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Village

▶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.

Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - A

Children's Liturgy and Story

Matthew 22:34-46

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus said that the greatest commandment of all was to love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. Nothing is more important than that, so let us ask God in our worship today to teach us how to achieve that sort of love for him.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, I often fail to love myself.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, I often fail to love my neighbours.
Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, I often fail to love you.
Lord, have mercy.

Reading:

Matthew 22:34-46 (NRSV)

Children's Story

Matthew 22:34-46

Janice B. Scott
Dominic Owl lived in a big, old oak tree, right in the middle of the wood. He hadn't lived there very long, because he was only a baby owl. He loved that big old oak tree, and best all he loved to perch on its broadest branch and watch his mother as she skimmed silently over the tree tops searching the ground for Dominic's next meal.

Gradually Dominic began to grow. His feathers grew warm and soft and fluffy and he would often fluff them up and spread his wings as he perched on his branch, just to see what it felt like. The old tree felt very safe. Its branches were large and strong, and its leaves were so thick that no one could spot Dominic.

Intercession

Matthew 22:34-46

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

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Janice B. Scott
There is a church on the top of Mount Nebo in Jordan, which is visited by many tourists and pilgrims. The church is built over the site of the place where God spoke to Moses and showed him the Promised Land, which Moses had travelled so long to find. Outside the church is a pole with the symbols of Moses, entwined snakes, recalling the time before the wanderings when God changed Moses' staff into a snake which ate up all the other snakes conjured up by Pharaoh's court magicians. And the magnificent view stretching way out to the Dead Sea, is marked by a board showing all the places in the Promised Land which God showed to Moses.

Sermon

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Janice B. Scott
We Christians, especially in the Church of England, tend to be quite good at making the best of what might be considered by some to be a bad job. On the whole, many of our congregations are diminishing, some small village churches have closed for lack of support, and others feel themselves to be teetering on the brink of extinction because so few attend services. This isn't a new phenomena, but has been gradually occurring over many years.

Sermon

Matthew 22:34-46

Janice B. Scott
John Humphrys, the radio and television journalist of forty years' experience, has written a book, "Devil's Advocate", in which he analyses the problems we face in our society today. He looks at the all-powerful media, the endless diet of dumbed-down television, the growth of vast shopping malls promising instant gratification, the crisis in our ideas of how to bring up children, and so on. And as he diagnoses our ills, he issues a challenge - if we aren't happy with society, what are we going to do about it?

Yet most of these so-called "problems" were at one point thought to be solutions to the problems of the age!

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

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Nazish Naseem
Katy Stenta
Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
Mary Austin
George Reed
For October 25, 2026:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Dominic Owl lived in a big, old oak tree, right in the middle of the wood. He hadn't lived there very long, because he was only a baby owl. He loved that big old oak tree, and best all he loved to perch on its broadest branch and watch his mother as she skimmed silently over the tree tops searching the ground for Dominic's next meal.

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
C. David Mckirachan
Contents
"Loving Neighbors, Killing Neighbors" by John Sumwalt
"Coatracks" by C. David McKirachan


* * * * * * * *


Loving Neighbors, Killing Neighbors
by John Sumwalt
Matthew 22:34-46

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
-- Matthew 22:39b
Frank Ramirez
Peter Andrew Smith
Contents
"Within Sight of the Promised Land" by Frank Ramirez
"The Nature of Love" by Peter Andrew Smith


* * * * * * *


Within Sight of the Promised Land
by Frank Ramirez
Deuteronomy 34:1-12

The LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there."
-- Deuteronomy 34:4

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
Psalm 90 is a prayer, expressing gratitude for God's abiding presence in the face of the transient and frail nature of human life. Any human life, no matter how noble or helpful or wise, is terminal. Time marches on, and generations come and go. Some people have more years than others but none have life unending -- not in this existence, anyway. The psalmist does not bemoan that fact. Instead, he prays that in this lifetime, we will gain the wisdom to value the days we have and the fact that God is with us in them.
Russell F. Anderson
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Deuteronomy 34:1--12 (C)
Moses goes to the top of Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, where God shows him the promised land. Then he dies and God himself buries him. Joshua inherits the spirit of Moses and the mantel of leadership. He will bring the people into the fulfillment of God's promise. The Deuteronomist summarizes the life of Moses by commenting that there has never since been such a prophet who knew God face to face.

Lesson 1: Exodus 22:20--26 (RC); Exodus 22:21--27 (E)
Elizabeth Achtemeier
In the scriptures, the first five books of the Old Testament, or the Pentateuch, are sometimes called "The Law of Moses" (e.g. Luke 2:22; 24:44), and the book of Deuteronomy has the traditional title of "The Fifth Book of Moses." Fundamentalists therefore often hold that Moses is the author of Deuteronomy. But as has often been pointed out, if that were so, Moses would be said to have written the account of his own death. We know, further, that the list of the tribal boundaries in this text are later than the time of Moses.
Mary S. Lautensleger
"Repent! Be saved! The end is at hand!" These are familiar words hailing from the "Brickyard" preachers at North Carolina State University. The university plaza, affectionately known as the Brickyard, is a centrally located gathering place for campus and community activities.

Freedom of speech is exercised frequently in the Brickyard as wandering street preachers avail themselves of an opportunity to announce the end of the world with their Chicken Little "the sky is falling" flair. The message is always the same: "Get right with God, or you're gonna get left!"
James L. Killen, Jr.
What can we believe about the church? That is an important question for us to ask and to answer. An awful lot of people today have a very low opinion of the church. Many people think that it is, at best, unimportant and unnecessary, and at worst, something that is a real hindrance to everything good. You have heard them.
Joseph M. Freeman
In my divinity school days, I took a course on Søren Kierkegaard, the nineteenth century Danish theologian who wrote thirty-some books to deepen people's capacity to understand, appreciate, and appropriate the Christian faith. I remember Professor Paul Holmer sharing that Kierkegaard attributed humankind's greatest illness not to ignorance, but to a lack of peace of mind. Much of Western thinking still seems to cast a heavy vote for the former and not for the latter. If one believes one's greatest illness is ignorance, one will spend lots of time discovering and gathering facts.
Mary Sue Dehmlow Dreier
To hang a cabinet door, you need two hinges. Like a door, our faith hangs from two hinges: love of God and love of humanity. Jesus said:

" 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37--40).

Amy C. Schifrin
Martha Shonkwiler
Confession And Forgiveness
P: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.

P: You shall not hate in your heart. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
C: We are guilty, O God, of creating burdens for others to bear. We are guilty, O God, of expecting others to do what we are unwilling to do. We do not practice what we preach. We set ourselves up as little gods. We have turned from you time and again. Humble our hearts, that we might be cleansed.
Dallas A. Brauninger
First Lesson: Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Theme: Growing Up

Call To Worship
Leader: Like Joshua of old, we are full of the spirit of wisdom because of those who have gone before us.
People: We enter the millennium with delicately patterned heirlooms of attitude.
Leader: We come with a heritage of experience.
People: We bring the collected learning of science and medicine, of experiment and proof.
Leader: We come with the certainty of being the people of God.
All: We approach the future as the people of God.

Collect

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
In Susan Howatch's novel, Absolute Truths, the main character is a rather perfect man. Oh, to be sure, Charles Ashworth had his little peculiarities in his younger years and he needed the guidance of Jon Darrow to help him understand himself. But all in all he is a portrait of humanity at its best -- sound and sleek in body, steady in temperament, keen in intellect, faithful in relationships, and unwavering in morality. He is the consummate churchman. It is no accident of fate that has placed him in the high post of Bishop of Starbridge.

CSSPlus

Good morning, boys and girls. This morning I brought with me a scary Halloween mask. I brought it because it reminds me of this morning's Bible story. The story is about being brave. This mask may or may not frighten some people. I'd like to ask you what things you are afraid of.
Teachers or Parents: Love is the fulfilling of the law says the Lord Jesus Christ. Keeping the commandments means nothing apart from the love of God. Some of the most hateful people can do an excellent job of keeping the Ten Commandments. Does that rule out the usefulness of the Commandments? Of course not!
Good morning! How many of you know some of the Ten Commandments? (Let them answer.) Let's see what the Ten Commandments are. (Read from the Ten Commandment list you have.)

One day a man tried to trick Jesus by asking him which commandment was the most important commandment. I'm curious -- which one of the commandments do you think is most important? (Let them answer.)

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