Sermon Outline

I. The LORD my shepherd is with me.

A. Sometimes our shepherd leads us through valleys of darkness (vs. 4). And those dark valleys
are scary. We can’t see the enemies that are around us, but we know they are out there in the
dark. The presence of the LORD my shepherd does not mean that the darkness has
disappeared from my life. God gave Moses a wonderful promise in Exodus 3:12: “(God)
said, ‘But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you
have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.'”

B. When David says in vs. 4, “I will fear no evil ”, that evil can simply mean harm. Because my
shepherd is with me, no harm shall make me afraid. Or this evil could mean sin, a moral evil. It
is only because the LORD is my shepherd that I can walk the road of righteousness in a world
full of evil and make it safely home to heaven.

II. The LORD my shepherd is beside me.

A. What pronoun does David use when he gets to the middle of Psalm 23? The middle line of
Psalm 23, the heart of the Psalm, is the line in vs. 4, “for you are with me. me.” David does not just
have a shepherd ahead to lead him. David has a shepherd beside him to escort him. The
message of the whole Bible can be summarized in four simple words: you are with me.

• Genesis 3:8: “And (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”
• 1 Kings 8:11: “The priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.”
• Revelation 21:3: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
• Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
• John 14:2 3: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Application:
The LORD, your shepherd, is with you. Don’t forget it. Don’t doubt it. He loves you.
Sources:
The Bible
Commentaries by David Gibson, Derek Kidner, Willem vanGemeren, and Bruce Waltke.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1. Does the fact that Jesus our shepherd is with us in the darkness make the darkness any less dark? What good does the presence of Jesus bring me in the darkness?

2. What (or who) should we always fear the most in the darkness? What is the message of the whole Bible that we need to remember?

3. What Scripture have you memorized to remind you that God is always with you? What Scripture would you like to memorize?