This sermon was preached on the Third Sunday of Easter (Misericordias Domini) at Immanuel Lutheran Church - the "River Church" - in Mayville, Wisconsin on 04/19/2015 by Rev. Douglas Zahner. Psalm 23 1 The Lord is my | shepherd;* I | shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green | pastures.* He leads me beside still | waters. 3 He re- | stores my soul.* He leads me in paths of righteousness for his | name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are | with me;* your rod and your staff, they | comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my | enemies;* you anoint my head with oil; my cup | overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days | of my life,* and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for- | ever. Glory be to the Father and / to the Son* And to the Holy / Spirit; As it was in the be- / ginning,* Is now, and will be forever. / Amen Collect of the Day O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Ezekiel 34:11–16 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” 1 Peter 2:21–25 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. John 10:11–16 [Jesus said:] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

• published: 20 Apr 2015
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