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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.

Fifth Sunday in Lent - A

Children's Liturgy and Story

John 11:1-45

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus said, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." In our worship today, let us explore how it is possible to die but still continue to live.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I cannot understand your words.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I find your words hard to believe.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I am afraid of death.
Lord, have mercy.

Reading:
John 11:1-45 (NRSV)

Children's Story

John 11:1-45

Janice B. Scott
Death is difficult for anyone to understand and accept, and particularly difficult for children who usually have little concept of time. In this story Anita is angry with God, because her beloved Grandma has died.

Anita felt very shaky. Her legs were kind of wobbly, and somewhere deep inside her was such a terrible pain that she wanted to do anything to shut it out. So she shouted and cried and screamed over quite silly little things, until her parents and later her teacher, got really angry and threatened all sorts of awful punishments. Then Anita became sullen and moody and silent, and refused to talk to anyone at all. Her grades dropped to well below average, and she didn't care. And all her friends began to leave her alone.

Intercession

John 11:1-45

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

Romans 8:6-11

Janice B. Scott
I once took the funeral of a drug addict. His mother was distraught at his death and told me how he was a very intelligent lad who had gone to college. But it was at college that he first started smoking cannabis, and he was never able to stop.

She told of the times he'd turn up at home out of the blue, begging the family for money to buy drugs. She told of how they daren't leave him alone in the house, for if they did he would have sold the television or the video recorder or something else in their absence. She told of the visits by the police, usually in the middle of the night and usually ending in a prison sentence for her son.

Sermon

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Janice B. Scott
For centuries, an Englishman's home has been regarded as his castle. In other words, an Englishman has the right to defend his own property against any who would abuse it in any way. But in recent years this concept has been challenged and it seems that legally, the concept is nothing like as clear-cut now as it always appeared to be.

Sermon

John 11:1-45

Janice B. Scott
I took a funeral last year where a close relative of the deceased came up to chat with me after the burial. He began to relate to me an experience he'd had, some years previously, where he himself had "died" in a serious motor-bike accident. He remembered hurtling down a tunnel at great speed, then emerging into a brilliant light at the gate of the most beautiful garden he'd ever seen. But someone at the gate had gently turned him back. Had said: "Not yet. It's not time for you yet. You have to return." And he'd woken to find himself in a hospital bed.

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

Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Nazish Naseem
George Reed
Thomas Willadsen
For March 22, 2026:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
Usually we emphasize the spirit around the season of Pentecost. However, this same spirit is present for all believers even during times of trials, testing, and journey though life’s difficulties. All three of this week’s lessons serve to remind us that the outcome of the Lenten journey is intended to point toward new life. While Christians are reminded all year that we might see and experience the shadow of the cross, the spirit of life is also ever present.
From The Washington Post, November 25, 2001: "Scientists in Massachusetts said today they had succeeded in creating the first cloned human embryos, a controversial advance intended to speed the development of new medical therapies but which could also hasten the arrival of the world's first cloned baby."
David Kalas
Schuyler Rhodes
As I look out on my congregation on any given Sunday, I recognize that a significant percentage of the folks gathered here are involved in matters of life and death.

For some, it comes with their profession. Doctors, fire fighters, police officers, members of the military -- these are folks in our flocks who deal with matters of life and death every week. They don't have to look very far from any given Sunday to find a high-stakes experience in their work.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Death is difficult for anyone to understand and accept, and particularly difficult for children who usually have little concept of time. In this story Anita is angry with God, because her beloved Grandma has died.

StoryShare

John S. Smylie
Argile Smith
Keith Hewitt
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Bones" by John Smylie
"Waiting" by Argile Smith
"Do You Suppose Job Flew Coach?" by Keith Hewitt


What's Up This Week

SermonStudio

David O. Bales
For the last few years our family has visited The Dalles, Oregon, for Memorial Day to be with my wife's relatives and to decorate graves in the cemetery. One thing I notice as we visit that cemetery: When you're in the western, older side of the cemetery, visitors are chattier, even happy, carrying on humorous conversations as they stand next to gravestones of people who died a hundred years ago. But, as you enter the newer portion of the cemetery where people have recently been buried, you feel the emotion around.
Richard L. Sheffield
In the Orthodox Church, Easter worship includes the singing of a hymn that goes:

Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.1
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
He was chained, held bound in a life of torment and blasphemy. In the end, however, God would set him free. John Newton, a name probably not familiar to many people, was born in July 1725 to a pious English woman and her seafaring husband. From his earliest days, young Newton was attracted to his father's side of the family and to the life at sea. Thus, when he was only eleven years old he became an apprentice aboard his father's vessel, a cargo ship, which ferried products throughout the major ports of the Mediterranean region.
Mark Ellingsen
We have all lived through the death of a loved one. We have all ached when someone we dearly love has passed away. We have all wondered about what comes next, and fretted about our own death. In our gospel story for today we find Jesus dealing with those experiences. And together with Lazarus, Jesus (along with our other Bible lessons) shows us what comes next after sin and death. He does not just show it; he gives it. What he gives is freedom given through love. That is what comes next when the new life is given, when death and sin are conquered.
Robert J. Elder
Several years ago a psychologist conducted a survey in which he asked 3,000 people the question, "What are you living for?" He was not at all ready for the results. He discovered that ninety percent of his respondents were - as he put it - "simply putting up with the present while they waited for the future." We are all familiar with the feeling. We spend today thinking about what will happen tomorrow: young couples wait for their wedding day; children wait for Christmas; at 64 we wait for retirement; at 34 we wait for success.
Richard W. Ferris
Some of us can remember the days before interstate highways and massive traffic slowdowns when a leisurely drive to a relative's house was as much about scenery as it was about getting places. Who cared if the highway weaved around curves and some hills were steeper than others? It was fun to see fields with cattle and sheep, and sometimes even a white hillside where turkeys and chickens roamed freely behind a fence.
Amy C. Schifrin
Martha Shonkwiler
Litany: A Conversation With The Psalmist
L: The abyss, the unknown, the feared:
C: Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice;
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
L: Shouting, running, searing pain:
C: If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss,
O Lord, who could stand?
L: Sinking down, deeper, losing oneself,
C: for there is forgiveness with you;
therefore you shall be feared.
L: Will it come? Will it be over? When? When?
C: I wait for the Lord;

CSSPlus

Good morning. If I want to get a particular radio program, I have to use a radio. Setting a CB radio or computer won't help me get my radio program. It doesn't help to use the television. If I want the radio show, I have to set the dial at the right place on the radio. I can put the radio dial anywhere I want, but to get the show I want, I have to put it at just the right place.
... after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was ... When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days ... Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days." (vv. 6, 17, 39)

Special Occasion

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Lent 4
29 – Sermons
150+ – Illustrations / Stories
28 – Children's Sermons / Resources
27 – Worship Resources
30 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Lent 5
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Palm/Passion Sunday
30+ – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30+ – Children's Sermons / Resources
30+ – Worship Resources
26 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
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