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▶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 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - A

Children's Liturgy and Story

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus told a story in which an enemy came while everyone was asleep. In our worship today, let us resolves to be alert and awake for God, so that we are not caught napping by enemies and are ready when God comes to us.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, I need sleep, but save me from spiritual day-dreaming.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, I need sleep, but keep me alert to hear your voice.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, I need sleep, but want to be awake in your service.
Lord, have mercy.

Reading:
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (NRSV)

Children's Story

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Janice B. Scott
Nobody liked Jennifer. She'd come from another country to join the class and it was difficult to understand what she said. And she had such odd ideas. Rosie discovered that instead of eating cereals from her bowl at breakfast time, Jennifer drank hot chocolate from her bowl - having first dipped her toast in it!

Everybody laughed when Rosie told them about Jennifer's breakfast. But being nice girls, they thought they ought to make an effort, so invited Jennifer to join in their game at playtime. But Jennifer was a disaster. Not only was she hopeless at skipping, but she wanted to change the game to suit herself. In the end, the girls gave up. During the next playtime everyone ignored Jennifer.

Intercession

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

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

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Janice B. Scott
You always get one! The person on another table in the restaurant who holds forth very loudly and at great length so that the whole room can hear what he or she is saying. Or the person in a meeting, where everyone knows that whatever the subject, this particular person will invariably disagree. Or the one member of a family, who for some unknown reason is always incredibly difficult.

And films have been made about the one person on a jury who refuses to go along with the otherwise unanimous verdict and insists on keeping the jury for hours or maybe days or weeks because he or she won't budge.

Sermon

Romans 8:12-25

Janice B. Scott
There's been a lot of trouble in recent years over politicians receiving gifts. So much so, that nowadays politicians must declare even the smallest gift they receive. The trouble came because what these politicians actually received weren't gifts at all but were inducements to grant some or other favour to the giver of the gift. Thus a free holiday in the Seychelles or a new car or a grace-and-favour apartment weren't really free at all, but carried a hidden price tag. And that price tag could be considerable. The cost was the unwritten but nonetheless understood obligation to use pollical influence on behalf of the donor of the so-called "gift".

Sermon

Genesis 28:10-19

Janice B. Scott
When the first astronauts went into space, they were awestruck by the strange beauty of all they saw. They didn't meet God in person face to face, but they had a sense of God's presence through this newly revealed wonder of his creation. Few of us are likely to venture into space, but many of us can identify with that feeling of the presence of God in a place of awesome beauty. The coastline of Cornwall, the mountains of Scotland, the Yorkshire Moors, the beaches of Norfolk and so many other places where the surrounding beauty is breathtaking.

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

Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
George Reed
Thomas Willadsen
For July 19, 2026:

The Village Shepherd

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.
Janice B. Scott
Nobody liked Jennifer. She'd come from another country to join the class and it was difficult to understand what she said. And she had such odd ideas. Rosie discovered that instead of eating cereals from her bowl at breakfast time, Jennifer drank hot chocolate from her bowl - having first dipped her toast in it!

StoryShare

Argile Smith
C. David Mckirachan
Contents
What's Up This Week
"The Land's Sacred" by Argile Smith
"What's It Worth?" by C. David McKirachan


What's Up This Week
It is our natural tendency to respond to what we see with our senses, while there is so much more to life than that. In "The Land's Sacred," we meet two men who look at something as seemingly simple as land and farming in two completely different lights. "What's It Worth?" takes us through one family's tragedy, revealing that under the pain and anguish, seeds of hope and goodness still grow.

David O. Bales
Sandra Herrmann
John E. Sumwalt
Contents
"All Earthly Fathers" by David O. Bales
"A Private Talk in the School of Christ" by Sandra Herrmann
"A Wicked Way in Me" by John Sumwalt


* * * * * * * *


All Earthly Fathers
by David O. Bales
Romans 8:12-25

SermonStudio

Elizabeth Achtemeier
Jacob is on a journey from Hebron to Haran, Abraham's original home in northern Mesopotamia. In the context, two different reasons are given for the journey. According to the Yahwist account in Genesis 27:41-45, Jacob is fleeing to save his life from the wrath of his brother Esau. In the priestly account of Genesis 27:46--28:1-5, Jacob journeys to find a wife from his own clan. Both reasons may be involved, because God's purpose works its way through all sorts of motivations.
William E. Keeney
He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Russell F. Anderson
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Genesis 28:10--19a (C)
Upon hearing of Esau's plan to kill Jacob after Isaac's death, Rebekah spirits Jacob back to her relatives in her native land. It is an unsettling time for Jacob, leaving home and a fugitive. Jacob stops for a night at Bethel and in his dream God reaffirms the covenant he made with Abraham and Isaac. In the dream, Jacob views a stairway to heaven, probably a ziggurat, with the angels of God ascending and descending. This establishes Beth--el (house of God) as a sanctuary until the time of Josiah.
Justin W. Tull
The flame is a part of our biblical heritage, from the burning bush, to pillars of fire, to the flaming tongues of the Spirit at Pentecost.

The flame is a part of our church tradition and biblical tradition. It symbolizes the Spirit of God that interacts with us in so many different ways. Today we take a look at Moses' experience at the burning bush. From this account we may learn many things about ourselves and about the God we worship.
Larry M. Goodpaster
Obscenity, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. With words to that effect more than two decades ago the Supreme Court of the United States of America left the decisions regarding pornography in the hands of local communities. During the intervening years states and cities have struggled with the issue, desiring to uphold the basic rights of freedom of speech and expression, and at the same time attempting to establish and maintain what is decent and acceptable to the majority. The latest entry to invade this debate and garner headlines is music.
John R. Brokhoff
"This is a perplexing parable." This is George Buttrick's first sentence in the chapter discussing the parable of the Weeds and Wheat. Indeed, it is perplexing. He could have said it again and again.

In the parable Jesus teaches that the bad weeds (evildoers) are to remain together with the wheat (God's people) until Judgment Day when God's angels will separate them, one for the fire, the other for glory. In the light of this, we ask perplexing questions.
Gary L. Carver
How to begin a sermon? It always is a preacher's dilemma as to how to introduce a sermon. I never seem to know. I do know that one has said that an introduction to a sermon should be short and concise and should introduce the main thought that the proclaimer is seeking to present. I also know that it is very much appreciated if the introduction is very close to the conclusion. But, how does one introduce a sermon?
Stephen M. Crotts
All of the Bible is inspired. But just as some parts of a turkey have more meat on them, so some parts of the Bible are meatier than others. For example, the genealogies of Leviticus versus the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 13 is one of the meatier portions of the scriptures. It is unique as an identifiable sermon of Christ Jesus, a series of seven, maybe eight parables that seem to be prophetic, to foretell the history of ministry ahead of time.

The parable of the wheat and the tares is the second in Jesus' sermon. Let's look at it now.
Thom M. Shuman
Call To Worship
One: We come to the One
who knows all the facts about our lives;
All: we are open books to God,
who writes on every page.
One: We approach the One
who knows what we are thinking;
All: our thoughts, our fears, our hopes
are all known by God.
One: We worship the One
who is always with us,
in front of us, behind us, around us;
All: what a wonderful God!
How blessed we are!

Prayer Of The Day
You we praise, Searching God,
Wayne H. Keller
Celebrating The Presence Of God

Invitation to the Celebration

In the Name of the Eternal Gardener, welcome to the world of wheat and weeds. Following the creation, God pronounced the world "very good," which means, "fit for the purpose for which it was intended."ÊWe rejoice in our creation. Thank you, Lord, for putting us here, where you work with us, on us, within us, and through us, to eliminate the weeds in our own lives, and in the life of your church. Yes, thank you, even though we do not always appreciate your gardening methods.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

R. Craig Maccreary
I suppose all of us have particular objects of our venom and disgust. Whenever said object comes up in conversation unless we are prepared for a battle royal, loss of friendship, and a potential conviction for felony assault, we find ourselves saying, "Don't get me started." When it comes to the matter at hand we better not get started because we have no idea how things might end. Here in New England you can easily make a conversation go nuclear by simply mentioning the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the same breath.
Sandra Herrmann
Genesis 28:10-19a
What is the connection between heaven and earth? What makes Jacob think that he is the chosen one through whom the nation of Israel will come into being? Genesis is full of these questions, with story explanations for the reason things are as they are. This story, which we traditionally call "Jacob's Dream," is one of them. (Although the translation in the King James Version and carried forward out of respect for tradition is incorrectly rendered as "ladder" actually should be read as "stairway" or "ramp.")

CSSPlus

Teachers or Parents: Heaven may seem somewhat esoteric and remote for the children (and for us as well), but heaven is our hope that will not disappoint us (see first lesson).

*If your church (or home) has a flower bed, have a class project of weeding it as a service to the church. Read again the parable Jesus told (where the weeds were not removed). Share how removing the weeds helps the flowers grow better.

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