The Rev. Paul J Cain
John 10:11-18
Jesus Says, Faith
Says, We Sing
Easter 4B, 29 April 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of Jesus.
Amen.
Our Lord speaks and we listen. His Word bestows what it
says. Faith that is born from what is heard acknowledges the gifts received
with eager thankfulness and praise. Music is drawn into this thankfulness and
praise, enlarging and elevating the adoration of our gracious giver God.
Saying back to him what he has said to us, we repeat what is
most true and sure. Most true and sure is his name, which he put upon us with
the water of our Baptism. We are his. This we acknowledge at the beginning of
the Divine Service. Where his name is, there is he. Before him we acknowledge
that we are sinners, and we plead for forgiveness. His forgiveness is given us,
and we, freed and forgiven, acclaim him as our great and gracious God as we
apply to ourselves the words he has used to make himself known to us.
The rhythm of our worship is from him to us, and then from
us back to him. He gives his gifts, and together we receive and extol them. We
build one another up as we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs. Our Lord gives us His body to eat and his blood to drink.
Finally his blessing moves us out into our calling, where his gifts have their
fruition. How best to do this we may learn from his Word and from the way his
Word has prompted his worship through the centuries. We are heirs of an
astonishingly rich tradition. Each generation receives from those who went
before and, in making that tradition of the Divine Service its own, adds
what best may serve in its own day—the living heritage and something new
(Norman Nagel, Lutheran Worship, p.
6).
Jesus says: 11 I
am the good shepherd.
Faith says: The Lord is my shepherd.
We sing: Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me
so. Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus
loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
Jesus says: The good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep.
Faith says: I shall not [be in] want. I shall lack nothing.
We sing: 620:3: Under bread and wine, though lowly, I
receive the Savior holy, Blood and body, giv’n for me, Very Lamb of God from
heaven, Who to bitter death was given, Hung upon the cursed tree.
Jesus says: 12 He
who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the
wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and
scatters them. 13 He
flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Faith says: 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…You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies.
We sing: 683:4: In suffering be Thy love my peace, In
weakness be Thy love my pow’r; And when the storms of life shall cease, O
Jesus, in that final hour, Be Thou my rod and staff and guide, And draw me
safely to Thy side.
Jesus says: 14 I
am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Faith says: 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.
We sing: 641:1: As when the Shepherd calls His sheep, They
know and heed His voice; so when You call Your fam’ly, Lord, We follow and
rejoice.
Jesus says: 16 And
I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they
will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Faith says: You prepare a table before me in the presence of
my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
We sing: 620:2: Christ Himself, the priest presiding, Yet in
bread and wine abiding In this holy sacrament, Gives the bread of life, once
broken, And the cup, the precious token Of His sacred covenant.
Jesus says: 17 For
this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it
up again. 18 No one
takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay
it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received
from my Father.”
Faith says: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
We sing: 782:1: Gracious God, You send great blessings New
each morning all our days. For Your mercies never ending, For Your love we
offer praise. Lord, we pray that we, Your people Who Your gifts unnumbered
claim, Through the sharing of Your blessings May bring glory to Your name.
Jesus says: 11 I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired
hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and
leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he
is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own
know me, 15 just as
the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the
sheep. 16 And I have
other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will
listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the
Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from
me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I
have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my
Father.”
Jesus says: 11 I
am the good shepherd.
Faith says: The Lord is my shepherd.
We sing: 709:1: The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose
goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His And He is mine forever.
Amen.
In the Name of Jesus .
Amen.
