as a Call to Worship
in Ordinary Time
[ 3 voices ]
This image is suitable for projection in conjunction with these readings.
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But as sheep of his pasture, it also addresses our dependence and our need for God. We recognize/confess our weakness and our frailty. We admit our need for guidance and protection. The image of the shepherd and his sheep is strongly present throughout all of Scripture. Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David and Amos were all shepherds. And the New Testament portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd in several places. And so in this reading the six verses of Psalm 23 are complemented with thematically resonant verses from other books of the Bible: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Revelation.
This reading includes an intro and an extro that make it appropriate as a call to worship: it proclaims the character of this God who is calling us to worship [the Lord our maker], and it confesses who we are that are responding [the sheep of his pasture]. For the visitor, it signals that they are in a safe place. Without the intro and extro it can serve as the reading of Scripture or in the service of confession.
Presentation time: 4 minutes
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The Reading
| A | People of God Know that the Lord is God. | |
| B | It is he who made us, and we are his | |
| C | we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. | Psalm 100.3 |
| [ [ | ||
| A | Yes, the Lord is my good shepherd | |
| B | The Lord God will always shepherd me | |
| A | He holds back no good thing | |
| C | There is nothing I lack There is nothing that I am without | Psalm 23.1 |
| [ | ||
| B | Left to our own desires and longings | |
| C | We are all sheep gone astray | |
| B | Each of us turning to our own way | Isaiah 53.6 |
| A | We have wandered over mountain and hill and forgotten our resting place | Jeremiah 50.6 |
| [ | ||
| C | The Lord is my good shepherd | |
| A | The Lord God will always shepherd me | Psalm 23.1 |
| B | He searches for the lost and brings back the strays | |
| A | He binds up the injured and strengthens the weak | Ezekiel 34.16 |
| C | He rescues us from all the places where we were scattered on days of cloud and darkness | |
| B | He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart | Isaiah 40.11 |
| [ | ||
| A | The Good Shepherd brought us out like a flock | |
| B | He leads us through the wilderness | Psalm 78.52 |
| C | He watches over us He neither slumbers nor sleeps | Psalm 121.4 |
| A | The sun will not harm us by day, nor the moon by night | |
| C | He leads us to feed and rest in rich pastures | Ezekiel 34.6 |
| B | He brings us to pools of refreshing water | |
| C | springs of living water | Psalm 23.2b |
| B | Never again will we hunger Never again will we thirst | Isaiah 49.10 |
| [ | ||
| B | The Lord is my good shepherd | |
| C | The Lord God will always shepherd me | |
| A | He has compassion on me | |
| B | He refreshes | |
| C | he restores my soul | |
| A | He gives me strength He renews my life | Psalm 23.3a |
| C | He leads me with knowledge and understanding | Jeremiah 3.15 |
| A | He leads me on the path to righteousness He keeps me true to his ways of making right | Psalm 23.3b |
| B | He gives me an undivided heart | Psalm 86.11 |
| [ | ||
| C | The Lord is my good shepherd | |
| A | The Lord God will always shepherd me | |
| B | When my path leads through deep darkness | |
| C | When I find myself in the darkest valley | |
| A | I fear no harm | |
| B | No danger | |
| C | For you are with me | |
| A | I am not afraid | |
| C | Though I walk in the midst of trouble you preserve my life | |
| B | Your rod and your staff comfort and direct me Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure | [Psalm 23.4] |
| [ | ||
| A | The Lord is my good shepherd | |
| C | The Lord God will always shepherd me | |
| B | You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes | |
| C | You prepare a sumptuous meal for me in plain sight of my enemies | |
| A | You moisten my head with fragrant oil the oil of anointing that makes the heart glad | |
| C | flowing down | |
| A | flowing down like soothing waters | |
| B | My drink is abundant | |
| C | My drink is abundant | Psalm 23.5 |
| [ | ||
| B | The Lord is my good shepherd | |
| A | Surely your goodness and mercy | |
| B | your beauty and steadfast love | |
| C | will follow me | |
| B | will pursue me | |
| A | will chase after me every day of my life | Psalm 23.6a |
| C | And I will serve my God day and night in his temple | Revelation 7.15 |
| B | I will live in God’s house forever | |
| C | my whole life long | Psalm 23.6b |
| A | The Lord will keep me from all harm He will watch over my coming and going both now and forevermore | Psalm 121.7,8 |
| B | The Lord God will always shepherd me | |
| [ [ | ||
| C | People of God | |
| A | Come, let us bow down in worship | |
| C | let us kneel before the Lord our Maker | |
| B | For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture | |
| A | the flock under his care | Psalm 95.6,7 |
| C | We will praise you forever | |
| A | From generation to generation | |
| ABC | we will proclaim your praise | Psalm 79.13 |
| Amen | ||
| [ |
Suggested benediction:
Now may the God of peace
who through the blood of the eternal covenant
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus
that great Shepherd of the sheep
equip you with everything good for doing his will
and may he work in us what is pleasing to him
through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory for ever and ever
Amen. Hebrews 13.20