Opening Prayer

Holy God, thank you for the ways you provide for us day by day. Today we rejoice in the care we receive through your Spirit, and through the Body of Christ which we know as the church. As we come together to worship you, renew in us an awareness of the good-shepherd-love Jesus poured out for his followers and for the world. 

Receive our thanksgiving for the TLC which comes as we connect in your Spirit with sisters and brothers right here, and around the world. Speak through your servants, that we might hear your voice and respond in love. Amen.

Prayers of the People

O God,

We thank you for this earth, our home;

for the wide sky and the blessed sun,

for the ocean and streams,

for the towering hills and the whispering wind,

for the trees and green grass.

We thank you for our senses

by which we hear the songs of birds,

and see the splendor of fields of golden wheat,

and taste autumn's fruit,

rejoice in the feel of snow,

and smell the breath of spring flowers.

Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty;

and save us from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thorn bush

is aflame with your glory. For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and new discoveries. Life is constantly changing and renewing itself. In this new day of new beginnings with God, all things are possible.

We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be. Amen.

Written by Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918)

Scripture

John 10:11-18 (The Message version)

11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.

14-18 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”