the family business. And we read what happens one day while minding his own

business at work. He’s just out their watching the flock...

started with the birth of a child and a rescue of that child. We fast-forward through the

years of the child growing up as we read Exodus 2:11-25

Hebrew people inside Egypt is becoming a growing concern for the king of Egypt. So

Pharaoh’s plan of overworking the Hebrew men was not slowing down the population

growth. So he improvised a new plan...

quantity of these five make up 1/7 of the Old Testament. Genesis bleeds right over int

Exodus. Genesis starts with Creation, including the man and woman who don’t take

long to fall into sin. Sin was the problem then, and it’s the problem now. God let’s the

man and woman know that He has a solution to the sin problem in the same chapter as

the Fall.

ethic of the Good Shepherd throughout this Psalm. It is evident that the sheep doesn’t

have a chance of surviving much less thriving without the effort of a diligent shepherd.

These sheep have the blessing of belonging to the Good Shepherd as opposed to the

poor sheep on the other side of the fence to a negligent shepherd. They enjoyed the

benefits of a shepherd who overwhelmingly showed great care and love for them

(guidance, protection, and provision) He was a great owner/manager. What sheep

wouldn’t want to be in the presence of this shepherd?

Shepherd’s care who is speaking. Basically, it is a Christian’s claim of belonging in the

family of God. As a sheep, the Psalmist boasts of the advantages of this relationship.

One might ask, “If the sheep is in a relationship with the shepherd...if a person is in

relationship with God, then why do they need to be restored? How is that a thing?

Certainly, it would be assumed that anyone in the Good Shepherd’s care could never

become so distressed in soul as to need restoration.

navigate the trials and tribulations in this journey called life, if we belong to the Good

Shepherd. There are some things we can learn from this whole shepherd/sheep

relationship that help in our walk as believers, and hopefully bring others into the fold.

Last week, we went over the last of the “I am” statements from Jesus and read where He told them to abide in Him so they could persevere in ministry. Our “intro” today will be from the last half of Chapter 15.

believers should read and meditate deeply on these promises. In general, John 14 deals with our Hope in Heaven, and John 15 deals with our Help on Earth. The location of the talk in John 15 and the following is debated. Because of Jesus' last words in John 14 "Get up, let us go from here,” some think the words in John 15 and following were spoken as they walked through Jerusalem on the way to Gethsemane. Others feel they

didn’t leave the room right away. It was a slow go, and they didn’t actually leave the upper room until John 18:1, which says, "When Jesus had spoken these words, He went with His disciples over the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples." So whether they are slowly getting up to go…or milling around outside, Jesus begins with the last of the “I am” statements recorded in John...

before the night is over.

fed the 5,000 to Capernaum. He has told them what “work” to do to get right with God,

to get into heaven… “believe in the One the Father has sent.” And He then goes as far

as to tell them who that is ...Him. He is the bread of life. —Now they are just stirred, and

we pick up...