 Welcome, Cheviot churches and also those joining us from elsewhere. We worship together on this 4th Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday.
Notices:
Call to Worship Jesus the Christ said, I am the Good Shepherd. We have come to follow him. We gather in the name of the One who leads us by still waters. We have come to be restored in him. We gather in the name of the One who prepares a banquet for us. We have come to be fed by his love, so let us worship God. Hymn 14 – The Lord’s my shepherd Prayers of Adoration and Confession Lord God, our good and loving shepherd, You nourish our lives and lead us into green pastures. You restore our souls with rest and peace. You give us true joy so our cup overflows with goodness. You walk with us through the darkest valleys, offering us courage and compassion. At all times and in all circumstances, you are with us, Creator, Redeemer and Guiding Spirit, we praise you, Holy One, now and always. Amen. Patient God, whose mercy is abundant and your love endless, we confess that often we have not shown your love to others, even though we claim it for ourselves. You have called us to show compassion, but too often we are quick to judge others. You have been called to follow Jesus, yet we are distracted by our own plans and desires. Forgive us for falling short of your hopes for us and renew a right spirit within us. The mercy of our God is from everlasting to everlasting. Friends, hear the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ, God’s generous love reaches out to embrace us. We are forgiven and set free to begin again. Thanks be to God Lord’s Prayer Readings – Acts 4: 5-12 John 10: 11-18 Hymn 624 – In Christ there is no east or west Weekly Prayer Loving God we pray for all our leaders that, using Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd as the ultimate model of leadership, they would lead and care for their own flocks in such a way that peace might abound, righteousness flourish and injustice be eradicated. Amen. Reflection Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and every year at this time we focus on a portion of John 10, when Jesus says that he is the Good Shepherd. This is of course sheep country, and a number of our members have been shepherds in the surrounding hills. In 1st Century Palestine, however, shepherds were regarded with some suspicion, for they were out in the fields and so could never get to synagogue, so there is a certain irony when Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd. But it became one of the most loved images of Christ in the Early Church, with so many statues of Jesus with a lamb over his shoulder. And not just the early church, for certainly growing up I was very used to seeing pictures in church halls of Jesus as the shepherd. One of our favourite psalms is, ‘The Lord’s my shepherd’, and it takes us on a journey. The Lord’s my shepherd. I shall not need a thing. He leads me by green pastures and finds quiet pools. Here the psalmist is talking about the daily life of shepherding. Making sure the sheep are cared for and provided with grazing and water, which in the arid conditions of Palestine was not always easy. You had to be knowledgeable if you were a shepherd and really know the sheep and their needs. That is where Jesus in the Gospel says that he knows the sheep and the sheep recognise his voice. It is more than ‘head’ knowledge, but is an intimacy that comes from the heart. We are the flock of Christ, and we rejoice that he does know us through and through, just as a shepherd knows the sheep. But life is not always easy, and for the shepherd there were dangers. The Psalmist talks of the dark valley, the valley of the shadow of death, a place of dangers, where the sheep were encouraged by the strong presence of the shepherd. Your rod and staff they comfort me. Jesus in John’s Gospel talks of the dangers of wild predators and of thieves, and the shepherd had to be prepared to defend the vulnerable sheep, even lying across the entrance to the fold at night. The shepherd had to be prepared to lay down their life for the sheep, and this is mentioned three times in our passage. This was complete commitment and self-giving. We are in the ‘afterglow’ of Easter, and we know that Jesus did indeed give his life for his sheep on the cross of Calvary, showing his commitment to us. When Jesus said he was the Good Shepherd, he would have been aware that the leaders and monarchs in the Old Testament were called shepherds of their people, but too often had let them down. We have the elections for the Scottish Parliament coming up and are being bombarded with leaflets and manifestos from politicians claiming that they will do the best for us and for the country. But leaders need to stand up to scrutiny. In a week where the greed of the big football teams has been exposed and there have been accusations of sleaze, it is so important for politicians to show that their integrity and their commitment to the good of all. I talked of Psalm 23 being a journey, for shepherds and their flocks were always on the move. We have had the daily routine and the dangers, and the psalm finishes with a homecoming, where goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The flock has gone through all the ups and down, but is sustained by the love and commitment of the shepherd. The longed-for destination is reached. God is with us in the ordinary and the extraordinary and waits with arms outstretched to welcome us home. Hymn 462 – The King of love Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession Living God accept these our offerings. Grant that they may go where we can’t go, that they may reach where we cannot reach, that they may do what we cannot do. Use them to strengthen Your Church and advance Your kingdom here where we are and far beyond for Jesus’ sake. We pray for our world. We pray for those of faith and those of no faith, for those with purpose and those with no purpose in life. For those who have a clear direction and those who flounder uncertain for life in all its complexities. For those whose mental health causes them pain, anguish, confusion and loneliness, for those who feel abandoned, unwanted, unloved and un-helped. For the world and its people, Lord, we pray. For countries at war with other countries and within themselves, for their leaders that they may good and responsible shepherds and for people who fear for their lives and stability, for those made homeless and jobless and offered nothing but an uncertain future. We remember countries at war where their people are damaged, isolated, abused, for Myanmar, Ethiopia, Mozambique. For the world and its people, Lord, we pray. God, who has sheep in other folds, we pray for Christians trying to work out the best way to live out their lives, true to their faith, to the Gospel, to their calling. Remind us to look beyond the present to the future, beyond our immediate neighbourhood to the world-wide family, for we are all God’s children. Help us to catch a wider more inclusive vision of the needs of the world and its people for unless we are all fed no one is satisfied, unless we are all inoculated no one is safe. For the world and its people, Lord, we pray. For countries with surging Covid cases, for those with poor infrastructure and resources, for countries with little PPE and no vaccines and no realistic prospect of national immunisation any time soon. For those engaged in trying to resolve such issues no matter what faith, colour, creed. For the world and its people, Lord, we pray. For all who grieve for the loss of loved ones, family or friends, near or far away. Especially those who are bereaved a long way from family, who can’t travel to be with them to offer comfort and support. In their loss, in their grief, in their solitude may they find a calm centre and be upheld by their faith, their friendship and their neighbours. For the world and its people, Lord, we pray. For ourselves we pray that our ears may be used to hear the cries of the needy, that our eyes be used to see the needs around us, that our voices be used to speak up for the marginalised and the poor, that our hands be used to reach out in comfort and that our lives be used to improve the lives of others. For the world and its people, Lord, we pray. Amen. Hymn 355 – You Lord are both lamb and shepherd Benediction Go in peace to love and to serve Jesus, the good shepherd of us all, and may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all, now and always. Amen
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