Scripture – Good News
Luke 10:1-3 –
After this the Lord chose another seventy-two men and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go. He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
John 10:14-16 –
I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them. There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
John 21:15-17 –
After they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.” A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.” A third time Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter became sad because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” and so he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.”
Bob’s thoughts:
There was a little girl maybe two years old who ran towards me and smiled then turned and ran away. I think Christ’s love is like that. When we need His reassurance, He shows Himself to us, maybe through the sparkling eyes of a child.
The message centered on Christ’s asking Peter, “Do you love Me?” With Peter’s affirmative reply, he is admonished, “Shepherd my lambs and tend my sheep.” Bring them into the fold. When we do this, we are speaking for Christ. We need to bring Christ to the seekers who will then know His voice. Do we love Him more than these, whatever these may be?
I’m proud of being a Marine…what about being a Christian? I did nothing to deserve being a disciple. Can we say we are proud God uses us? He could just as easily use a rock and with less aggravation.
We are grateful and hopefully humble in light of His incredible gift. The most important thing in my life I did nothing to obtain and certainly don’t deserve, and that brings me back to today’s message. We bring people to Christ by telling our story.
Jan’s thoughts:
It is always a joy to worship at Mosaic: we meet new friends each time we come here and the members greet us and other guests with genuine hospitality.
Today the sanctuary was nearly full, including a number of children of varying ages. Strategic planning is underway by the leadership for how to teach and disciple this large number of youth as they grow. There is children’s church during the message, which seems like quite an undertaking. What a blessing!
Elder Pete Pross taught through the post-resurrection encounter between Peter and Christ when the Lord asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Pete pointed out the amazing fact that Jesus never remarked to Peter, “I told you so,” or made any other comment to remind Peter of his cowardice the night He was arrested. Instead Jesus asked the simple and deeply troubling question, “Do you love Me?”
And as he read the Scripture, Pete urged everyone present to replace Peter’s name with their own name. It occurred to me that just as we are each asked Who we say Jesus is, this is another key question in our spiritual life that we each must answer for ourselves.
Pete also read from the Oswald Chambers devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, based on this passage in which Chambers pleaded with his readers to “Pour yourselves out. Don’t just talk about it – do it!”
The message concluded with the congregation separating into small groups to discuss such questions as: who are the lambs Jesus wants you to feed and who are the sheep He wants you to shepherd? It was an imaginative way to spark conversation on the topic and, for us, to enjoy good conversation with some new friends.
Our prayer for this church:
Father, we pray for those here who know Your voice and for their shepherding of the not-yet-believers in their world who desperately need to know Jesus. Amen.
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