Service Sunday April 26, 2026
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
All are Welcome!
Worship Leaders: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
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Message: “I Shall Not Want”
Listen to an audio recording below or read it at the bottom of this page.
Due to illness, the remainder of the webpage will be left undone at this time.
Sermon 26 April 2026
“I Shall Not Want”
Psalm 23 & John 10:1-10
Gracious God, be with us today in this place, in the Scriptures and in our words.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts praise your Holy name. Amen.
What do you want?
What do you want from life, from your occupation, your family, your God?
Do you want peace, hope, riches, eternal life?
Do you want food, clothing, shelter, security?
Do you desire satisfaction?
Everybody wants something and often times those things we want we also need.
Last month, we remembered Sherryl Malcomson here at Highland Hills United Church.
We almost always hear the 23rd Psalm at a funeral or committal service.
It is because of the comfort and strength that we can gain from those familiar words.
During these times, we struggle with grief or sadness, loneliness or frustration even anger and fear.
During these times we want all the pain, sickness and death to just go away.
We may desire those things but we never get them right away.
Yet we never suffer a lack of what we need.
The support of friends and family get us through the difficulties.
The knowledge that God is with us gets us through it.
Because the Lord is my Shepherd I lack nothing that I need.
The Psalmist, nearly 3,000 years ago, knew the same thing.
He wrote “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
Most people hear the “I shall not want” part and it just passes by them, lost in the magnitude of “The Lord is my shepherd.”
I guess the pastoral image of God caring for us like helpless sheep is still in their minds when the second half of the verse is read.
Others take the time to read the second half of the verse and they see it as a commandment.
“Thou shalt not want!”
It is much more than a commandment.
“I shall not want” is a statement of result.
Because the Lord is my shepherd, I will lack nothing.
God will lead me to living waters.
The Lord personally will lead me to green pastures of spiritual growth.
Because the Lord is our shepherd, our souls are restored and we are led in the paths of righteousness.
Because the Lord is our shepherd, we are comforted even in the valley of the shadow of death.
Because the Lord is our shepherd, we are cared for in the face of our enemies.
Because the Lord is our shepherd we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Yet all that is rather abstract.
What we need is a concrete example.
It is one thing to say “the Lord is my shepherd” and it sounds nice but what does that look like in real life.
It’s fine to talk about poetic green pastures and hypothetical pools of water.
It is one thing to speak of metaphorical valleys of death and symbolic staffs of comfort.
It is quite another thing to make it real and concrete.
I remember a number of years ago going with Doreen French to Toronto to attend a lecture by Bishop John Spong.
His talk centered around his new book at the time,
“The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic”
It was very interesting and the book was good too.
I brought my copy of it today if anyone is interested in borrowing it and reading it.
It was fascinating to hear him speak on Jewish history and culture and how Christianity was born from it.
As a related aside, recently, Jan Heffer has been forwarding to me recordings of the history of Christian antisemitism.
Very interesting and yet sad.
I would be happy to forward the videos on to anyone else interested too.
Back to John Spong and the Gospel of John…
Of all the four gospels, John’s gospel could almost be read, if written today, “Once upon a time…”, to emphasis a mystical approach to the scripture messages.
The author of John was a Non-literalist.
Meaning if you try to make sense of the book of John literally, it won’t always fit or make sense.
Nevertheless, John knew how to write to relate an experience of God in Jesus in such a way that it was concrete to people hearing that message.
God knows that we need a concrete example of these poetic words from Psalm 23, so God gave us Jesus.
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.”
What does the good shepherd do?
He lays down his life for the sheep.
He sacrifices himself; gives of himself.
You know sheep are easy prey.
They lack effective ways of defending themselves.
Without a shepherd, wild animals would slaughter them like - well - like sheep!
If a pack of wolves came after a flock of sheep the shepherd’s job was to protect the sheep.
But why risk your life for a bunch of sheep.
If things got too dangerous most shepherds would abandon the sheep and save themselves.
Jesus is not just any shepherd.
He is the good shepherd.
He knows and cares for each one of his sheep.
He knows and cares for us and lays his life down for us all.
And because of this self-giving love, the Lord is my good shepherd, I shall not want.
A wise woman sent me an email with this poem in it that I would like to share with you.
It is called “IT’S IN THE VALLEYS I GROW”
Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It’s then I have to remember
That it’s in the valleys I grow.
If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God’s love
And would be living in vain.
I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it’s in the valleys I grow.
I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.
My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan’s loss.
Forgive me Lord, for complaining
When I’m feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it’s in the valleys I grow.
Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.
Thank you for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious
But it’s in the valleys I grow!
written by Jane Eggleston
Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!
Are all your needs in life fulfilled?
Or do you find that you are restless?
Jesus is our shepherd.
He will lead us to green pastures and still waters.
And we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!
Thanks be to God. Amen.
