The Lord Is My Shepherd – Part 5

Story Time

The Incredibles

You can’t talk about the shepherd without talking about .

Aesop’s Fables

Do not give up for foes.

John 10:10–14

How do sheep and get entangled with hirelings and wolves?

What’s in your ear?

2 Timothy 4:3–4

Job 34:3

A moral system has three criteria:

Principle# 1: A an effective moral system is

• Com·pre·hen·sive /ˌkämprəˈhensiv/ adjective – complete; including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something (Oxford Languages)
  • The Bible looks at all the things that affect our lives.
  • If you want to thrive, especially in a world with other people in it, you have to submit to a moral system that addresses every domain of your life.
  • A comprehensive moral system invites us to submit to things we don’t personally prefer for the sake of the good.
• The government weighs in on things that many of us consider to be or under the sovereignty of the individual.
• While we are naturally inclined to focus on our private interests, the state must draw us away from our self-centeredness to sacrifice for the common good.
• If human government can intervene in your world, certainly God’s government can.
• The government of God draws us away from our self-centeredness to sacrifice for the good)

Principle # 2: An effective moral system is .

• Here’s what the criterion of universality measures: Do you value the good or do you just value what’s good for ?
• A universal moral system is .
• tran·scend·ent/ˌtran(t)ˈsend(ə)nt/adjective – beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience. Oxford Languages
• You know a moral system is transcendent when it goes beyond your personal preferences and pet causes.
• A transcendent moral system is one whose authority, blessings and boundaries extend to everyone without partiality.

Principle # 3: An effective moral system is .

In Sum

God’s sheep have an ear for His voice because they have a heart for His

They value his over their opinion.

John 10:1–5

John 10:14

John 10:16

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2021