Remember the movie “E.T.”? (I didn’t like it myself, but … ) E.T. was this grotesque little alien dude that some people found cute. When the spaceship full of his buddies took off, E.T. somehow got left behind. Over the coming days, E.T. found some great friends, had some fun, and found at least one person who loved him—maybe a whole group of people who loved him. Not only that, but he loved them, enough to be willing to give his life for them.

A sermon by Ian Sutherland
from a lesson by Earl Kelly

Do you like a good mystery?
No matter who you are, I think that the enjoyment of a good mystery is part of what makes us human-
Whether it's CSI on TV or curling up with an Agatha Christie novel.. or even watching Blue's Clues with the kids...we all love a good mystery...
Today, we're going to look at a mystery unlike any you may have read... it's a mystery that relates to everything we do---
And we have three critical clues, three bits of evidence to uncover---

Have you ever had a nightmare where you were being chased by something? Maybe it was someone you actually knew, or maybe it was a car, or maybe it was just some nameless, faceless entity. We wake up from such dreams and even though our hearts are still beating fast, we’re relieved. Oh, it was just a dream.

If the dream were real, what would you like to have happen? We’d want something to stop whatever it was that was chasing us, right?

If you watch the news very long, or read a news article, you’ll soon find that you are part of a group. You’re either a Democrat or a Republican, you like fast food or like home cooking, you’re one of the people who watches the NFL or your car says something about you. Often, these articles are written (or broadcast) with an obviously bias. If the article’s about politics, it’s often clear which side the author thinks you should be on.

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides 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 before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (NIV)

Who here likes to eat?

Genesis 1:29
I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat. (GNB)

The first order of business is to find something to eat.

Then, from the beginning on, think about how much importance God attached to meals. Of course, we have to eat to stay alive, but it’s more than that.

Every Sunday morning since I’ve been in this study of Psalm 23, I’ve asked Shawna to put the main scripture of the day up on the screen there. What happens then?

Most of you read it as soon as I stand up, but then after it’s been there a while you stop reading it. That’s just human nature. It’s why they change billboards occasionally. Or why several of our local hotels have recently changed their signs. People get used to things and stop noticing them.

You’ve seen the stories before. Something bad leads to something good. The man who is in the terrible car wreck, then winds up falling in love with and marrying his nurse. Happy ending to a story that starts off bad. The person who gets tied up in traffic and misses their flight, only to find out that the flight has crashed. Suddenly, all the cussing they were doing while in traffic is replaced by prayers of thanks.

Maybe you’ve even lived one of these stories out yourself.

We’ve been looking at the 23rd Psalm for quite a while. Do you remember how this started? I talked about the baggage we carry through life. The bags are marked worry, and greed and pride and past failures.

Then, last week, we came to what may be the biggest bag of all: death. David wrote, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” We’re all in that valley. From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, death entered the human body.