April 23, 2026
The Good Shepherd - Part 4
John 10:14-15
04/23/2026
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own
know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I lay down my life for the sheep. (ESV)
Our prayer this week confesses that our only hope of
salvation from sin and eternal death is given to us by the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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.
The Church is one with Christ Jesus in the same way Jesus is
one with the Father. Jesus said:
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.
As members of Christ Jesus, we also have died with Him and
have risen with Him to new life. Saint Paul and Saint Peter both
speak of baptism as joining us to Christ's death and
resurrection, for we are one with Him. Because we have been
joined in this union with Jesus, we are declared holy and
righteous in the Father's sight because Jesus bore our sins upon
the cross.
Christ Jesus gave the Church the sacraments of baptism and
the Lord's Supper to assure us that we are part of His body, the
Church, and have received the full benefits of His sacrifice on
the cross.
We believe, teach, and confess that God gives us the gift of
forgiveness out of His undeserved love, grace, and mercy. We do
not earn God's grace and favor, but are called to be one with
Christ Jesus out of His love alone.
May our Lord comfort us with the sure and certain hope given
to us because Jesus died and rose again for our salvation. Amen.