Worship Service – July 18, 2021

Scriptures: Isaiah 53:6-12, 1 Peter 2:13-17,21-25.
Message: Mark 6:30-34,53-56.

“Sheep without a Shepherd”

Isaiah 53:6-12

(6) We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
(7) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
(8) By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
(9) He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
(10) Yet it was the Lord ‘s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
(11) After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
(12) Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

1 Peter 2:13-17,21-25

(13) Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, (14) or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. (15) For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. (16) Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. (17) Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
(21)To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (22) “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his
mouth.” (23) When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (24) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (25) For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56
(30) The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. (31) Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
(32) So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. (33) But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. (34) When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
(53) When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. (54) As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. (55) They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. (56) And wherever he went–into villages, towns or countryside–they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

This is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

Somewhere I read about a man who went to an auto auction. They were selling cars to benefit a certain charity. Vehicles in this auction were classified as either “Running” or “No Start.” On the auction block was a No Starter. It had a shattered windshield, two missing tires, a sagging front bumper, a cockeyed grill, a hood that was sprung up at an angle, and dings and dents all over the body.
Before he started the bidding, the auctioneer announced the car’s year, make and model. And then the auctioneer read the owner’s comments: “Please note,” the owner had added, “the radio does not work.”
Well, there was a lot more wrong with that car than a broken radio.
Some people are like that car. They’re broken and they’re not even certain how they got that way.
It reminds me of the Lutheran pastor who always started each service by saying “The Lord be with you.”
The people would respond, “And also with you.”
But, one Sunday the PA system wasn’t working, so the first thing he said was “There’s something wrong with this microphone.”
The people responded, “And also with you.”
You and I know the truth. There’s something wrong with all of us.
In our lesson for the day Mark tells us, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Then Mark records for us:“So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw “them” leaving recognized “them” and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of “them”. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like,”sheep without a shepherd”. So he began teaching them many things.”
When Mark wrote verse 34: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like,”sheep without a shepherd”. So he began teaching them many things.” I don’t believe he was quoting Jesus, but he was letting us know Jesus’ frame of mind. Not only the people following “them” but also the “apostles” that they were all like sheep and in need of a shepherd.
At first glance, it may appear that today’s gospel text depicts Jesus advocating a kind of “time out” from doing God’s mission for his disciples. The “apostles” had returned from their mission (Mark 6:7-13) bubbling over with enthusiasm, anxious to tell Jesus all they had “done and taught, and “a large crowd” was following them. So in the midst of all this hubbub, of all the comings and goings, Jesus suggests that the disciples go with him to a quiet place, a solitary place all by yourselves and rest a while.
We know that no one can work without rest; and no one can live the Christian life unless they give themselves time with God. It may well be that the whole trouble in our lives is that we give God no opportunity to speak to us, because we do not know how to be still and to listen.
Too many times in our lives we’re like, the woodsman who challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did.”
“But you didn’t notice,” said the winning woodsman, “that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest.”
We know that no one can work without rest; and no one can live the Christian life unless they give themselves time with God. It may well be that the whole trouble in our lives is that we give God no opportunity to speak to us, because we do not know how to be still and to listen. We many times are like the crowd who were following the apostles instead of God.
As we read in Isaiah and 1 Peter:”We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;”. In our world today, many are still like, “Sheep Without a Shepherd”.
Sheep without a shepherd. That was Jesus’ reaction to the multitude who were seeking him. “He had compassion on them, because they were like “sheep without a shepherd.”
Let’s take a moment and look at some of the attributes of sheep, and shepherd’s duty.
Sheep are particularly prone to wander. The shepherd has to be watchful whenever his sheep are in treacherous terrain, for they will invariably wander off and some of them will get into serious trouble.
When God sees us as sheep without a shepherd. It saddens Him to see us flounder about with no sense of direction, no sense of purpose, no sense of hope. Sheep are prone to wander because…
Sheep are short sighted. They can only see 6 feet ahead. So no matter how many times you bring wayward sheep back, they are prone to wander off again because they can’t rely on their sight to learn from their mistakes. They have to rely on their hearing.
In John 10:27 Jesus said that his sheep hear him and follow him and that he knows them. Those of us who live in the western world don’t have an accurate picture of what it means to be led like sheep. Western shepherds drive their sheep from behind the flock, often using dogs to bark at their heels. Eastern shepherds, like those in Bible times, lead their sheep from in front.
Sheep are also quite fragile. Sheep are naturally defenseless. They must be watched continually. They need protection at night. Predators continually try to infiltrate the flock to kill the sheep.
Sheep are defenseless and dependent. They don’t have much of a bite . . . no natural defense–no claws, no horns, no fangs . . . not even a stink bag like a skunk. To make matters worse they are top-heavy and their legs are spindly. This makes them slow. Plus they have no camouflage, so when they are being chased by a wolf they are out of luck.
Sheep are easily frightened and confused.
It doesn’t take much to scramble the simple mental yolk of a nervous sheep. They’ve even been known to plunge straight over the edge of a high precipice in a panic, one following right after another.” Sheep are fragile and quite vulnerable, like people!
They need a good shepherd. Jesus said in John 10:14, “I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and they know me.” We also know that a good shepherd trains and uses sheep dogs to assist in guiding and protecting the sheep. One of the things I learned in my studies, in becoming a pastor is that spiritual leaders are not trained to become the “shepherds” but to become the sheep dogs. To help in guiding and protecting the sheep.
Sheep are also susceptible to all kinds of diseases .
They will eat and drink the wrong things and too much if you let them and get sick. Psalm 23: tells us if “The Lord is my shepherd .I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures,……..”. And in John 10:9, Jesus said,” I am at the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.”
The truth is many of us are broken and we’re not even certain how they got that way. The good news is that God not only looks upon His children with compassion, but He has moved into the world to redeem those who are lost, to become the Shepherd of the sheep. Even more that that, He became the lamb slain for the sins of the world.
Jesus told a parable in Luke 15 about a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. What does he do? He leaves the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it. And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and heads toward home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” Then Jesus says, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
What we need to see is that Jesus ,the good shepherd, loves all his sheep while at the same time he loves each individual sheep as if it were the only sheep in the world to love.
In Mark 6 we learn that even after the feeding of the five thousand the apostles still didn’t understand who the shepherd was and needed more guidance taught to them in a storm. Mark 6:52 states ”for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”
Mark 6:53-56 reveal to us that when people recognize Jesus as their shepherd,”They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.”
The point is that many of us live like we’re “Sheep without a Shepherd” and all to often wander from the flock. But there is One who is our Good Shepherd–always seeking to rescue us and bring us back into the fold if we will allow Him to.
Are you feeling a little lost today? Maybe you feel more than a little lost. The Good Shepherd is here this day seeking to help you find your way. He wants to put you on his shoulders and take you once more to a safe place. Listen closely and you will hear him call your name. John 10:3, reminds us; “The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

Are you a “Sheep without a Shepherd”?


In His Service

Pastor Joe

Listen To Audio: Sermon 20210718

Listen To Audio: Service 07182021

Prayer of Confession:   Patient Lord, you know how we are.  So often we let the busy-ness and worries of our lives overcome us.  Our hearts crumble under the weight of frustration and tiredness.  Then we turn away from you, sure that you have abandoned us.  We make bad decisions.  Forgive us our foolishness.  Forgive us our faithlessness.  Help us to learn that you are actively involved in our lives, as a creative co-worker, seeking healing and hope not only for each of us, but for the whole world.  Continue to walk with us and to make us into disciples of peace and compassion.  Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Pastor Joe will be available at the church on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4.  If you need to speak to him, contact Pastor Joe at 570-267-4570 (cell) or Email: joe.s.travis@gmail.com

Loose change goes to Kenya/Rev. Malaho

Sunday School starts at 8:30am

Session meets Tuesday, July 20, at 9am in the Community Building.

Men’s Breakfast will be Wednesday July 21 at 8:00 A.M.

Weather permitting, we will have our worship service in the Armstrong Park behind the church on July 25th with a covered dish luncheon to follow.  Please bring something to share if you are able.

Newsletter Deadline – Tuesday July 27, 2021. 

EMAIL address for the church has been changed to: fhpc400@att.net  

 

Prayer of the Day:O God, powerful and compassionate, you shepherd your people, faithfully feeding and protecting us.  Heal each of us, and make us a whole people, that we may embody the justice and peace of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

 

 

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