HCC Weekly - December 8th, 2025

The Lord is My Shepherd

Pastor Rachael

When asked, a lot of Christians say that their favorite passage(s) of Scripture is Psalm 23. While it may seem cheesy, I have to agree with them. The first time this passage of Scripture really stuck with me was at my mother’s funeral back in 2021. I read it as a part of her eulogy:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (ESV)

There are 6 important things that we can learn from Psalm 23, broken down verse by verse:

He Owns Us

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”

When you think of a shepherd and a sheep, what is their relationship? The shepherd owns the sheep - that is no different than us and God. You have been bought with a price. The Lord Jesus purchased you at the cost of laying down His life. When the Lord is your shepherd, you will have all that you need.

He Leads Us

“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters”

This is a cold, hard fact. God leads us. When we are a part of the flock, we are being led - but to where? King David answers it right there in the Psalms. God leads us 1) to rest 2) in the paths of righteousness [I’ll talk about this next].. I know, it can be hard to rest; but it is in that resting that sometimes we can feel closest to God.

He Restores Us

“He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”

God leads us to rest, then he leads us to righteousness. There will be times ahead when the path seems uncrossable or too rocky to bear - but take heart, the Shepherd will always lead you on the right path. And great news, the Shepherd will always restore us when we wander away or falter. There is never a sin too big for God.

He Protects Us

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me”

Now, death is not the first and only valley we will ever walk through (in fact it is the last). In our lives there will always be hills and valleys, and while it is easy to trust God on our hills, we have to remember to trust him in the valleys too. The Lord is always with us - the rod and staff that the shepherd carries to protect his sheep, he will use to protect you. Nothing can separate you from his love.

He Provides for Us

“You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows”

With this verse, we see three ways that God provides for us.

A table - when someone prepares a meal, when it is done, you come to the table and eat, and as you eat, your strength is renewed. God is providing us renewed strength.

Oil - In Bible times, when someone was anointed with oil, it was in commission of their designated role. God is providing us with a new purpose.

Cup - “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full” John 15:11 God is providing us with new joy.

He Loves Us

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Goodness is God giving us what we don’t deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. Think of the sheep dogs following the sheep who in turn follow the shepherd. But can you imagine the joy we will feel when the days of our lives are over and we get to dwell in the house of the Lord forever?

So church, this week, I encourage you to pray this Psalm this week as you go about your daily routine. Remind yourself that because the Lord is your Shepherd, you have all you could ever need. Ask him to lead you to rest and in righteousness. Pray for his protection and thank him for his providence, goodness and mercy. And live in expectation for the joy that is coming.

In closing I want to share the song Still Waters by Leanna Crawford - it is a great way to help you remember and pray Psalm 23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW0VJxPqeRc&list=RDWW0VJxPqeRc&start_radio=1