@testwoodyouth Testwood Youth

A message from Gordon:

“Over these past couple of months, we’ve all experienced enormous upheaval in our lives. As a team, we’ve been able to talk to many

Christians who’re finding that their faith in God is growing deeper in these strange times. As “external supports” like meeting in person and

youth groups etc, have been removed, we are finding God in a new

ways and purposes.

In an uncertain world, we can have great certainty that God reigns always, and in this, we are very secure in Him. When we know God in our lives, we don’t need to live in fear. We can rely on His Word and

on His promises, because He is Faithful.

Over the next 5 weeks, we’re going to be looking at this certainty by delving into Psalm 23. This psalm celebrates the certainty of faith in

the Lord, our Shepherd.

May our confidence in God grow & grow during this time.”

@testwoodyouth

Testwood Youth

What you can expect in this session:

• A video intro from Scott • Some introduction questions • Reading’s from God’s Word

• Some time and space to pray and reflect • Some optional extras

• Further discussion via Zoom (emailed out)

Before you go any further, check out my video intro for

this session:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lwKPHfc0Gk&t=12s

Opening Questions:

• What have you loved about lockdown? (There must be something!!)

• If you are being honest with yourselves, what have you struggled with most about lockdown? (Might be loneliness, the uncertainty about school, mental health and anxiety – this is a time where we want to be honest with ourselves and honest with God – it’s a safe space)

• Do you like sheep? Why/why not?

• Can you think of a sheep story from the Bible?

• What are you most looking forward to about being back together? (hold on to this hope!!)

@testwoodyouth

Testwood Youth

Bible Reading:

Grab a Bible and turn to Psalm 23.

We are going to read this every week in the series. Do you think you could memorise it? Do you remember why we read the Bible? We read the Bible because the Bible is God’s Word, therefore every time we read the Bible, God speaks to us! How cool is that? Why don’t you pray right now that God would speak to you as you read His Word? Read Psalm 23 now. If you feel comfortable, why not read it aloud, it

will help you to remember it. You can also read it here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=NIV

Keep Psalm 23 open in front of you as we go on.

Bible Study:

• Who is writing this Psalm? (It should be under the title) • Do you know or remember anything about him? • What word does v1 use to describe God • What do you think it means to be ‘Lord’? • How is God described in v1? • What does a shepherd do? • Why do sheep need a shepherd do you think? Do you think Sheep

are intelligent animals? • If David writes ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ – who is David equating

himself to? • If the Lord is our Shepherd, then we are like sheep – how do you

think we are like sheep? • What does Jesus say in John 10:11? • How is Jesus our Good Shepherd? • What does John 10:3-4 say about the sheep and their shepherd?

@testwoodyouth

Testwood Youth

Reflect and Apply:

Every day the Prime Minister and his team give us updates regarding

the global pandemic. These addresses aim to give the public an insight into the work that the professionals and the government are undertaking. But they also aim to give us hope that things will return to as ‘near normal’ as soon as possible. These updates change everyday right? And sometimes we don’t even understand it? Well, the truth is, our world has never faced something like this before. Sure, there have been other pandemics, but our world has never faced Coronavirus in 2020. It is new to everyone. And for this reason, everything seems uncertain.

In a time where we can’t always see loved ones, school has abruptly come to an end, with no real idea as to when we might return properly, our world is in need of some certain truths that we CAN rely on and place hope in. God’s Word, the Bible, has these truths. And the first is this: The Lord is my Shepherd. True for every single one of us who have given our lives to the Lord Jesus. Our certainty in these times rests in who God is – Our Shepherd – v1

As our Good Shepherd, God can offer protection, guidance, and

provision. God is the same yesterday, today and forever and so we can

be certain that His character will not change, that He is always for us.

Philippians 4:19 says “my God will meet all of your needs according to

the riches of Christ Jesus.” Note the ‘need’ there, it is not necessarily

our wants but the things we truly need. God is the One True source of

certainty and hope in our uncertain world. We can trust Him, we can

rely on Him, and we can be open and honest with him about how we’re

feeling and how we’re coping at the moment. Let that be an

encouragement to you. I encourage you to lean on God as your

Shepherd this week.

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus Himself says: “Come to be all you who are

weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Scroll down to continue

into a time of prayer.

Prayer:

“The LORD is my Shepherd.” – Psalm 23:1

We’re going to use the 5 words in this verse to shape our prayer time,

each time emphasising a different word. Each time, read aloud the

whole verse and emphasise the word in bold.

• “THE Lord is my shepherd.” – Reflect and thank Jesus He is the

One True God that can offer hope and certainty during this time

and always. He is not just some mythical god or idol, Jesus Christ

is THE Lord, Lord of everything, everywhere, always.

• “The LORD is my shepherd.” – It is God Himself, the creator and

sustainer of all, that is our shepherd. Nothing is impossible for

God. Are there things you’d like to come to Him as LORD with?

• “The Lord IS my shepherd” – In a time and world that is full of

uncertainty, doubt can often creep in, and that’s okay. We need to

continually affirm God’s truths over us, and one of those is that

God truly IS our Lord and shepherd. Thank Jesus now that God

never fails or gives up on us, that He remain faithful always.

• “The Lord is MY shepherd.” – Yes God is the God of the cosmos,

created all things and died for everyone. But It’s easy to think

about the big picture and forget that God is personal and intimate

with us all. God is MY shepherd, He is your shepherd, personally.

Are there deep things within, perhaps mental health related or

emotions that you struggle to share with others that you could

bring to God now? Remember, He protects, guides and provides.

• “The Lord is my SHEPHERD.” – As we’re reminded that God is

our SHEPHERD, we’re reminded of our true place before God as

the wandering sheep. Why not thank God that He always comes

looking for us when we wander and pray for the strength to

pursue our relationship with God above all things.

@testwoodyouth

Testwood Youth

Thanks for joining us this morning!

As we look through Psalm 23 over the next 4 weeks, let’s remember

that God is our Certainty in an Uncertain World.

If anyone would like to get in touch to chat about anything that we’ve brought up in this session, you can drop me an email on

scottr@testwoodbaptist.org and we can arrange to meet up or have a phone call etc.

Team Rushby are currently putting together a video series called

#Mind – videos looking at and addressing how we can remain mentally healthy and emotionally well during this time. These videos will be

uploaded to the Testwood Youth Youtube channel, which you can find

my clicking here.

Scroll down for optional extras

I look forward to being with you soon!

Scott Rushby, Youth Pastor Testwood Baptist Church©

@testwoodyouth

Testwood Youth