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The Shepherd King

Children's sermon
Psalm 23
Robert B. Lantz
... Let the Children Come
Fifty-two Object Lessons For Children In Worship
Object: 
Bookmarks with Psalm 23
Good morning, boys and girls. In Israel there is a place between Jerusalem and Jericho called the Valley of Shadows. It is a deep ravine that has been cut out of the countryside by the waters which cascade down from the hill country on their way to the River Jordan.

Shepherds may often be seen in the fields above the Valley of Shadows as they tend their sheep and play on their flutes, like David did in that place when he was a boy.

What can you tell me about David? (Responses -- He was a shepherd, he killed Goliath, he became king of Israel, he wrote the psalms. [The psalms is the one you are looking for.])

Yes, one of the things that David did was to write songs. Have you ever sung or read one of David's songs? (Response -- They may not know that Psalms is a songbook. It would be helpful to have a Bible handy to turn to and leaf through the book of Psalms.)

In his songs, David sang praises to God. He sang about God's creation, God's love, God's majesty, and about how God took care of him. We do that same thing in some of the hymns and songs we sing today, don't we?

One of the best known of David's songs is one that I believe he wrote while he was on that hillside as a young boy on Israel. Do you know which one I'm thinking of? (Response -- Psalm 23.) Does anyone know how it starts? Well, I've got some bookmarks here with it printed on them. I'm going to give one to each of you so that we may all say it together. (There will be enough who can read to help carry it and some of the younger ones may know part of it. Recite together.)

(Prayer: We thank God for David, who taught us how to sing praises to God.)
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