Lessons                                                                       Bread of Life                                                     21 November 2020

Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24

         ₁₁“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ₁₂As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. ₁₃And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ₁₄I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ₁₅I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ₁₆I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. . . .

         ₂₀“Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ₂₁Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, ₂₂I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. ₂₃And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ₂₄And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Psalm 95:1–7

₁Oh come, let us sing | to the Lord;*

         let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our sal- | vation!

₂Let us come into his presence with

         thanks- | giving;*

let us make a joyful noise to him with | songs of praise!

₃For the Lord is a | great God,*

         and a great King a- | bove all gods.

₄In his hand are the depths | of the earth;*

the heights of the mountains are his | also.

₅The sea is his, for he | made it,*

and his hands formed the | dry land.

₆Oh come, let us worship and | bow down;*

let us kneel before the Lord, our | Maker!

₇For he | is our God,*

and we are the people of his pasture,

         and the sheep | of his hand.

1 Corinthians 15:20–28

         ₂₀But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ₂₁For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ₂₂For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ₂₃But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ₂₄Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ₂₅For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ₂₆The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ₂₇For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ₂₈When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

Matthew 25:31–46

         ₃₁[Jesus said:] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ₃₂Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ₃₃And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ₃₄Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ₃₅For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ₃₆I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ₃₇Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ₃₈And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ₃₉And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ₄₀And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

         ₄₁“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ₄₂For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ₄₃I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ₄₄Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ₄₅Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ₄₆And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”