at all. Evil is certainly all around us. But just because it is, it doesn’t mean that we have to be afraid of it. And why not? Because David, the author of these words, tells us of a caring Shepherd: “You [Jesus] are with me.” The Good Shepherd is with you, and you, and you, and with me! He’s with all of us!
On the verses of the beginning of this wonderful Psalm David said of God, that He would do these things: “He makes me lie down . . . He leads me . . .He restores my soul.” But now the wording is changed from “He” to “you.” It’s much more personal. You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” You see, this is the foundation of our faith. This shows us the presence of a caring, faithful and loving Shepherd. And He will not let anyone hurt us. Yes, they might hurt our bodies, but they can’t hurt our souls. He has charge of those!
As a shepherd boy, David knew the value of the rod and staff. Why? Because they were the tools of his trade! Those tools showed the power the shepherd had to defend his lambs and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, chasing them away, (even though they probably came back). The rod was the powerful instrument the shepherd used to clobber anything that endangered His sheep, especially his little lambs.
In the same way, the staff was used to hook the sheep as they would wander away from the flock or pull them out of a hole they might have fallen into. He also used it when he counted them. Each sheep would passed under his staff, and he would count them one by one.
These tools were used by shepherds to stop the sheep from wandering and to bring them closer to the himself. But he also corrects them when they seemed to have a mind of their own and go their own way.
That’s exactly the picture that David paints for us of our faithful and loving Good Shepherd. You see, no matter where our journey takes us, our Good Shepherd cares for the needs of all. Those are wonderful words of comfort given to us, to remind us that we are included in the number of God’s sheep as we pass by Him, in the shadow of His cross, one by one. By the Shepherd’s staff, we are also rescued from the situations of trouble and sin that we fall into on our own.
David is a great theologian. And his words help us to see God for who He really is, the Good Shepherd. He says, “You are with me” (v. 4). We are not alone on this journey that we call life. And yet, so many times things come our way that cause us to wonder if this faithful Shepherd really cares. We face evil each day and Satan does his best to drive home the idea that our God in fact doesn’t care. So we ask for a sign from Him.
How many times have you, maybe not intentionally or consciously, said to God “Give me a sign that You are here!” We look for Him don’t we? In fact, I encourage you to pray about things and then to watch to see how He takes control. The fact is, that we want to hear from God. Yes, we want to hear from Him, we want to see Him and we want to know Him. We want to know that He is truly by our side; that He is there to defend us from the work of Satan and that He will refresh us so that we can rejoice in His tender loving care. We want God to reveal Himself to us. But folks, just take a second and just look around. Folks, He’s everywhere.
We take great comfort knowing that the Good Shepherd is faithful in His actions and words. In the book of Joshua we find these words, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” ( 1:9). Isaiah writes, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (41:10). And Jesus Himself said in Matthew’s Gospel, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28:20).
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is God with us! God through His grace and mercy fulfilled the sign He promised to Adam and Eve in His one and only Son. The light has come into the dankness of this world. God in the flesh came and dwelt among us. And why did that happen? To accomplish for you and me the gift of salvation, that is being forgiven and made right with God. And it’s because of that that we should rejoice each and every day. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is with us. Make no mistake about that!
“You are with me,” is what David said and so He is. He came to fight on our behalf. It was a battle that we couldn’t win on our own. Why? Because we are no match against the forces of evil that are all around us. But our Good Shepherd is a perfect match. While sinful humanity is destined to the place where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth, the Promised One has come to defend us from every evil. And now we see His loving face and hear His wonderful voice! It’s by the power of the Holy Spirit that we have the faith to believe what David shares with us.
Today, we join David by saying, “You [Jesus Christ] are with me.” And we know that He will be by our side, every and every step of the way until we are called to the pearly gates of heaven. Together, we rejoice in the victory that was won for us. We celebrate the gift of salvation and we look forward to the gift of eternal life that awaits all who believe. Amen.
Now, may the peace and love of God, that surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and your mind through the Good Shepherd, Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

08/04/2024

The readings for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost/August 4, 2024
The Old Testament lesson is from Exodus 16:2-15:
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.” 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
P: this is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

The Epistle lesson is from Ephesians 4:1-16:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
The Holy Gospel is from John 6:22-35. [Because of the length of our lessons for today, we are asking that you read the Gospel lesson from your own Bible. Thanks!]
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You O Christ.

The Message for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost/ August 4, 2024
Text: Psalm 23:3 Theme: “He Restores Me!”
Grace, mercy, and peace I bring to you from the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
King David writes in this beloved Psalm, “He restores my soul.”
Have you ever restored anything? My Dad took a course at BOCES in the later years of his life and learned how to cane chairs. And he was pretty good at it, soaking the caning material in water and then feeding and weaving it back and forth to make a strong, useable seat for the chair. Over the years I have rebuilt different things around the house and farm, making them useful again, like hay wagons and even toys that our grand kids have played with over and over again (at least they did when they were younger). Some are repair jobs are easier that others! And some times, if it’s a relationship that needs rebuilding, it can take a lot of work. But hopefully in each and every case the outcome will be worth it!
As you know, King David knew first hand about broken relationships. Saul, when he was king, tried to murder him; David’s son, Absalom tried to overthrow him and remove him from the throne; and then there was the broken relationship David had with his God over his sin of murder and adultery with Bathsheba and her husband.
David, the author of this beloved Psalm states, with confidence, that our loving Shepherd will restore us! You see, David, has confidence that God’s anger won’t last forever. Why? Because He is compassionate and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. David knows that his Shepherd is the one who comes to his aid and restores his life no matter how low and sinful he had been.
You see, David is like every other sinner who has ever walked on this earth. He needed God’s forgiveness, just like you and I do. Why? Because he wanted to restore that most important relationship, the vertical relationship, that he had, that we have, with our heavenly Father. From the first Adam in the Garden of Eden, to the last Adam who will again walk on the face of the earth on Judgement Day, we need to be restored.
David needed to be restored. In Psalm 51 he cries out, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (v. 12). David had sinned with Bathsheba and the Lord sent Nathan to call David on his sin. And the interesting thing was that David didn’t make excuses or blame someone else for what happened. If you remember, when Adam and Eve sinned, Adam blamed God for that sin; “The woman You gave me!” David could have tried the same thing.”It’s Your fault that I got into this trouble because you made Bathsheba so beautiful.” But he didn’t do that did he? No! Instead David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 2:13). David was restored almost even before he confessed. Restoration was complete and hope was given right then and there.
You know, the Bible has stories throughout it that have reference to broken relationships, broken bodies, and broken lives. Think about Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery for a mere 20 pieces of silver. But later their relationship was restored as Joseph forgave them of their sin. Naaman, the leader of the army of Syria, was healed of leprosy by a servant of the Most High God (Elisha), in 2 Kings 5. And who can forget the renewed relationship of the prodigal son by his loving, caring father. And Luke writes about Paul and Barnabas, two great missionaries to the Gentiles, who had a falling out over taking Mark with them. The disagreement was so harsh that they went their separate ways. But in the future God restored their relationship and the brothers in Christ were one again!
In the same way, we, the sinners of this time and place, who are members of this body of believers, at times have had fallings out with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And sometimes this action is really severe, so severe in fact that we part ways. But when we come to the throne of God’s grace, seeking forgiveness, God does restore those relationships. When we confess that we have sinned as we did a few minutes ago, God restores us. When we let the devil get the best of us by working against God’s will, we sometimes come crawling back to Him in repentance. It’s at those times when the faithful Shepherd hears our confession and restores us through His words of Absolution which is certainly a gift.
You and I need to be restored on a daily basis! And that’s only possible through whom David writes about here, the Good Shepherd. You see, restoration takes a lot of work. Just like restoring an old piece of furniture, restoration of one’s soul takes great attention to detail to make it come to completion. You see, we are all a work in progress!
If restoring a piece of furniture is so hard, just imagine how hard it is to restore one’s soul. A human soul, corrupted by sin and carrying with it the stain of guilt requires a really complete process for restoration. It’s more than just a little sanding and elbow grease here and there and a new coat of stain. To be sure, the restoration of one’s soul is a serious matter that takes hard work.
And nowhere was the work harder than the work that the Good Shepherd did on the cross. It was more than just an extra cut at the cross. It was more than just an extra coat of laquer. Your restoration and mine took the ultimate work of Jesus, His life and death, to make us whole. And it is so hard because this act of restoration was not just about on the outside. And it isn’t just about your outside either. It’s really about your whole being! You see, Jesus’ action took you from death to life!
Our restoration by Jesus reached it’s climax on the cross at Calvary, in the tomb over the weekend, and at our Savior’s resurrection. So special and precious did Jesus consider you, me, and every sinner that He was willing to pay the ultimate price for each one of us. And that price was His very own precious blood shed on that cross.
Jesus, the faithful Shepherd, through faith, puts the sinner in a right relationship with the Father by taking the place of the sinner and making him and her holy and righteous. Remember that the word “righteous” means being made right with God.
Jesus came to battle the forces of sin, death and the power of the devil. And He did it on our behalf. And having won the battle He restores our souls. He comes with healing in His wings and He pours out water and blood to cleanse us from every evil thought and desire (Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper)..
The Apostle Paul, who was a former murderer and persecutor of Christians, became a great messenger and preacher of the Gospel. He said this in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
The restoration that took place in our lives is a miracle brought about by Almighty God. It was His plan from the very beginning. We know that because of His promise to Adam and Eve back in the Garden of Eden. And we also know it because of one moment in the history of humanity that is the darkest. You see, there is no moment in the history of man that deserves to be told and told over and over again other than when Jesus repeated the words of Psalm 22, when He said, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” It was at that moment when the greatest wrong of all time happened! There isn’t any greater wrong than for the innocent to suffer death for the sake of the guilty and condemned. But on the cross the Son of God did just that. He suffered all the torment and agony that our sins deserved. But in that very moment, by Jesus’ suffering and death, you and I have been restored back to life. He restored your soul and mine!
It’s no wonder that David said that his loving Shepherd would restore him. He knew that his loving and caring Good Shepherd would bring him back into a loving relationship with the Father. This restoration would take lots of work, expense and time. But to our good and gracious God, it was all worth it!
For six long hours, our Savior hung on the cross. For six long hours he suffered shame and humiliation. For six long hours he hung strong (in His weakness) and was willing to endure God’s punishment for sins that He didn’t commit. For six long hours, in the heat of the day, Jesus hung on the cross with lips cracked and chapped as He restored you, and you, and you and me, to a loving Father, who, day by day, waits for us, His creation, to reach out to Him as He fills us with His joy and peace.
Today David’s words ring true in our ears and hearts. “He restores my soul.” Jesus has and He does. By the grace of God, the Holy Spirit has brought us here today to be restored. We have been restored and renewed and it’s because of that, that we praise our Restorer, our faithful Good Shepherd, for His mighty work done on our behalf. And may we be ever mindful of the love that we have for God and for the love of one another. Amen.
Now, may “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding . . . .guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

07/28/2024

Readings for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost/July 28, 2024
The Old Testament lesson is from Genesis 9:8-17:
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

The Epistle lesson is from Ephesians 3:14-21:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

The Holy Gospel is from Mark 6:45-56:
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. 53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.

Message for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost/July 28, 2024
Test: Psalm 23:2-3 Theme: “He leads Me!”
Grace, mercy and peace I bring to you from the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
This morning we’ll focus on verses two and three of the 23rd Psalm. It reads, “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Have you ever been led before? When I thought about that, I was reminded of our trip out west a few years ago to see the Grand Canyon and some of the other parks. It was a bus tour and the tour guide definitely led us around from place to place to make sure we got to see all the sights of the surrounding area. But think about that question a little deeper. Actually, we have people all around us who lead us time and time again don’t we? Sure! Some can lead us to the good (and I hope that you consider me as a good leader for you). But think back; did anyone ever hold your hand and led you across a busy street? I’ll bet that happened more than once when you were little! And how about holding your hand in a busy store so you wouldn’t get lost in the crowd? But, others, unfortunately, can lead us to do bad things? Has anyone tried that with you? Like daring you to smoke a cigarette when you were younger? Or maybe to shoplift? Maybe use foul language? And maybe to lie about something so you wouldn’t get into trouble? There are numerous things and people that can lead us astray and we need to be careful who we follow as our leader.
David wrote Psalm 23 some three thousand years ago. And when he wrote it, he was most likely thinking about his own life as a shepherd. He was having exactly the same experience as the shepherds in Palestine today. This morning, with the Words of our text, David helps us to see how our wonderful and loving Good Shepherd leads us!
Our Good Shepherd guides our every step and directs our every move. He is the one, and the only one, who knows the way that leads to eternal life.
Let’s start off by understanding that the Good Shepherd is gentle, loving and full of joy as He leads us. He doesn’t hit us over the head and He certainly isn’t demanding. He leads us in two ways; by word and by action. He isn’t a god who beats us down and into submission, but instead, He is a God who softly and lovingly calls our name. He never demands that we go His way but instead, He teaches us the truth by using the truth. You see, His Word is truth!
Some years back a group of tourists were visiting th Holy Land. As he led the way, the guide told the group that there were still a lot of Palestinians that were shepherds and if they were lucky they might get to see one with his flock. But the guide also told them “that if they saw one, they should pay attention.” Why? “Because if you see one you will also see that a true shepherd never drives his sheep, he always leads them!”
Now, no sooner had the guide finished telling the people about a true shepherd than the bus came upon what looked like a shepherd with a big stick behind some sheep. All the folks on the bus started to smile and laugh a little. When the guide noticed what they were looking at, he said, “Folks, there is something wrong here! This just can’t be what it looks like. The driver stopped the bus and the guide got off to talk to the shepherd. A minute or two later, the guide got back on the bus with a smile on his face and he said, “Well, I was right. He isn’t a shepherd. He’s a butcher taking the sheep to slaughter!” Just think about that for a minute!
Folks, Satan wants to drive you and me to the slaughter and to an eternal life of hell and damnation. But Jesus, the faithful Shepherd doesn’t drive us with a big stick! No, He leads us in tenderness and love. He is not like the many other leaders who demand that they be respected and followed. No, Jesus is love. And He cares for us so much that He leads gently and lovingly.
As His little lambs, we need God to watch out for us, Why? Because we can get ourselves into trouble. Ever been there? Sure you have! Just like sheep need to be watched over and guided, we need the same. Our God leads us to green pastures and quiet waters. On our own, we have no idea where we can find those things. But green pastures and quiet waters are the spiritual food that we need to live in this dry and dreary desert that we call life. And the Holy Spirit grants us the will to trust in the Good Shepherd who leads us to those places because only He knows where they are!
Yes, our faithful Good Shepherd knows where to take you and me. In fact He tells us in John’s Gospel, chapter 14,“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (v. 6).By the grace of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit, we follow God because He has gone before us and He will lead us to the living water and the green pastures. Without the Good Shepherd leading us we would be in big trouble. But God, full of mercy and grace will take you to the place where you can be refreshed and filled with His love. And He doesn’t lead us year by year, or day by day but instead step by step. He shows us the path to follow. He directs our steps. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. In fact we only know what to expect in this very moment. But the Good Shepherd says to each and every one of us, “This is the way, by faith, follow Me and know that I am leading you to a far better place than you can ever imagine.”
The Shepherd, the good one, Jesus Christ, knows all about being led. In fact Isaiah put it this way, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Jesus knows all about being led. In fact He knows it all too well! He was led from the Garden of Gethsemane by the high priest’s solders. He was led in the middle of the night to a make believe court proceedings. He was led early the next morning to Pilate and then to Herod. And then it was back to Pilate. And then after the verdict was determined, he was led to Calvary, carrying His own cross along part of the way. And then, after He died, He was carried (led if you will) to the burial site. For sure, Jesus knows all about being led. But in all that, He was led that way for you and me. All of that He did for the sake of the sheep, His sheep, His little lambs. You and me!
You know, Jesus could have stopped those people from leading Him. But He chose not to. Instead He chose to fulfill His Fathers promise of delivering all of His sheep, His little lambs, from the eternal punishment of hell. No, Jesus didn’t need to be led. But with a heart filled with love and forgiveness He allowed others to lead Him as the writer of the Book of Hebrews put’s it: “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:2). Jesus permitted all that to happen to Him to spare your life and mine from the one who wants nothing more than to slaughter us and place us in the “lake of fire” that John talks about in the book of Revelation.
But why is this leading done? Well, David gives us the answer: “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” You see, it’s now that the adventure starts! God is taking us somewhere. It would have been nice to stay in the green pastures by the still waters, but we’re moving on. Why? Because there are forces out to get us that we can’t control and some that we might even not know about. Nature is full of things that want to do harm. And humans are no different. We need protection! Maybe even from one another. So God leads us in the right paths . . . for His name’s sake . . . not for our name’s sake, but for His. God has to be known as the one who will take care of us. God has a reputation to uphold for the sake of His name.
That’s why, you and me, His little lambs, should know His voice and listen to it when He calls. And that’s why while Jesus was here on earth He taught us to say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13). As I’ve said before there are a lot of folks who would lead us astray. Even we ourselves are capable of doing that.
There’s a story of a preacher and a little boy. A pastor was riding his bike to town. On the way, he met a young boy who was riding a lawn mower and the pastor asked him, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “I’m trying to find some mowing jobs so that I can buy a bicycle.” The preacher said, “I tell you what. I’m in the market for a mower and you need a bike, how about we trade?” Now, the boy thought that sounded like a pretty good deal. So that’s what they did. The preacher took the mower home and went inside the house. When he came out after a few minutes to mow his lawn, the mower wouldn’t start. So he called the boy and said, “The mower doesn’t run!” The boy responded, “You’ll have to cuss at it.” The pastor said, “I don’t cuss!” The boy giggled and said, “You pull on that rope long enough and you will.”
Folks, the world, our sinful flesh, the devil and even some churches are out to lead us off course and astray. But Jesus, the caring, gentle, loving and faithful Good Shepherd leads us by the still waters and to the green pastures of His Word. He takes us by the hand and leads us where we need to be and that’s with Him forever. Amen.
Now may the true Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, be with you in your hearts and on your minds each and every day. Amen.