Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:32)


 

SCRIPTURE READINGS

 

HYMNS FOR THE WEEK

Last sunday in the church year


Sermon Starter

You are a sheep.

This is the Gospel message within the Gospel reading this morning. You are a sheep.

You are a sheep because God has made you a sheep. At your Baptism, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, God said, “Here I am. Follow me. Be my sheep. I will take care of you for every day of your life, just be my sheep.”

To say you are a sheep is another way of saying that you are a disciple. For disciples follow and live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. That is what Matthew 28:19-20 is all about:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Yes, this is Jesus’ command to His Church to make disciples, but it also tells how to make a disciple, and therefore, it tells us what a disciple is.

Collect of the Day

Eternal God, merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.