Yahweh Rohi: The Lord Our Shepherd 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

I’ll appoint one shepherd over them all: my servant David. He’ll feed them. He’ll be their shepherd. And I, God, will be their God. My servant David will be their prince…Ezekiel 34:23-24

You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken! Ezekiel 34:31

Cast all your anxiety…1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on…1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on HIM because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

I release what I am concerned about. I receive that you are concerned about me.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:5-6

I release what I am concerned about. I receive that you are concerned about me.

In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. Psalm 18:6

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry...The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:15, 17

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19

El Elyon

El Gibhor

El Roi

“You are the God who sees me (El Roi),” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13

Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, “This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears…” 2 Kings 20:5

“Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts.”

 “Are you excited about the direction your strongest thoughts are taking you?” 

Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 8:6
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

truth.jaxnazchurch.com

I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. Philippians 3:12

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Forgetting what is behind…

Straining toward what is ahead...

...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Consider him who endured...so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:8

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Exodus 6:6-7

I will bring you out.

I will free you.

I will redeem you.

I will take you as my own.

Hallel

Hallelujah

Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. (Hallelujah!)

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. (Hallelujah!)

The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. (Hallelujah!)

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. (Hallelujah!)

Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. (Hallelujah!)

You who fear him, trust in the Lord—he is their help and shield. (Hallelujah!)

The Lord remembers us and will bless us: he will bless those who fear the Lord—small and great alike. (Hallelujah!)

May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Hallelujah!)

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. (Hallelujah!)

Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. (Hallelujah!)

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. (Hallelujah!)

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (Hallelujah!)

I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (Hallelujah!)

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. (Hallelujah!)

The Lord is with me; he is my helper. (Hallelujah!)

Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! (Hallelujah!)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Hallelujah!)

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20

I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Exodus 6:6-7

I will bring you out.

I will free you.

I will redeem you.

I will take you as my own.

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. Exodus 6:6

Everything was created by him, everything in heaven and on earth, everything seen and unseen, including all forces and powers, and all rulers and authorities. All things were created BY God's Son, and everything was made FOR him. Colossians 1:16

For we are God's handiwork (workmanship, masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you. 1 Peter 4:10

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20

I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Exodus 6:6-7

I will bring you out.

I will free you.

I will redeem you.

I will take you as my own.

We won’t know true freedom until we begin to serve Jesus.

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery…Galatians 5:1

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here. 2 Corinthians 5:17

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3

I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Exodus 6:6-7

I will bring you out.

I will free you.

I will redeem you.

I will take you as my own.

Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. Exodus 6:9

I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. Exodus 6:6

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:1-2

but we had hoped...Luke 24:21

As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. Luke 24:15-17

Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him. Luke 24:27

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?” Luke 24:32

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. Luke 24:33-35

SERMON NOTES:

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:1-2

Word of the year: Lockdown

This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” Jeremiah 29:10-14 

First, God. God is the subject of life. God is foundational for living. If we don’t have a sense of the primacy of God, we will never get it right, get life right, get our lives right. Not God at the margins; not God as an option; not God on the weekends. God at the center and circumference; God first and last; God, God, God. Eugene Peterson