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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.

Second Sunday of Easter - A

Children's Liturgy and Story

John 20:19-31

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Let us welcome Jesus into our worship today, and receive the peace that he offers us.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I doubt that you are with me.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I am not aware of your presence.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I refuse your peace.
Lord, have mercy.

Reading:
John 20:19-31 (NRSV)

Children's Story

John 20:19-31

Janice B. Scott
Thomas had never seen his friends so excited. Peter's eyes were shining, and he could hardly contain his impatience. John was always quieter than Peter, but even he seemed full of barely suppressed eagerness. They were both tugging at Thomas, while at the same time dancing round him.

Thomas reluctantly agreed to go to the cave with them, although he continued to think they were mad. "If there was nothing there last week, how can it have changed now?" he kept asking.

The other two dismissed his reservations with some impatience. "Come and see! When you've seen it for yourself, you'll know!"

Intercession

John 20:19-31

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

1 Peter 1:3-9

Janice B. Scott
There have been a number of adverts on television over recent months, warning against Benefit fraud. One scene has shown a hairdresser arriving late for work, because she'd been picking up the dole money before going straight on to her job. The other people in the shop wear expressions of disgust, but no-one says anything. The woman who is cheating the system is caught and prosecuted, and the message is, don't claim benefit if you're not entitled to it, because you'll be caught.

Sermon

Acts 2:14

Janice B. Scott
It was a big church which was growing. There were lots of exciting things going on midweek and the Sunday services were packed to overflowing, because they were so bright and such fun. Lots of families from the council estate attended and the local school noticed a marked improvement in its pupils' behaviour.

The priest was young and delightful in every way. The older people warmed to him because he was sympathetic and had time for them and listened seriously to their views. And the younger people were thrilled by him. Church was everything they had ever dreamed it might be. It was a real success story with a steady influx of new Christians.

Sermon

John 20:19-31

Janice B. Scott
Several years ago, 38 members of the "Heaven's Gate" religious cult in California drank poison in order to keep an engagement with an alien space-ship which they believed to be flying in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet. They believed they'd originally come from the space-ship to reside on earth for a time, but were going on to a higher destiny somewhere on a higher plane.

The world was shocked and horrified by their actions. Many people must wonder how they could have been so stupid. How they could have been so gullible.

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

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
Tom Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
Christopher Keating
For April 12, 2026:

StoryShare

Keith Wagner
Contents
"Spiritually Speaking" by Keith Wagner
"Living With More Power" by Keith Wagner


Spiritually Speaking
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 16
Alex A. Gondola, Jr.
Keith Hewitt
Contents
What's Up This Week
"When through Fiery Trials" by Alex Gondola
"Tracks" by Keith Hewitt


What's Up This Week

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Thomas had never seen his friends so excited. Peter's eyes were shining, and he could hardly contain his impatience. John was always quieter than Peter, but even he seemed full of barely suppressed eagerness. They were both tugging at Thomas, while at the same time dancing round him.

Thomas reluctantly agreed to go to the cave with them, although he continued to think they were mad. "If there was nothing there last week, how can it have changed now?" he kept asking.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
This psalm is a song of confidence and trust, and the first-century church found in it a prophecy of the Resurrection. Peter, in his Pentecost sermon, quotes verses 8-11 (Acts 2:25-28), applying them to the risen Lord. Thus, its designation as the responsorial psalm for Easter 2.

The psalm falls easily into three divisions: verses 1-4, there is no good apart from God; 5-8, the Lord is my portion and my counselor; and 9-11, there is joy and life with God.
John R. Brokhoff
THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Acts 2:14a, 22--32 (C, E)
According to God's plan and David's prophecy, Jesus was raised from the dead. This pericope is a part of Peter's Pentecost sermon. It is a sample of the early church's preaching, as Luke understood it, summarized in the crucifixion, resurrection, and fulfillment of prophecy. Peter emphasizes that what happened to Jesus was according to God's plan. He quotes Psalm 16 as a prophecy by David of the resurrection which was fulfilled. The disciples are witnesses to the fulfillment because of their encounters with the risen Lord.
Tony S. Everett
So, here we are just over one week after Easter Sunday. Vigils are finished. Sunrise services are over. Dishes from the youth breakfast have been washed and put away. Brass and tympani fanfares have concluded. Flowers on the cross have begun to wilt and blow away. Fewer pews are filled.
Richard L. Sheffield
What the disciples of Jesus reported to their fellow disciple Thomas they had seen seemed unbelievable. And Thomas didn't believe it! They said they saw Jesus alive. Well, Thomas saw him alive until late the previous Friday afternoon when Thomas saw him dead. It was now Sunday afternoon -- and to what they said they saw, Thomas' response was, "Seeing is believing," and until I see something different from what I have already seen, I will not believe a word of what you say.
Albert G. Butzer, III
Several years ago the Episcopal Church launched a creative and clever advertising campaign. One of their ads pictured a young man with a frustrated look on his face because someone had put a heavy piece of tape across his mouth. His mouth had been taped shut; he was unable to speak. The caption, which accompanied the picture, said this: "The problem with churches that have all of the answers is that you can't ask questions."
Harry N. Huxhold
The United States of America has earned the reputation of being the most violent culture in the world. That really is an oxymoron. How can one speak of culture as being violent? Yet the problem of violence is so widespread in our nation that Gavin De Becker, an authority on violence, notes that we are a nation with more firearms than adults, and twenty thousand guns enter our commerce every day. His book, The Gift of Fear, is about our fear which furnishes us survival signals to protect us from violence. We should not be shocked that anyone is capable of violence.
Bill Mosley
The great luxury liner was on fire, but no one knew it. Deep in the hold, near the engine room, hundreds of tons of coal were stored. Coal--powered ships used to carry the coal in a watered--down state. But this ship was new, and very big; bigger than any ship ever built, or had ever sailed. So even though the coal was watered for safety, the enormous amount meant that there were dry spots. A fire smoldered undiscovered deep in the coal supply, and when it was discovered, a fire--fighting crew was sent to quench it. They worked for days, even weeks, and couldn't put it out.
B. David Hostetter
CALL TO WORSHIP
Bless our God who has given us counsel.
Come to worship with exulting heart and rejoicing spirit.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Beverly S. Bailey
Hymns
I Danced In The Morning (UM261, PH 302)
Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna! (CBH 272)
Jesus, The Very Thought Of Thee (NCH507)
We Live By Faith And Not By Sight (NCH256, PH398)
O Sons And Daughters, Let Us Sing (NCH244, PH116, 117)
Breathe On Me, Breath Of God (CBH356, UM420, PH316)
These Things Did Thomas Count (NCH284)
When In The Night I Meditate (PH165)

Anthems
From the Messiah: I Know That My Redeemer Liveth, G. F. Handel
Frank Ramirez
Call To Worship (Acts 2:32)
 This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.


Collect
 We lift up our eyes to you Lord, after the despair of the cross. We follow the path from the empty tomb to see you risen and walking among us! We praise your name in victory! Amen.


Prayer Of Confession

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Fresh air is precisely what many people feel they never get in church. Many recall the experiences of former times when the air was stodgy and stuffy. In some communities of faith the air is still a bit stifling, and so when invited to worship, the response is often, "Been there. Done that."

Yet our lessons are full of the freshness of spring, bringing life and vigor to what had been dormant, as though frozen in winter and refusing to thaw.

Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Wayne Brouwer
One of my good friends died last year. He had reached a good age and was mostly ready to go. In fact, he once told me he had more lives than the proverbial cat's nine. On too many occasions, because of cancer and accidents and blood diseases, doctors had written him off. Yet, like the Energizer bunny, he kept going and going and going....

CSSPlus

Good morning, boys and girls. This morning we read from the Bible about a special meeting between Jesus, who had been resurrected a week earlier, and his disciples. All of the disciples believed the resurrection except Thomas, who had not been in the room when Jesus met with the disciples a week earlier. Thomas had heard about it but didn't believe. He said that unless he saw for himself the wounds in the hands and side of Jesus, he would not believe.
Good morning, boys and girls. What does this sign mean? (Let them answer.) It is a question mark. When you see it that means someone is asking a question. Sometimes it means that someone doesn't believe what you are saying. That means the person is doubting you. It's a very common thing to have doubts about something. If one of you told me that you don't like to play with toys, I'd say, "I'm not so sure about that. I doubt it. I'll bet you really like to play with toys." If one of you told me that you didn't like candy, I would say, "I'm not so sure about that. I doubt it.

Special Occasion

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Easter 2
30+ – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30+ – Children's Sermons / Resources
20+ – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 3
26 – Sermons
150+ – Illustrations / Stories
30+ – Children's Sermons / Resources
20+ – Worship Resources
28 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 4
27 – Sermons
150+ – Illustrations / Stories
39 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20+ – Worship Resources
27 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
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