The Lord Is My Shepherd

Dr. David Fraze: So we're going to do something a little bit different today, but I need to go back in
church history to tell you about it. There was a guy named Origin years ago that since Jesus is
the word of God, that if we read the word of God and we listen, that Jesus will be in that place
with us. And he came up with something we call today called Lectio Divina. It's pretty simple.
We're totally present, and we listen to the word of God read to us, and we find a word or a phrase that the Lord is trying to put in our hearts.
Now, it's kind of interesting to do that in an audience like this because some of you, you're kind of new to the spiritual experience.
Some of you have been going to church your whole life, and you want somebody to tell you what the Bible says.
But this is a listening, kind of more passive approach to letting God impact our lives.
So here's what I'm going to ask you to do.
your phones on, will you just do me a solid and either turn it off or put it in airplane mode until 1125.
No one will die.
Kittens will be fed.
Puppies won't have to go to Siberia.
I mean, it'll be awesome.
Turn that off.
If you want to talk to the person next to you, you could be distracting them from listening to what God wants to tell them.
I'm going to go to the very easiest, probably you've heard if you've not had very much experience with the Bible, you've heard of Psalms 23.
The Lord is my shepherd.
If you've ever been to a funeral, you've probably heard that.
because even those who aren't confessors of Jesus Christ as Lord, as the word of God,
they understand there's something about that verse that they want to be true.
And so we're going to read it. And I just want you to listen today. So I have three readers that
have been chosen. Please don't applaud or anything like that. Let's be silent. And they're going to
be here in a second and they're going to read one after another, three times, Psalm 23.
And then I'm going to push a button.
And on the screen, you're going to hear a little bit of background music.
But I want you to read the questions and answer them to yourself.
And then we're going to read it again, same order.
And then you're going to listen to a last series of questions.
And then I'll give you one more thing to do as we dismiss.
So to get ready, one of the things the Lord has put in our life is our mind and our bodies work together.
It's not mystical.
It's how God made you.
You have two electrical systems, and when they work together and we calm down, that has a tendency to relax us so that we can perform better, so that we can listen better.
We do this with athletes all the time.
So I'm going to ask you to put your feet on the ground.
Put your hands in your lap.
And I'm going to ask you to breathe with me.
And how you breathe, and watch me really quick,
we're just going to breathe through our nose as deep as you can.
Don't raise your shoulders.
And then as if a straw, just want you to breathe out.
So it's...
Do that a few times for me.
If you'd like to, you can close your eyes.
let's let God begin to speak to us through this famous song
Reader 1: the Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing he makes me lie down in green pastures
he leads me beside quiet waters he refreshes my soul he guides me along the right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
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.
Reader 2: The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside
quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. Even
though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and
your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You
anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. 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.
Reader 3: The Lord is my shepherd. I lack
nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my
soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the
darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
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.
Reader 1: The Lord is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
he makes me lie down in green pastures he leads me beside quiet waters he refreshes my soul
he guides me along the right paths for his name's sake even though i walk through the darkest valley
i will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me
you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup
overflows. 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.
Reader 2: The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
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.
Reader 3: the lord is my shepherd i lack nothing he makes me lie down in green pastures
he leads me beside quiet waters he refreshes my soul he guides me along the right paths
for his name's sake even though i walk through the darkest valley i will fear no evil for you
are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies, and you anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. 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.
Dr. David Fraze: if you would just close your eyes
I want you to think about that last question
what is Jesus trying to communicate with you today
what was the phrase what was the word
what was the image?
I'm going to ask you when you go to class here in a moment,
if your professor asks you if you'd like to share,
that would be a good way to start our classes.
Or a practice, some of you are going to practice.
Or it could be on your way to those things
that you take the extra step and as a community,
you share what that is.
Nobody's making you do it,
but maybe that's something that would be helpful to you.
If you're in a valley of the shadow of death
or if you're sitting at a banquet with your enemies,
if you are beside still waters,
any one of those conditions, we have a good shepherd.
And I believe that the Spirit, through the Word of God,
has given you something you should take seriously.
Father, thank you so much for this time,
For the quietness, for your word, for the beauty of these spaces that are so thin that we hear your voice.
Father, I pray for those who are in dark places and those who are in happy places.
That whatever's going on, that there's been an agreement, some word, some phrase to encourage them on this day.
And it's through Jesus we all say, amen.
You're dismissed.
Thank you.