The Lord is my Shepherd

[0:00] This is a sermon from King's Church West, William. Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.

[0:15] ! Right, I've got some questions for you to start off with.! Does anybody know what a psalm is? What is a psalm? It's a bit of a funny word.

[0:27] It's got a silent p, it looks like psalm, but we say psalm. Anybody know what one of those is? Yeah, what's this? It's just a word that doesn't say p, so it's this way and a psalm.

[0:42] That's right, it's a silent letter, isn't it? Yeah, and do you know what a psalm is? Any clues? Do you think any of the grown-ups know what a psalm is? Shall we ask them? Anybody know?

[0:54] A psalm. A psalm. Yeah, great. A psalm is like a song. Like a song or like a poem. And this is important because it talks in stories.

[1:07] And this psalm talks about God and God's relationship with humans like shepherd and sheep. Okay? We're going to get into that. Does anybody know who wrote Psalm 23?

[1:20] David. David. Great. The same guy who killed the life. David.

[1:33] Right. Now let's start with the first verse. The Lord is my shepherd. No trick questions here. Who's the Lord? Who's the Lord?

[1:46] Jesus. Yeah. Good. David. David actually lived a thousand years before Jesus did. He didn't actually know Jesus when he wrote this. But you are right.

[1:57] But when he was talking about the Lord, he meant God. Now, what about shepherds? Does anybody know any shepherds? Anybody know any real-life shepherds?

[2:09] Do you know some shepherds? Do you know anybody who works as a shepherd? Do you know somebody who works? Where do they work? They work as a shepherd. Oh, cool. I know one shepherd. One of my friends from school married a shepherd who lives in the Lake District.

[2:22] And here's a joke for you. His name is Mr. Wolf. If you were a sheep, would you trust Mr. Wolf to be your shepherd? I don't think so.

[2:34] I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so. So, what does a shepherd do? What does a shepherd do? Look after sheep. Brilliant.

[2:44] How does a shepherd look after sheep? How do they look after them? With a stick. With a stick? Yeah, that's right. With a stick? Yeah, that's right. What do they use that for, do they? To protect it.

[2:56] To protect sheep. Yeah, good. How else do they look after their sheep? No. To protect them. From lions. To protect them from lions? Yep. They feed them. They feed them.

[3:07] They take them to good grass to eat, don't they? And they drink. And they make them drink. They take them to streams to drink, that's right. Shelter. Good, good, yeah. Shepherds are really important in the Bible.

[3:20] In fact, shepherd is said 200 times in the Bible. Did you know that? Yeah. So it must have been a really common job that people did back in Bible times. Does anybody know any other shepherds in the Bible?

[3:34] I could think of nine, so see if the grown-ups can beat me. Julie, you'll be good. How many shepherds can you shout out? Famous shepherds? Christmas. Christmas shepherds.

[3:45] Yep, great. David. David was a shepherd. David. He was a shepherd, you're right. Moses. Moses, yep. Abraham. Jesus, do you remember the shepherd? Abraham. What? Abraham.

[3:55] Yeah, a shepherd. Yeah, a shepherd. A few can see. Yep, yep. I'm gone. Yep. Abraham was a shepherd, yep. What do you mean? What does it mean? What does it mean?

[4:08] Jacob. Jacob. Isaac. Yep. Isaac. Jacob, Isaac, yep. Abraham, yep. Abraham's nephew. Lot. Yep.

[4:20] There's one shepherdess as well. A female shepherd. Anybody knows? Bonus points for this one. One of Jacob's wives. Rachel.

[4:31] You get it. What's the idea? Great. So the Lord is my shepherd. Let's get on to this next bit. I have everything I need.

[4:43] If you know me at all, you'll know that I absolutely hate packing. And I especially hate packing for other people. But I have to do a lot of it.

[4:55] And in this last week, I've had to do a lot. And on Friday, we went to the beach, me and the boys. And we packed up a little bit. The kitchen sink. So much that I had to do eight trips between the car and the beach.

[5:09] I took the chairs. I took the picnic blankets. I took the picnic. I took the surfboards. I took Rory's diggers. I took Rory's bucket and spade. I took the wetsuits. Too much stuff. Last week, we went walking on Sunday when it was our day off.

[5:23] And we went up to Pentland. And it was absolutely soaking. And it was too many. And did we bring too much stuff? Yeah. No. No. We brought too little stuff.

[5:34] We went in our shorts and our trainers. We left our walking boots. And Dad was the only one who took the mountain boots. We didn't bring enough clothes. And we got wet and cold and straight with rainbows, didn't we?

[5:44] And the only person who was well prepared was? Dad. Dad. Dad. He had his waterproof trousers, his walking boots, his mat and all the lace. He was fine. The rest of us were freezing and wet and muddy, weren't we?

[5:57] So I do think I would survive very well on my own for very long. Because I don't pack very well. But I wonder if we have any survival experts in the room.

[6:09] Is anybody a scout or a cub or into Bear Grylls? Hey, I bet you are. Yeah. Okay. And kids, I'd like you to nominate who do you think, which adult in this room would survive the longest in the wilderness?

[6:26] Have a poke. Dave. Who thinks Dave? Hands up for Dave. Okay. Hands up for Craig. Anybody else?

[6:39] Point. Dad. Dad. Hands up for Liam. I wouldn't go like I know. All right. I think Craig wins for Marjorie. Craig. Well, you can't help me for a minute.

[6:56] Right. I want you to imagine. You can have some helpers. I want you to imagine that we're going to take Craig in a helicopter and we're going to dump him in the middle of a cairn horse.

[7:09] And he has survived for an entire year. No phone. No shots. No money. No human beings. Do you think he could do it? Yes. Now. What do you think he would need to take with him?

[7:22] Machete. SES. Revantail. I'm not. Really. Really. Really. Machete. He's a weapon. What's he a weapon? Bow and arrow. Bow and arrow.

[7:33] I'm not. Bow and arrow. Machete. Bow and arrow. Bow and arrow. Bow and arrow. I didn't bring machete with me. But I did bring a bow and arrow.

[7:44] Could you go and get the bow and arrow and get to your dad? Okay, so. A weapon. Anybody else? Shout out. What else is he going to need? We'll get him all ready. Shelter. Water. Water.

[7:55] Shelter. A shelter. Okay. There's no way. Oh, oh, oh. Look at this. Shelter. Oh, that's a good one. What else is he going to need?

[8:06] Water. Water. Callum, do you want to go and get a pen? Where else is he going to need, guys? Did you want to get a food for him? There's some bread there. Is it?

[8:16] Yeah, that's it. Anything else? What else is he going to need? Oh, first name. First name. Yeah, right. First name. Here's what he used to do. 20 seconds. How do you want to take your bag?

[8:32] You put your bag back and then you just start spinning up your stuff. Oh, okay. Keep it by yourself. Beautiful practice. All right, well done, you guys.

[8:43] Thanks for Starfire. Yeah. Thank you.

[9:15] Thank you.

[9:45] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Wait, thanks. Anything I missed? That's bad.

[10:01] Thank you. Thank you. Right, we hold on to that. Right, great. You guys might as well be going with him. Yeah, definitely. Oh, not that one. Thank you. That's just not...

[10:12] That's not... Right, babe, are you feeling confident about this trip?

[10:23] No. Yes. I am. I certainly am. Yeah. Do you think he's got everything he needs? Yeah. Yeah. Do you think he can survive for a whole year? No. Yeah. Yeah. I'm good.

[10:36] Do you think he can survive for a whole year, Greg? I mean... Not without God. You could maybe... And you can't spray the water. Not without God. Okay.

[10:47] Thanks, Craig. Will you stand up and pop all your stuff on? Not the boots. I'll just... Can you put the hat on his head? Okay. And then he's got this. Okay, great.

[10:58] Oh. Okay. He's got everything he needs. I'll carry this for you. Now, here's the twist. What if Craig wasn't Craig at all?

[11:10] He was actually... A sheep. A sheep. What the heck? Okay. This is very much. Nothing.

[11:21] Are you going to need your hat for your sheep? No. Nah. Are you going to need your sleeping bag? No. Nah. Are you going to need your boys and our own? No. Nah. Are you going to need your backpack?

[11:32] Not at all. Nah. Is there any idea of a hunter trying to hunt a man? Not today. Maybe another one. Okay. So, if you're a sheep... No.

[11:43] No. What do you need? No. No. What do you need? If you're a sheep. A shepherd. Shepherd. Shepherd.

[11:53] Exactly. I agree. I agree. Can you give him a round of applause? I agree. I agree. I agree. I agree. I agree. I agree.

[12:04] Did you know that the Bible talks an awful lot about survival? Because God gives us everything that we need.

[12:18] So all those things we've been thinking about for survival, God gives us. So I'm going to hand out some of these verses. I'd like you to split in fact. Eight.

[12:28] If you split into your little rows, I want you to read this verse. And have a think about which item this verse shows.

[12:42] And then you'll take something from your boat and come up. That's all right. And come and stand with the verse and with the item that you think it corresponds to.

[12:53] Oh my gosh. I mean this is a pretty easy one. Oh my gosh. I mean this is a pretty easy one. Those two things of water I like this will never mean that you're organically targeting.

[13:03] I'm just going to bubble and swim within the pool of water. What item I heard about water? Is that a sign on? Yeah? Yeah? Go stand at the top of it.

[13:14] You can walk unless you can ask it. Oh, yeah. What answers are great? Are they right? Great answers, aren't they? No, no, no, no.

[13:29] Water. Water, water. Water. Can you read this verse out and say which one it is? So that everybody can see. John 14 verses.

[13:43] I am the way and the flesh and the flesh and the flesh and the flesh and the flesh. So which one is that, Josh? The compass and the map. Can you read it on?

[13:55] So John 6, 35. Jesus replied, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.

[14:06] Thank you. Thank you. Isaiah 61, 10. I will have much joy in the Lord. My soul will have joy in my God.

[14:18] For he has put me with clothes of his saving heart. He has put around me a coat of water. The stripes and the food. The food. The food. And then, shall I read it?

[14:29] Okay. You can read it. Okay. This one says, Jesus replied, Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.

[14:43] And that is the water, isn't it? Thank you for that one. Next, there we go. Leslie and Jayla. Can I read it? Yeah. Jesus spoke to people once more and he said, I am the light of the world.

[14:58] If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life. And you've got the torch. Thank you.

[15:10] Hey, ladies. Those who live in the shelter of most high will find it. Rest in the shadow of the Almighty. And what do you choose? Hey.

[15:21] I'm a secret dog. I'm a secret dog. Thank you.

[15:54] Thanks everybody. You can have a seat. So, here's the thing.

[16:17] The Bible says that we are all like sheep. It's a bit of a strange thing to say that we are like sheep.

[16:27] But we are. It says, we all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us have turned our own way. We all like sheep have got lost.

[16:39] We've all turned our own way. And this verse tells us that we've got three choices as sheep. We can either continue to have no shepherd and go our own way and only listen to ourselves.

[16:54] We can do that. Or we can choose a different shepherd. And the Bible says this. My people have been like lost sheep.

[17:06] Their leaders have led them in the wrong way. Their leaders made them wander around in the mountains and hills. They forgot where their resting place was.

[17:16] So, we can listen to other shepherds if we want to. We can be led by other people. But they might not give us everything that we need. And our third choice, which is what this is encouraging us to do, is to have the Lord as our shepherd.

[17:35] God as our shepherd. Listening to God. Being led by God. And if we do that, then he promises that we'll have everything that we need.