The Good Shepherd: sermon notes

Likely Title: The Good Shepherd

Likely Text/Passage: Psalm 23:1

Main Theme: Believers can confess that the Lord is their Shepherd when they recognize their own foolishness and dependence, remember His past care, and trust Him to supply every real need.

Introduction

• David’s poetic confession, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want,” flows from personal experience and heartfelt knowledge.
• Before claiming this promise, a person must acknowledge being like a sheep: foolish, wandering, and dependent.

Main Points

1. A Necessary Confession: We Are Like Sheep
2. Sheep are foolish and prone to wander into danger rather than find the right path.
3. Sheep are dependent creatures with little ability to provide or defend themselves.
4. Believers must surrender self-reliance and acknowledge their need for God’s wisdom and care.
5. Even when Christians wander, they remain the Shepherd’s property and must be brought back by grace.

1. A Sweet Assurance: The Lord Has Proven Himself Our Shepherd
2. Jesus brings His people back from sin and wandering, rescuing them from danger.
3. God supplies His people’s needs, especially in times of severe trouble and apparent impossibility.
4. His providence is evident not only in dramatic deliverances but also in daily, uninterrupted provision.
5. Christians should not measure God’s care only by the number or intensity of their trials.

1. A Holy Confidence: “I Shall Not Want”
2. Unbelief insists that future needs will remain unmet, but faith rests on God’s promise and David’s testimony.
3. God supplies spiritual blessings such as faith, love, holiness, peace, joy, and communion with Christ.
4. “I shall not want” means God will provide what is truly necessary, not every imagined or selfish desire.
5. This promise is the believer’s lasting inheritance, wealth, security, and comfort.

1. The Promise Belongs to Christ’s Sheep
2. Those who do not belong to Christ cannot claim the assurance that the Lord is their Shepherd.
3. The preacher calls unbelievers to repent, trust in Jesus, and receive salvation.
4. He declares that the one who believes and is baptized shall be saved, while the one who does not believe shall be condemned.

Application

• Reject confidence in personal wisdom, independence, and self-management; depend on God day by day.
• Remember past deliverances and ordinary mercies as evidence of God’s shepherding care.
• Bring fears about poverty, business, loss, spiritual weakness, and the future under the promise: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”
• Those who are not Christ’s sheep should trust in Jesus, rely on His blood, merits, and righteousness, and confess faith through baptism.

Conclusion

• The believer’s true inheritance is the Shepherd Himself and the assurance that every real need will be supplied.
• Christians are urged to rest in this promise through every hardship: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

1. What is one area of life where you naturally prefer to stay in control?
2. When have you experienced help, provision, or guidance from someone you trusted?

Diving In (20 minutes)

1. The sermon describes people as foolish and dependent like sheep. How did the pastor say recognizing our weakness prepares us to say, “The Lord is my Shepherd”?
2. In Psalm 23:1, David says, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” What kinds of “want” did the pastor distinguish from genuine needs?
3. What might it look like Tuesday morning to depend on God rather than trying to manage every situation through your own wisdom and effort?

Going Deeper (15 minutes)

1. The pastor said God’s care can be seen both in dramatic deliverance and in steady, ordinary provision. How might this challenge the way we recognize, or fail to recognize, God’s providence?
2. Where do you most struggle to trust that “the Lord is my Shepherd”, in your spiritual growth, finances, relationships, health, or future, and what makes dependence on God difficult there?

Prayer Prompt

• Pray for honest humility about your dependence on God and for confidence that He will provide what you truly need.

Big idea

Because we are foolish, dependent, wandering sheep, we can trust the Lord as our Shepherd to restore, provide, and guide us.

Live it out

• Begin each morning by praying, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”
• Confess one area where you have trusted your own wisdom, and surrender it to God.
• Record three “Ebenezers” where the Lord has helped or provided for you.
• Ask God specifically for the spiritual blessing you presently lack, trusting His provision.
• Follow Christ openly, believing in Him and obeying His command to be baptized.

Closing prayer

Lord, we confess that we are foolish, dependent, and prone to wander like sheep. Thank You for seeking us, restoring our souls, and carrying us home. Teach us to distrust our own wisdom and wait upon Your hand. Help us receive our daily bread from You, trust Your providence in every circumstance, and rest in Your promise: because You are our Shepherd, we shall not want. Lead us in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Amen.