Prairie View Christian Church

The LORD is my shepherd!

Welcome to another Weekly Update!  It was a quieter week at Prairie View this week, due to the spring break season.  Nevertheless, we still had a great time gathering together on Sunday morning to praise our Lord and study his Word. 

Is the Lord your shepherd?  Do you even have a shepherd, or know one?  Why in the world would anyone need a shepherd?  We were in the Psalms this week on our Route 66 journey through the Bible.  The 150 Psalms are sets of lyrics – the words to 150 songs and poems that the people of Israel used in their worship of the Lord.  Just like our secular and religious music today, the Psalms had various purposes - some are celebratory, others are used for teaching, some are written from a place of anguish, and others look forward to the day when Christ will reign on earth.  This week, however, we looked at perhaps the most well-known of all the Psalms – the 23^rd, which is a song of contentment and peace.  Before we look at what we learned, we’ll cover some of the other events of the week.

It would be unsportsmanlike of me to fail to mention the basketball tournament that was completed on Monday.  Your Weekly Updater (from a position of second place) correctly picked the winner of the last game, but that last victory was insufficient to knock Ashley Spillman out of first place in the standings.  Due to her overwhelmingly correct picks in the first 5 rounds of the tournament, Ashley secured her victory even before the championship game.  Nice work, Ashley!

Wednesday was full of the usual activities – youth group, the women’s study group, and the Pafford small group.  The events at the church were a little smaller and more personal this week, since many people were on the road.  See photos nearby, and join those groups next week!  Contact Eric for youth info, Lisa for the women’s group, and Carl and Mary for the Pafford small group.

The Wednesday night ladies bible study meets every week at 6:30.

The class that Eric is leading on Sunday morning has been going great! 

In fact, next week we will move to the sanctuary for more room.

In our trip through the Bible in 2008, we’ve covered thousands of years of history.  We finished with the historical books two weeks ago when we examined Ezra and Nehemiah, and last week we started a new section of the Old Testament – the wisdom literature.  There are 5 books in this section, and we will spend one week on each of them.  Last week, Eric spoke to us out of the book of Job about suffering and the sovereignty of God – if God is so powerful, loving, and just, why does so much rotten stuff happen?  What is the meaning of all the suffering and hardship we see in the world and in our lives?  If you (or someone you know) ever suffers, and you’re interested in what God has to say about suffering, I encourage you to find a CD of Eric’s sermon at the Welcome Desk in the lobby, and also to look in the Weekly Update archives at the bottom of this column.  Going forward, we’ll be in Proverbs next week, Ecclesiastes on the 27th, and then Eric will speak on Mother’s Day from the Song of Solomon, which is the Bible’s celebration of the joys of marital intimacy.  Don’t miss it!  (Due to Eric and Robby’s travel schedules, we’ll go out order on the 4^th, putting Isaiah ahead of schedule.)


This week, we were looking at the 6 verses of the 23^rd Psalm.  We know with certainty that David was the author of this Psalm.  We met David several weeks ago; he was the young shepherd boy that God selected to be his chosen King over his people, Israel.  David went on to live an exciting life, much of which is recorded in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel.  Before he was a giant-slaying man of war, however, he watched his family’s sheep as a boy.  In fact, David was among the first people to explicitly use the metaphor of shepherd and sheep to describe the relationship between God and his people.  (Jacob did once, back in Genesis 48.)  From the time of Moses – much earlier - the ceremonial law and the feast of the Passover used sheep as sacrifices, which was an implicit picture of the shedding of blood for sin.  David, however, was the first person to stand up and say, “Think of me as a sheep”.

And as Robby told us this morning, this was no compliment!  Sheep are renowned in the livestock world as being of distinctly sub-par intelligence.  (Compared to sheep, a dairy cow is a profound thinker, to say nothing of horses!)  Sheep are dumb, foremost, but they’re also dirty, smelly, fearful, easily distracted, easily confused, easily disoriented, and defenseless.  They are prone to ineffective stampedes, getting lost, and they are vulnerable to all forms of predator.  They can’t eat or drink without being lead and instructed.  It’s hard to imagine any person who actually knows sheep being willing to identify with them, but that’s exactly what David does.  On the other hand, sheep can be immensely valuable – no other animal can give milk and wool during life, and then give meat and leather after life. 

David puts himself in the place of a sheep in the first 4 verses of the Psalm, where he speaks to the reader about how the LORD is his shepherd.  (All-caps “LORD” means God-by-name, not just God-as-a-title – Yahweh is my shepherd.)  In the first four verses we see the four functions of the shepherd: provision (v1-2), guidance (v3-4), caring for needs (v2-3), and protection (v2, 4).  The key to the first half of the Psalm is that David is depending on God for all these things, not on his own efforts.  David willingly submits to the shepherd’s work in his life, and puts his trust in the shepherd for provision, guidance, protection, and care.

We also see how the Lord fulfills each of these four functions in these verses.  Provision is given in green pastures and still waters.  Guidance is given in right paths, even in darkness.  Care is given by restoration and comfort.  Protection is given through right guidance, and through the rod and staff. 

Let’s abandon the pastoral metaphor at this point; David wasn’t writing a treatise on animal husbandry.  David used this imagery for two reasons: first, because he was a shepherd, and he recognized his relationship with God when he worked with his sheep.  Secondly, David knew that his people would quickly understand exactly what he meant, because many of them were shepherds.  In fact, the people of agrarian bronze-age Israel would have not needed any explanation about what David meant!  David was writing about the way God was acting and working in his own life – as a shepherd.

David knew that when it came to the things of God, he was like a sheep.  Easily lost, easily confused, prone to wander, unable to feed, vulnerable to enemies, ignorant, defenseless, and helpless – this is the natural condition of every person.  Even those people who have learned and studied the Bible are in this condition, because it’s our nature – we are naturally sinners and separated from God.  God, however, loved us and looks after us like a shepherd.  In the time of David, this meant that God used his Spirit to speak through the Law and the prophets, and work in the lives of individuals to guide them into paths of righteousness (v3).  In our day, we have it even better: God has given his Spirit to each of his sheep, to every person that has been reconciled to him through Jesus the Christ.  Paul tells us about our natural condition in Romans 1-3 and Ephesians 2 – spiritually dead, and enemies of God.  God, however, gave us new life through Christ, and drew us to himself, so that we could be reconciled to him and enjoy an eternal relationship with him.  (Those of you in the Revelation study will be pleased to hear that the shepherd/sheep metaphor is dropped when it comes to eternity – in heaven, the church is the Bride of Christ, not the flock.  In fact, it’s Jesus that is referred to as a sheep – the Lamb who was slain and lives again, and is worthy of eternal worship.)

In fact, it’s worth our time here to consider how the language of sheep and shepherds is applied to Jesus our Lord.  First, Jesus is presented by John the Baptist as the “lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”.  Jesus goes to the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, as a fulfillment of the ceremonial law.  The law’s penalty for violating the will of the holy God was death – without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.  But what good is forgiveness if you’ve been slain because of your sin?  That’s why Jesus paid that penalty on our behalf, because he was worthy – he had committed no sin of his own.  Jesus’ holy life made him eligible to carry our sins, and God raised him from the dead so that we can have new life in him.  It’s in the work of ‘atonement’ that Jesus functions as a sheep, because it was at the cross that he paid the penalty of sin as a man. 

But now that Jesus has accomplished redemption and forgiveness as a sheep, he can lead his people as their Shepherd.  Jesus is often referred to as the good shepherd or the chief shepherd.  It is in this capacity that we can apply David’s Psalm to our own lives.  We all like sheep have gone astray, as we know from Isaiah 53.  We need a shepherd.  Now this isn’t for the purpose of salvation – that’s already assumed!  Now we are talking about living the Christian life, the life the Jesus has called us to.  We need a shepherd for provision (in the Word), for care (from the burdens of life), for guidance (in right thinking and behavior), and for protection (from our three great adversaries – the flesh, the world, and the Evil One).

Is Christ your shepherd?  Have you submitted to his ownership and lordship in your life?  If not, you’re no better off than a sheep that’s wandered off from the flock.  If you’re a part of Christ’s flock – the church – are you listening for the Shepherd’s instructions?  Are you trusting and obeying?  Do you allow time in your days and weeks to hear his voice and study his written Word?  Just like ancient shepherds, Christ has marked his sheep with his distinct signature – the Holy Spirit.  Are you allowing the Holy Spirit access and authority to your life? 

This week, we had one of the young people of the church set an example for us.  John and Beth King’s daughter Trinity came forward this week to profess Christ before the whole congregation.  Trinity has accepted Christ as her Savior and Lord, and next week she will be baptized!  Aside from celebrating Communion each week, there is no higher and greater privilege of the local church than to help people come to confess Christ as Lord and Savior.  Trinity will soon begin to see the work of the great shepherd in her life, as she learns how to hear and obey him through the example of her parents, her grandparents, and her local brothers and sisters in Christ.

We’ve looked at verses 1 through 4, but we need to see what’s in 5 and 6 before we close.  The pastoral metaphor is nearly gone at this point, and it’s just David speaking about his spiritual relationship with our God.  Verse 5 is a scene of celebration; because David has submitted to his Shepherd’s efforts in 1-4, he can celebrate and eat in peace and safety.  In verse 6 we see the future certainty and assurance of God’s work in our lives; our shepherd will not abandon us; we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  These are the great blessings that follow from being part of God’s flock. 

Next week, we’ll study more about how to live the life that God has called us to.  We have Proverbs up next, the book of wisdom.  We’ll see what God has to say about how we should think about money, food, sleep, sex, anger, contentment, parenting, religion, politics, and the weather. 

Also, don’t forget about Eric’s continuing Sunday-morning 9:00 study in Revelation!  This week we looked at how Revelation fits in with the rest of the Bible – the Bible needs Revelation, and Revelation needs the rest of the Bible.  Next week, we’ll be looking at the complete story that John was telling in the book.  Join us, and bring something cool to drink!

There’s also the Sunday evening Discussion Group Study on the topic of eldership, continuing through mid-May.  We had some great discussion last week about what the proper roles and expectations are for the elders, pastors, and congregation!  It should all sound very familiar: elders are called to shepherd the flock of God as undershepherds of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus.

Do you have thoughts, comments, or suggestions for the folks that assemble the Weekly Update?  Something that we’re missing, or stuff you could live without?  Send complaints and adoration to your Weekly Updater here.  See you next week!

Archives of Past Updates

April 6, 2008

March 30, 2008

March 23, 2008

 March 16, 2008

March 9, 2008

March 2, 2008

February 24, 2008

February 17, 2008

February 10, 2008

February 03, 2008

January 20, 2008