Reading: Psalm 100.
We looked at Psalm 100 last Word & Worship service;
• And because of our theme tonight (John chapter 10 – Shepherd & sheep);
• I felt it would be a good springboard to use for our thoughts this morning.
Ill:
• Today, there are about one billion sheep on the planet;
• And around 900 different breeds, many of these sub-classable.
• If you didn’t know; Female sheep are called Ewes.
• Intact males are called Rams.
• Castrated males are called Wethers.
• Year old sheep are called Hoggets.
• Baby sheep are called Lambs
• A group of sheep is referred to as a mob or a flock.
• The average life-span of a sheep is about 7- 9 years although some live longer.
• Some have been known to live as long as 20 years.
• Australia has the most sheep in the world;
• Followed by China, Iran, New Zealand, and India. T
• Sheep are more widely distributed than any other domesticated animal;
• They are found in almost every country of the world.
• Sheep were probably domesticated about 11,000 years ago;
• In what is now northern Iraq.
The picture of a shepherd and a sheep:
• Is one that is found throughout the Bible.
• In fact one of the best known parts of the Bible is about a Shepherd & a sheep
Ill:
• Psalm 23 is often called “The Shepherd’s Psalm”, but it is not the “Shepherd’s Psalm. Although the shepherd is being praised,
• He does not speak one time in this great Psalm.
• A sheep does all of the talking in this Psalm. So it should be called, “The Sheep’s Psalm”
Now:
• This morning instead of working through a Bible passage, verse by verse,
• I want this morning to use another form of study.
• That is to take a theme;
• And we will therefore need to look at a number of verses from different places.
(A). The O.T: Israel, God
