Shepherd

Sunday Reflection – September 14, 2025

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Lost Things

Luke 15 Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. 2 So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, “This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this story:

4 If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? 5 And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder 6 and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep.”

7 Jesus said, “In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over 99 good people who don’t need to.”

8 Jesus told the people another story:

What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won’t she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? 9 Then she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found the coin I lost.”

10 Jesus said, “In the same way God’s angels are happy when even one person turns to him.”

Kids Korner: Lost Things (September 14th)

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Read Luke 15:1-10 with your family.

We have had a lot of hard and heavy things to talk about in the stories these past few weeks. This week, however, we have a nicer story. Something that reminds us how much God loves us.

This week we are reading the stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin. The Gospel of Luke often does this, pairs a story about a man and a story about a woman, so we can really see what Jesus is trying to teach us.

Jesus is telling us that God loves us, no matter what. And if we, or anyone really, starts thinking God does not matter or does not care, God shows that is not true. God will leave all the rest of the people alone just to go after the one who is lost.

That is a great promise. No one is ever forgotten.

Sunday Reflection – Easter IV, May 11, 2025

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Feed my sheep

John 10 22  That winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Temple Festival. 23 One day he was walking in the part of the temple known as Solomon’s Porch 24 and the people gathered all around him. They said, “How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!”

25 Jesus answered:

I have told you, and you refused to believe me. The things I do by my Father’s authority show who I am. 26 But since you are not my sheep, you don’t believe me. 27 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. 29  My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands, 30 and I am one with the Father.

Kids Korner: You know me (May 11th)

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Read John 10:22-30 with your family.

Jesus never asked us to be part of the religion of Christianity, and some people who attend church get really confused by that.

When Jesus was alive, there was no such thing as “Christian” or “Jewish”, they were all Hebrews and believed in God loving them unconditionally. They knew that God asked them to take care of each other. They knew love for family, neighbours and strangers was the most important thing.

If we have love and caring for everyone we meet, even if we do not like them, then we are hearing what Jesus had to say.

It is not enough to say we believe in Jesus. We have to show love in our actions, too.

Sunday Reflection – April 28, 2024

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Abide in love

John 10 Jesus said to his disciples:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts away every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit. But he trims clean every branch that does produce fruit, so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of what I have said to you.

4 Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. 5 I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me. 6 If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be thrown away. You will be like dry branches that are gathered up and burned in a fire.

7 Stay joined to me and let my teachings become part of you. Then you can pray for whatever you want, and your prayer will be answered. 8 When you become fruitful disciples of mine, my Father will be honored.

Kids Korner: Be patient with each other (April 28th)

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Read John 15:1-8 with your family.

The passage from this week has the word “abide” in it an awful lot. Abide is a ‘churchy’ word, and sometimes when we hear words like that we don’t stop to think about them for long.

Abide means to stick with someone, to wait, to endure, to put up with, to stay with someone.

In the word picture, or metaphor of the vine and the branches, Jesus was telling us how God lives with us and endures us even when we are not doing the things God asked us to do. Sometimes we have to ‘prune’ ourselves, that means to get rid of the things inside us that are not God-friendly and keep us from treating people kindly. God knew that people would fail often, but we can always do better.

When we prune roses, that means cut specific parts off the plant, the rose starts to grow better and we might get more flowers. When God ‘prunes’ us, we will grow better too and be able to show more kindness and love.

But throughout it all, we are always connected to God and God is always connected to us. We can never forget that. Even when it feels like God is very far away, God is really right beside us.

Sunday Reflection – April 21, 2024

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Jesus tells his followers what comes next

John 10 11  I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

14  I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15  Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must also bring them together, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

17 The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so I may receive it back again. 18 No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

Kids Korner: Good Shepherd (April 21st)

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Read John 10:11-18 with your family.

Sometimes it is very hard for adults to understand the lessons God is trying to teach us. Kids have an easier time understanding God (which should mean that adults listen more to kids, but sadly that doesn’t happen).

It was difficult for adults to understand in Jesus’ time as well, which is why Jesus used word pictures to help grown-ups understand the lessons of God. Jesus used things like candles, coins, bread, and fig trees to explain what he came to teach. One of the most popular word pictures Jesus used was sheep.

Sheep might be hard to understand in our time if we only ever live in the city, but in Jesus time sheep were everywhere. Even people who did not work with sheep were able to watch sheep and how they behaved.

So Jesus used the idea of sheep, that even when we were in trouble, like a shepherd, God would come find us and take care of us, even when the ‘shepherd’ had to risk their lives to make sure we stay safe.