Maplewood United Methodist Church

06/22/2026

Enough

06/21/2026

06/20/2026

A Note from Pastor Andy for Sunday, June 21, 2026

Sermon Title: “The Shepherd Seeks”
Scripture: Ezekiel 34:7-16

We are pressing “fast forward” through a whole lot of Ezekiel to get to our next passage. And I have to say, we are skipping over some really weird stuff, including the prophet physically eating a scroll to symbolize internalizing the words God wants him to say, lying on his left side for 390 days, then flipping over and lying on his right side for another forty, and shaving off all his hair then burning one-third of it, hitting one-third of it with a sword, and scattering one-third of it into the wind.

Weird, right?

And again, that stuff is important and reflects just how creative a prophet has to get in order to communicate a message from Almighty God. But for now, we are going to zip all the way to chapter 34, where we find the prophet talking about a considerably less weird subject: shepherds.

The chapter begins as so many do in the book of Ezekiel: “The word of the Lord came to me.” This is a marker to indicate that a new prophetic oracle is beginning. What follows this marker is of course connected to all that is around it, but the prophet wants us to know that what we are about to read is a new thought.

And in this case, what follows is a harsh condemnation of the “shepherds” of the people of God. “To the shepherds - thus says the Lord God: Woe, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat; you clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatted calves, but you do not feed the sheep.” (34:2-3)

So it might be a little less weird this week, but no less prophetic! I encourage you to read (at least) chapter thirty-four of Ezekiel this week. Feel free to read all the chapters in between if you want to revel in the weirdness! And I’ll see y’all in church.

Pastor Andy

06/18/2026

The July Community Unity Center Dinner is a party! Sandwiches, salads, and celebration!

06/18/2026

Thought for Thursday, June 18, 2026