A Faithful Shepherd

At Lance's farewell service yesterday, Todd Murray presented a song written as his farewell gift to Lance. The chorus is based on Colossians 1:28-29. The lyrics to the song are below.

A Faithful Shepherd

In your strong, convicting preaching
And your clear, consistent teaching
You have been a faithful shepherd to us.
In your public proclamation
And your private consolation
You have been a faithful shepherd to us.

You warned us we could not afford to be naïve
For all our life is driven by the doctrine we believe.
You called us to be discerning,
To keep growing, to keep learning
You have been a faithful shepherd to us.

(Chorus)
And it was Christ you proclaimed to us
Admonishing every man.
And it was Christ you proclaimed to us
Teaching every man with all wisdom.
So that every man could be
Presented in Christ complete.
And for this purpose you labored and strived
By the power God mightily supplied.
For this purpose you toiled, you agonized
So that one day we would stand complete in Christ.

When we fell into temptation
Needing loving confrontation
Still you were a faithful shepherd to us.
In our heartaches and our sighing
In our sickness and our dying
You have been a faithful shepherd to us.

You celebrated all the milestones of our lives -
Sweet conversions, joyful weddings,
And the birth of each new child.
Even when you were rejected
And your own needs were neglected
Still you were a faithful shepherd to us.

(Chorus again)

(c) 2011 by Todd Murray