Read
Psalm 106, Jeremiah 31:7-12, John 10:14-18 (NLT)
Psalm 106
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
Who can ever praise him enough?
There is joy for those who deal justly with others
and always do what is right.
Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people;
come near and rescue me.
Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.
Let me rejoice in the joy of your people;
let me praise you with those who are your heritage.
Like our ancestors, we have sinned.
We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!
Our ancestors in Egypt
were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds.
They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.
Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.
Even so, he saved them—
to defend the honor of his name
and to demonstrate his mighty power.
He commanded the Red Sea to dry up.
He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert.
So he rescued them from their enemies
and redeemed them from their foes.
Then the water returned and covered their enemies;
not one of them survived.
Then his people believed his promises.
Then they sang his praise.
Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!
They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
In the wilderness their desires ran wild,
testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland.
So he gave them what they asked for,
but he sent a plague along with it.
The people in the camp were jealous of Moses
and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
Because of this, the earth opened up;
it swallowed Dathan
and buried Abiram and the other rebels.
Fire fell upon their followers;
a flame consumed the wicked.
The people made a calf at Mount Sinai;
they bowed before an image made of gold.
They traded their glorious God
for a statue of a grass-eating bull.
They forgot God, their savior,
who had done such great things in Egypt—
such wonderful things in the land of Ham,
such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.
So he declared he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people.
He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.
The people refused to enter the pleasant land,
for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.
Instead, they grumbled in their tents
and refused to obey the Lord.
Therefore, he solemnly swore
that he would kill them in the wilderness,
that he would scatter their descendants among the nations,
exiling them to distant lands.
Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor;
they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!
They angered the Lord with all these things,
so a plague broke out among them.
But Phinehas had the courage to intervene,
and the plague was stopped.
So he has been regarded as a righteous man
ever since that time.
At Meribah, too, they angered the Lord,
causing Moses serious trouble.
They made Moses angry,
and he spoke foolishly.
Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land,
as the Lord had commanded them.
Instead, they mingled among the pagans
and adopted their evil customs.
They worshiped their idols,
which led to their downfall.
They even sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons.
They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters.
By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan,
they polluted the land with murder.
They defiled themselves by their evil deeds,
and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.
That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his own special possession.
He handed them over to pagan nations,
and they were ruled by those who hated them.
Their enemies crushed them
and brought them under their cruel power.
Again and again he rescued them,
but they chose to rebel against him,
and they were finally destroyed by their sin.
Even so, he pitied them in their distress
and listened to their cries.
He remembered his covenant with them
and relented because of his unfailing love.
He even caused their captors
to treat them with kindness.
Save us, O Lord our God!
Gather us back from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
and rejoice and praise you.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Jeremiah 31:7-12
Now this is what the Lord says:
“Sing with joy for Israel.
Shout for the greatest of nations!
Shout out with praise and joy:
‘Save your people, O Lord,
the remnant of Israel!’
For I will bring them from the north
and from the distant corners of the earth.
I will not forget the blind and lame,
the expectant mothers and women in labor.
A great company will return!
Tears of joy will stream down their faces,
and I will lead them home with great care.
They will walk beside quiet streams
and on smooth paths where they will not stumble.
For I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my oldest child.
“Listen to this message from the Lord,
you nations of the world;
proclaim it in distant coastlands:
The Lord, who scattered his people,
will gather them and watch over them
as a shepherd does his flock.
For the Lord has redeemed Israel
from those too strong for them.
They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.
They will be radiant because of the Lord’s good gifts—
the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and olive oil,
and the healthy flocks and herds.
Their life will be like a watered garden,
and all their sorrows will be gone.”
John 10:14-18
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
Jesus Storybook Bible:
The Good Shepherd (p.130)
Meditate
Save us, O LORD our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you. (Psalm 106:47)
Pray
Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd and we are the sheep of your flock. You know us by name and have called us to your side. Forgive us for doubting your goodness and wandering away in pride. At the cross you gave Your life for us and proved that you will not abandon us. Thank you for giving us ears to hear your voice. Enable us by the Spirit to follow you wherever you lead and trust your provision and protection. In your name we pray. Amen.
Take a moment to pray for others.
Sing
New City Catechism
Question 16: What is Sin?
Answer: Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law—resulting in our death and the disintegration of all creation.
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