Brown's Daily Word 5-16-11

Good morning,
The Lord blessed us with an abundant weekend. It was great blessing to share in the Women's banquet Saturday noon and the Saturday evening worship, and then the morning worship services on Sunday, the Lord's day. One of our great blessings was to have our friends Linda and her daughter Kristi, visiting from Vermont along with our daughter Sunita and our son-in-law Andy visiting us from Washington, DC.
The readings for Sunday were taken from Psalm 23 and John 10. One of the great hymns of the church we sang was, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us". The hymn goes on to say, “Much we need thy tender care; In thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use thy folds prepare.” Jesus, in John 10, describes a sheep pen which had only one door. When the sheep returned to the fold at night after a day of grazing in the pleasant pastures, the shepherd stood in the doorway and inspected each one with tender care as it entered. If a sheep was scratched or wounded by thorns, the shepherd would anoint it with oil to facilitate healing. If they were thirsty, he gave them water. After all had been counted and brought into the pen, the shepherd would lay across the doorway so no intruder could enter. The shepherd thus became the door. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who protects and sustains the life of the sheep. Jesus said, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
The rest of the hymn, tells us that, “Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are.” The distinguishing mark between the good shepherd and the hired hand is that the good shepherd would lay down his life for the sheep. He was their protector.
In Verse 18 we read, "No man takes my life from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father."
In the book Chicken Soup for the Soul, Eric Butterworth tells the story of a college professor who had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. The students were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, "He hasn’t got a chance."
Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across this earlier study. He had his students do follow up on the same 200 boys who were now men. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors, and businessmen. The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with feeling, "There was a teacher..."
The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It’s really very simple," she said. "I loved those boys." Their success was based on the love of a teacher.
Our victory, as followers of Jesus is based on the love of a shepherd who was willing to lay down his life for us. He loved us enough that our sinfulness became his burden. He loved us enough that his perfect righteousness became ours.
He loved us enough to suffer on the cross for us, to save us from eternal death, and to prepare us to meet His Father. He will keep us safe in the sheepfold if we are smart sheep and follow the Good Shepherd.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/QbTGUurbGTk

Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott

Saturday, May 14, 2011

12 Noon Women's Banquet
Location: Union Center UMC , 128 Maple Drive Endicott,
Speaker: Linda Ayer
6 PM Coffee Fellowship( First UMC Enicott, )

6:30 PM Worship Service Worship Music:
Speaker: Rev Sorber Marshall.