A Tough Job (Labor Day Weekend)

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Text (John 10:14) I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. (New International Version)

Thought starters
The following story is one my father; Rev. Harold Bode told me about a man (Name not remembered) whose funeral he attended back in the late 50s at the United Methodist Church in Valentine, Nebraska

There once lived a man who roamed the sand hills of Nebraska as a shepherd. Once a month his boss the rancher would come with supplies. I wonder what kind of supplies he brought? Did he have a refrigerator? That will give you an idea of what he had to live on. I wonder where he lived? He lived with the sheep. His job was watching sheep all day every day.What a tough job. Watching sheep all day and just about every day. Each Friday he would take some sagebrush or a few stakes and put that in front of the sheep pen. His break was to ride his horse twenty-two miles to watch a train go by over the Union Pacific Railroad. He totally loved watching the train. When the train went by the shepherd rode back.The shepherd lived to be one hundred years old. When I hear that story I think, what a terrible job. Could you do that job? Would you have lots of friends? How many movies would you see? What shows on television could you watch?On this Labor Day Weekend we remember the hard working Nebraska shepherd who lived to be one hundred. We also remember the Labor of the Good Shepherd, who never takes a break, not once.

Hymn-"Take My Life, and Let It Be" -H. A, Cesar Malan

Prayer-Dear Lord, Thank you for the story of the shepherd from Nebraska and how he labored day and night for his sheep. Keep watch over your little sheep, Good shepherd. Amen

William Bode, Director of Children’s Ministries