Sunday Services
Morning service: 10.45am
Evening service: 6.00pm
“Surely Your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.” Psalms 23v6 (NIV)
Each year our Church Officers select a verse from scripture that they consider reflects our needs for the year ahead. We have entered this year without our preachers who served us faithfully for over ten years but has now retired. Still we have been blessed to enter this interregnum period with preachers who have committed to teach God’s word regularly each month under the direction of our Good Shepherd, Jesus.
During our ‘Week of Prayer’ at the start of the year, Psalm 23 was also used as the focus. We worked through the Psalm using a verse each day as the basis for a daily devotional and prayer points. Hear what our Elders said about their choice of this Psalm for the fellowship.
“Our choice for using Psalm 23 was due to our need to remember that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and though we do not have a full time under shepherd, we are to remember that the Good Shepherd will continue to be there guiding us all as His flock.”
Alan
“Psalm 23 is a great psalm full of promises and assurance that God cares for His people, that the Christian life isn’t a solo effort but lived under His daily care and leading. Only the Father knows the glory that is due to Him and only He possesses the power and wisdom to enable us to give that in any measure.”
Andrew
“The text we chose to be ours for this year was verse 6 of Psalm 23. I love the fact that it pictures God’s goodness and love ‘chasing’ after us and leading us to our forever home with Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Such an encouragement and comfort to God’s people especially here in DEC.”
Gerard
Phillip Keller in the opening chapter of his book ‘A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm’ writes.
“The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord! But who is the Lord? What is His character? Does He have adequate credentials to be my Shepherd – my manager – my owner? And if He does – how do I come under His control? In what way do I become the object of His concern and diligent care? These are penetrating, searching questions and they deserve honest and basic examination.”
His book goes on to discuss the psalm verse by verse through the eyes of a shepherd, which Phillip had practical experience of – being a shepherd himself. His devotional gives an abundance of spiritual insight.
A more expository look at Psalm 23 can be found in David Gibson’s book ‘The Lord of Psalm 23’. On the front fly cover the book is described as:
“Psalm 23 is the best-known psalm in the Bible. Though relatively short, this poetic passage richly portrays Christ’s goodness and provision as He guides His people. In this expository study, pastor David Gibson artfully examines three depictions of the believer’s union with Christ from Psalm 23 – sheep and shepherd, traveller and companion, guest and host – leading readers to praise and wonder at the loving God who meets our every need.”
Psalm 23 is truly deserving of a deeper exploration to uncover its many layers of meaning and encouragement. Its familiarity should not deter us from reflecting on its profound assurances, promises and spiritual insights. By revisiting each verse thoughtfully we can continue to discover new facets of comfort and guidance, especially in times of transition and uncertainty.
Suggested reading:
- “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm” – Phillip Keller
- “The Lord of Psalm 23” – David Gibson