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The Village Shepherd

Janice Scott ... The Village Shepherd

After being ordained in 1994 with the first wave of women priests, Janice became curate in a large city centre parish in Norwich and from there, moved to South Norfolk in 1999 as Rector of a rural benefice of six parishes. After completing her MA in Pastoral Theology with the Cambridge Theological Foundation in 2008 she was appointed Honorary Canon of Norwich Cathedral. Janice now lives with her husband Ian just outside Norwich. In addition to her diocesan work and writing "The Village Shepherd," she is a freelance writer for Redemptorist Publications in the UK. She has also written and broadcasts "Pause For Thought" on a local radio station and has written several novels, all with a church background.

First Sunday after Christmas Day - C

Children's Liturgy and Story

Luke 2:41-52

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and men. Let us worship him today with dignity and love, remembering that he was once a child just as we have all been children.

Invitation to Confession:

 Father God,

Lord, have mercy.

 Father God,

Christ, have mercy.

 Father God,

Lord, have mercy

 Reading:

 Luke 2:41-52

Children's Story

Luke 2:41-52

Janice B. Scott
When wise men from the East travelled many miles to see the new baby Jesus, they first visited King Herod, to find out from him where the baby had been born. Herod was furious - and frightened. He didn't want to lose his throne to a new prince, so he ordered the Imperial Guard to search out and murder all baby boys under two years old.

While Joseph was dreaming, he was warned by an angel to flee from Bethlehem, under cover of night. Quickly he woke Mary. She scooped up baby Jesus in her arms, making sure he was snug and warm, then they gathered their few belongings together, fetched the donkey and set off on their long trek across the desert.

Intercession

Luke 2:41-52

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority The local community Those who suffer The communion of saints

These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.

Sermon

Luke 2:41-52

Janice B. Scott
There's a wonderful children's book by David McKee, called "Not Now, Bernard." (Published by Random Century Children's Books, 1980. ISBN 0 09 924050 5) In it, Bernard keeps trying, without success, to capture his parents' attention. Every time he says anything to either of his parents they say: "Not now, Bernard." Eventually he says to his mother: "There's a monster in the garden and it's going to eat me." She says: "Not now, Bernard." So Bernard goes out into the garden, and the monster eats him up, every bit.

Sermon

Colossians 3:12-17

Janice B. Scott
In "The picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray is a handsome young man whose portrait is painted. It's a wonderful portrait, showing Dorian Gray in all the beauty of his youth. But Dorian becomes a very dissolute young man, into all sorts of seedy and dishonest and disreputable pursuits. As he grows older, and all his depraved and immoral friends begin to show the signs of their debauchery in their faces, Dorian Gray remains as young and fresh and beautiful as ever. But his portrait ages, and begins to show just what sort of a person he is. Eventually, at the end of the book, the portrait is restored to its former glory and Dorian Gray himself is seen for who and what he really is.

Sermon

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

Janice B. Scott
Despite the concern for children in the Church, children don't feature very highly in the Bible. In the New Testament, against the disciples' wishes, Jesus makes a point of welcoming children during his ministry (Matthew 19:13--14) and it's clear that children were present within the crowds gathered around Jesus (Matthew 14:21). And Jesus commends the faith and trust and innocence of children (Matthew 18:2--5), as necessary for those who wish to be part of God's kingdom. But children are not otherwise very prominent in many Bible stories.

What is The Village Shepherd?

The Village Shepherd offers sermons, bible stories, children's stories and prayers based on the Revised Common Lectionary. These inspirational sermons, stories, and prayers are sure to touch your heart, because they reflect the simple virtues and tranquil serenity that characterize Reverend Scott's English countryside pastorate. The questions "Where is God in this particular situation?" and "Where does the Gospel story cross our own human story?" are always at the heart of these meditations -- but rather than finding overt answers, instead you will be gently led to make your own connections and discover the powerful ways in which God works. Janice Scott has the unique ability to find interesting details in ordinary life that illuminate scripture, while still challenging even the most intellectual reader. And that gift is precisely what also makes her an outstanding communicator with children.

Most weeks include:

  • Sermon based on the Gospel reading
  • Sermon based on the Epistle reading
  • Sermon based on the First reading
  • Children's stories linked with the Gospel readings
  • Children's liturgy and story (a different story than mentioned above)
  • An intercessory prayer
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Advent 3
31 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
30 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Advent 4
36 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
19 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
3 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Christmas!
27 – Sermons
100+ – Illustrations / Stories
31 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
3 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A painting, a book, and a rock.

* * *

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
George Reed
Dean Feldmeyer
For December 29, 2024:

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
John peeked around the corner. “Daughter of mine, is there any chance that Ollie is in the kitchen?”

“I haven’t seen him for a bit.” Amy started to get up from the table. “Isn’t he with you?”

“Nothing to worry about,” John said. “We’re playing hide and seek, and your son is hiding and I’m seeking.”

Amy pushed out a chair. “He’s not here and you look like you could use a break.”

“I sure can. I’m exhausted.” John slumped down in the chair. “Does he ever stop?”

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bill Thomas
Bonnie Bates
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
In the mid-1990’s, Wendy’s restaurants had a promotion win which they would “biggie size” your drink, your meal, almost everything but the Frosty! Wendy’s decided to discontinue this promotion after getting some criticism from those who claim the fast-food industry was contributing to the nation’s obesity problem.
Mark Ellingsen
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and men. Let us worship him today with dignity and love, remembering that he was once a child just as we have all been children.

Invitation to Confession:

 Father God,

Lord, have mercy.

 Father God,

Christ, have mercy.

 Father God,

Lord, have mercy

 Reading:

 Luke 2:41-52

SermonStudio

James Evans
(Occurs in all three cycles of the lectionary; see Christmas 1, Cycle A; Christmas 1, Cycle B; and Easter 5, Cycle C, for alternative approaches.)

Mary S. Lautensleger
Each of us faces the choice of who and what we will become. Sometimes, we don't really know what we want to be when we grow up until we are forty-something. Our earliest models for making that choice are the people who raise and nurture us. Although we identify with the adults whom we admire most, each of us is unique and intended to become "our own person."
Cynthia E. Cowen
Tradition is defined as an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought or action. Take for instance a cooking method. Sarah asked her mother, "Why do you always cut the turkey in half and put it in two small roasters?"

"Because my mother always did. It's a tradition handed down through our family," responded her mother.

"But Mom, did you ever think they didn't have big roasters back then?" Tradition -- a customary pattern or action. But who said traditions can't be changed?
Robert S. Crilley
In his book What's So Amazing About Grace? Philip Yancey tells of a conversation he once had with two scientists who had just emerged from the biosphere near Tucson, Arizona.1 For those of you who aren't familiar with what that is -- several years ago, an isolation experiment was conducted, in which a team of four men and four women lived inside a glass-enclosed structure, entirely shut off from the outer world. The general idea was to see if humankind might one day be able to exist on another planet by recreating a portion of the earth.

Special Occasion

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