Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. – Hebrews 13:20-21

Sunday at church was quite remarkable. Entering the sanctuary, the place had this buzz about it, the atmosphere just about crackling with an electric charge of spiritual energy. It was as if people’s hearts and minds were primed and open for an encounter with The Holy – and that is exactly what I experienced many times during worship.

I know that, of course, this is what church is supposed to be – and in my experience it absolutely is; but this week the Spirit just felt more real, more compelling, more present, more like we are in the process of making a shift as a congregation and that shift was – is – towards Jesus in exactly the right ways.

There were extra children. There were more young adults than usual. The singing was great. One of our teens served as liturgist. If felt as if all the beauty and the positive focus of Saturday’s “Arts in the Garden” had moved with us into the sanctuary, to put a punctuation point of praise on top of the festival of creativity and light.

Rebekah, moving into the third week of the “Names of God” series, talked about The Good Shepherd. It was a positive and powerful message that ended with a story about her grandmother that brought many in the congregation to tears.

You can find Rebekah’s message around the 34 minute mark in the service.

About the Shepherd:

One observation Rebekah offered was especially helpful. If we tried to “drive” a flock of sheep they would not know what to do. They would become confused and try to run around behind us. Because the way to work with sheep is not to drive them but to lead them.

Also, sheep learn to recognize their master’s voice. It’s the kind of assurance that comes with practice, and with a lot of listening.

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd,” Jesus explained, “and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (John 10:3-5).

One more thought:

One more thought I would like to share. This listening, this familiarity with the voice of Jesus, it’s not something we want to lose touch with so that the master’s voice gets lost in all the noise and distraction of our lives.

We need to be where we can pay attention, and with people who are there to encourage us.

It’s hard enough to follow Jesus – it’s exponentially more difficult when we are not listening. It is difficult to be, as the writer of 1 Peter puts it, “alive to all that is right and good.” Because we all nibble ourselves lost every once in a while. But when we remember to pay attention we head home again, “To Him who is your Shepherd and the One Who cares for your soul…”

He carried our sins in His own body when He died on a cross. In doing this, we may be dead to sin and alive to all that is right and good. His wounds have healed you! You were like lost sheep. But now you have come back to Him Who is your Shepherd and the One Who cares for your soul. – 1 Peter 2:24-25

In love; and, because of love, alive to all that is right and good. Also, “baa, baa!” – DEREK

BTW – kudos to the HMPC video volunteers for their exceptional camera work