The Lord is my Shepherd

Have you seen your first lambs of spring yet? Lambing has well and truly begun around us, and the fields are increasingly filled with new life; tiny lambs gambolling around in the occasional sunshine and hiding under their mothers from the rain! 

This term, we decided to look at the sheep stories of the Bible with one of our children’s groups, starting last week with Psalm 23. Depending upon your age, perhaps, you may already be humming the tune of the traditional hymn setting, modern worship song or perhaps the theme tune of the Vicar of Dibley! 

We found a new version to share with our children; taken from a new animation retelling the story of ‘young David,’ not yet released in this country. I wondered what they would make the lyrics and how well they would resonate with this group of largely unchurched children. But this is the wonder of the ancient texts we have; the ability of scripture to speak to us today as in every age. 

I have noticed more and more in recent months the need, not to predetermine the teaching outcomes of my sessions with children, but rather to trust God’s word to speak the words they need to hear right now. One recent session about the ten commandments became an opportunity for two children to reflect on what it meant for God to always be with his people everywhere they went, and a session about Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath became about the way we love one another in our community, for example. In this session, exploring Psalm 23, for one recently bereaved young boy, the words he needed to hear were about dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. There was grief, and healing, and questioning and confidence in affirming his grandmother’s new address. 

So, as you watch those new lambs play in grassy fields, avoid deep puddles and learn the rhythm of feeding and moving and sleeping and being, what does it mean for you to remember ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’? Which part of this story is for you today? 

We closed our time with this group of largely unchurched, children aged 7-11, giving them the opportunity to write their own Psalm 23-inspired prayer. I’d like to close this blog by sharing it with you: 

The Lord is my bestie 

I lack nothing 

He helps me 

He protects me from danger 

He helps me make the right decisions 

He saves us 

Even when I’m bad, he still loves me 

You are my world 

Love ya!