Easter 3 – Rev. Jonathan P. Boehne

Easter 3 May 1, 2022 Good Shepherd Sunday

Sunday: Easter 3 | Sermon Text: John 10:11-16

Good Shepherd Sunday

John 10:11-16

May 1, 2022

“Shepherd – An Outdated Image?”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God’s Word is never, ever outdated. It’s never, ever behind the times. But that’s the negative perception that a lot of people have today about the Bible and about the Church. Many people grow up in the Church and then decide it’s old-fashioned, outdated, and behind the times. So we have our more “modern” churches today who try so hard to appear that they’re “with the times”—pastors dressing in skinny jeans with holes all over them, dancing around on stage like a pop star, huge screens all over the building. But that’s an endless battle trying to keep up with what people think is currently cool.

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Easter 3 April 26, 2020 Good Shepherd Sunday

Sunday: Easter 3 | Sermon Text: John 10:11-16

Easter 3
Psalm 23 & John 10:11-16
April 26, 2020

Copyright 2013 by Ian M. Welch. All Rights Reserved. Paramentics.com

“Pastures, Waters, Paths, Valley, Table, House”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Now two things to start off here about Psalm 23. First of all, obviously this is a metaphor that David is using. You’re not literally a sheep. You’re a person, a human. We’re not going to literally lay down in these green pastures here in the yard and start grazing. Jesus isn’t going to lead us to a pond outside of town where there’s some still water to drink. He doesn’t literally use a rod and staff to prod and guide you in the right direction. Right? I don’t hear any bleating coming out of the cars this morning. So it’s a metaphor—a figure of speech.

BUT, second of all, just because it’s a metaphor doesn’t mean it’s only a spiritual metaphor. It doesn’t mean Psalm 23 should drift you off into some fantasy world where you’re floating on the clouds and Jesus is petting you and telling you what a good little sheep you are. “Here, little sheep, have some grass and water.” No. Just because it’s a pretty picture doesn’t mean that you should completely spiritualize this psalm so that it becomes totally empty of any real meaning and just vanishes into thin air like a dreamy afternoon in the green pasture.

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