The Lord's my Shepherd – Start The Day

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23 NKJV

Good Shepherd,

Davis wrote so many Psalms, real, honest and still relevant to the problems and emotion of today. It is believed this one, Psalm 23 took the whole of David’s life’s experience for him to write it. And sometimes I must admit I skip over it in over familiarness. But I know that You Lord always have something to say relevant to me when I am prepared to be open and listen and presume nothing!

This Psalm speaks simply, and yet profoundly, of what David has learned about Your nature and character. You are timeless and unchangeable in generosity and care. Still God in peace and when enemies surround. A God with us in life, through threatened death, and after death whenever it comes. There is nothing left wanting, nothing negative, nothing doubtful within its verses. It is reassuring, comforting and enfolding. Thank you that David discovered You as his Shepherd and was inspired by You to word this Psalm. It was recorded and added to Scripture so we are enfolded and fed by those same truths.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Friday 17th April 2026

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want
He makes me lie in pastures green
He leads me by the still, still waters
His goodness restores my soul

And I will trust in You alone
And I will trust in You alone
For Your endless mercy follows me
Your goodness will lead me home

He guides my ways in righteousness
And He anoints my head with oil
And my cup, it overflows with joy
I feast on His pure delights

Chorus

And though I walk the darkest path
I will not fear the evil one
For You are with me, and Your rod and staff
Are the comfort I need to know

Chorus
Repeat

Lyrics: Stuart Townend / Aaron Keyes

“So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” ¹⁷And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ Genesis 32:13-18 NKJV

“⁴But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept . . . ⁹But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” ¹⁰And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favour in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. ¹¹Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.” Genesis 33:4-11 NKJV

Father of reconciliation,

The two brothers meet. And embrace and the the air is cleared. Jacob shows genuine remorse for their parting and joy in reuniting. He also in his own way makes recompense for what he stole. He gives Esau riches as he would have had if he was not usurped as firstborn. He lavishes and gives. And Esau accepts.

Reconciliation involves acknowledging hurt, offering forgiveness, and rebuilding trust.  We see these two men meeting and acknowledging each other. Each is willing to put the past behind and Jacob finds favour in his brothers sight and is able to try to make recompense. And it is accepted. The fear Jacob had is gone, he can afford to be generous because God has been generous with him. And he can settle back in with his family in the land.\

You, God begin to show us how generous You God are with us. Your history with Your people shows how patient and forgiving You are. And You still planned through each generations far from holy living and all mans sinful history Your overwhelming plan to offer forgiveness through Your Son Jesus. Knowing we would cruelly reject him. You continue to build trust. So we can discover that You God are trustworthy, generous and will never leave us. Even when we don’t deserve it. We are able to return to You and then find our promised land in a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1-4). We can only really know how to forgive and let go when we experience an encounter with You, God personally in Jesus. And know Your total forgiveness ourselves. And today we are learning to build our trust in You.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Tuesday 20th January 2026

The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me lie in pastures green.
He leads me by the still, still waters,
His goodness restores my soul.

And I will trust in You alone,
And I will trust in You alone,
For Your endless mercy follows me,
Your goodness will lead me home.

He guides my ways in righteousness,
And He anoints my head with oil,
And my cup, it overflows with joy,
I feast on His pure delights.

And though I walk the darkest path,
I will not fear the evil one,
For You are with me, and Your rod and staff
Are the comfort I need to know.

Lyrics: Psalm 23 and Stuart Townend