Church

I should have known that church was going to be excellent when it was such a battle to get there this morning. First, my Kyle, who always wants to go to church, decided to be stubborn and refused to go. I knew I could convince him, which I did, but it was an obstacle to start my morning. Then Charlotte....well Charlotte is slow in the morning. I woke her up and she rose with a smile. I hurried her along and went about my business. 30 minutes later she sauntered down the stairs in her robe, hair all a muss, wiping the sleep from her eyes. NO WAY!!!! Zach was a wild child. Running at super speed and accomplishing nothing but the build up of irritation in my gut! And then my sweet little Emerson, who spent the night with Grandma (who she calls SpongeBob, thank you very much!). Emerson was a pill. She did not want to get dressed, did NOT want her shoes on and thrashed around until her freshly done hair-do was a total loss. A hair-do that took forever in the first place because she shook her head the entire time I was doing it. Most people would have given up! Not me. My family was going to church this morning...ALL OF US. Yes, that means Sweetheart too. We actually made it out the door on time and picked up TJ on our way...he had gone to the Monster Truck Rally the night before so that is why Emmie was with us. So, we arrive at church, (Sweetheart's first time at this one....it is still on a trial basis, but so far, so good) and we get the little kids where they are suppose to be. We are seated and heaving a sigh of relief as the first hymn begins.

Praise and Worship was amazing as usual. Sweetheart is very musically inclined, so he was quite impressed....think Grand Ol Opry mixed with contemporary....it is very good and full of amazing talent, which is not necessary, but nice all the same. Pastor Maynard begins his sermon on the 23rd Psalm.
I will admit, I was a tad disappointed.....I have heard the 23rd Psalm preached on more than any other text of scripture.
" The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever"
I use to link it in my thoughts to a funeral or deathbed scripture, but it is really for the living! Lots of good meat in there to chew on, but I was doubtful I would hear anything new or challenging. I was blissfully wrong. I am not going to give you the sermon that Pastor Maynard gave, but I sure did learn A LOT from his teaching of it. One small section of the passage, I do want to share with you. The insight into this was something I had never heard before, nor had I considered. In verse 2 it says, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures....." Lot's of people focus on the "green pastures" part, which he covered also, but I want to look at the "He MAKETH me to lie down" part of that verse. According to Pastor Maynard, a wise and caring Shepherd must make his sheep lie down in order for them to rest. First though there must be 4 things in place.Some of you may have sheep....I know Niki and Cheryl do....and may already know these things. I was not aware of them at all and when taken in context with the scripture, there is a life changing lesson there.....what 4 things must be in place for a sheep to be made to lie down? Here they are....

1.) The sheep must not be hungry....he must be full.

2.) The sheep must be unafraid.

3.) The sheep must be content.

4.) The sheep must have harmony in the flock.

Wow. Think about those things in your own life.Are you lacking spiritual food, or are you daily feasting on the Word?

Are you in fear, or are you trusting God?

Are you content in the state that God has you, or are you wishing you had something else?

Are you peaceable, or are you sowing or partaking in discord among your flock (family, church, neighbors)?

Lots to chew on there, eh? If you look closely, like I did in writing this post, you will see that the first thing in this passage that our Shepherd does for us is to make us lie down....I wonder if He can/will even do the following things in this passage unless the first is done (my own thoughts). I don't know about you, but I want Him to "maketh me to lie down..."Thanks for coming to "church" with me. If you want to hear some of Pastor Maynard's sermons click here. Today's sermon should be there soon.