Author: Pastor Doug

Our scripture this morning is 1 Chronicles 16:11-12 (NLT).

Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given.

When scripture tells us “search for the Lord” it’s certainly not because God has hidden Himself from us. As the old saying goes “if God seems far away, guess who moved!” When we choose our own way instead of His, we stray from the path He has appointed for us.

Jesus called us His sheep, and He intended it as a kindly but eye opening comparison. Sheep are not the brightest creatures on the planet. By themselves they will focus on eating and not pay attention to where they are or the approach of danger until the shepherd’s voice calls them back.

The writer of this passage may not have had sheep in mind, but the admonition to “continually seek Him” is the same lesson Jesus taught. Ask the Lord for the help you need. When we put our faith in Him and listen to His guidance, we can be saved from our sin and know that He has prepared a place for us.

Loving Lord, You know our weakness and the trouble we find through our own plans and actions. Forgive us and strengthen us to go to the world with the Good News of salvation. Amen.

Friends, today we lay to rest one of my dear cousins. Psalm 23 is one my favorites, I know Barb loved it too.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 23:5-6 (NLT).

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Probably the most well known psalm, Psalm 23 is a short but complete statement of faith in God’s goodness, protection and provision. We know He is always there for us, and His care is immeasurable. No matter what we face, we are not alone.

It opens with the phrase “The Lord is my shepherd” reminding us that when we ramble off on our own, things can get serious. God will never leave us, but we can stray into dangerous territory by ourselves. God continually reaches out to us no matter what our situation, offering His love and a relationship that leads to salvation.

We hear of “a feast for me in the presence of my enemies”, a reference to God blessing us even when we are threatened by the ways of the world. Nothing on earth can stand against the Lord and when we stand with Him, we are safe for eternity. As long as we follow the path Jesus the Good Shepherd has set for us, we can be saved.

Loving Lord, in Your mercy You sent Your Son to love and save and free us. Bless us to go in Your name, refreshed and ready to share the Good News with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NLT).

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Author Henri Nouwen writes “Our lives are not problems to be solved, but journeys to be taken with Jesus as our friend and finest guide.” This is what Peter is telling us in this passage. The weight of our worry is not something we can bear alone, we must give it to God.

God has given us gifts to be used but He didn’t send us out alone in the world. He is always there for us, but we have to be wise enough to ask for guidance rather than going our own way. Humbling ourselves “under the mighty power of God”  by accepting Jesus as our Savior is the only way to be saved.

God wants to be part of all we do, and that includes good times and bad. Jesus warned us that the world would oppose His message of peace, but He calls us to share it just as He did. When we give God our worries and go in His name, we can bring His love to all people.

Gracious God, we are sorry for our stubborn disobedience. Forgive us and draw us back to You, that we may bring the Good News everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 18:3-5 (NLT).

Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”

In verse 1 of this chapter we read that the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” We see this kind of jockeying for position when John and James ask to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand when the kingdom comes (Matthew 20:20-28). Jesus explains here that power and position are nothing in the kingdom, they belong only to God. 

Jesus wants us to see that being childlike means to rely on someone else for our needs, to know that we are at the bottom of the authority chain. This is the beginning of humility. He goes on to say “anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” 

This is the essence of Christian love, to care more about the needs of others than our reputation or wealth. When our thinking goes from “me” to “we”, the kingdom is growing. God has gifted us all richly, but the most precious is our connection to Him.

Loving Lord, help us to be aware of the needs around us, to pay attention to our brothers and sisters. May we be the bearers of the Good News to all the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Isaiah 53:5-6 (NLT).

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

The prophet Isaiah points to the Messiah in many passages. He writes the sad truth “all of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We read “the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all”, a prophecy Jesus would fulfill for us.

After Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection, faithful disciples went into the world to tell us “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live” (Galatians 1:4). Paul, a former persecutor of the church, became its most famous missionary. We may not be called to far flung places as he was, but we are all called to share the story of Jesus.

Peter writes “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Jesus told us we would face opposition from the world, which wants its own way rather than God’s way. He promised to be with us through it all, and we know His promises never fail.

Loving Lord, we are amazed at what You have done to rescue us from our sin. Bless us to be the disciples of today, bringing Your word and Your love to all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 100:5 (NLT).

For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

In many translations this psalm has the subtitle “A psalm of thanksgiving”, reminding us that we owe everything to God and without Him we are nothing. In just five verses it leads us to know God’s goodness and offer Him our praise. While this psalm was likely intended to begin a worship service, it is appropriate to begin every day.

Today’s verse teaches us that “His unfailing love continues forever”, and we can never be outside God’s love. Paul tells us “nothing can separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38). When we ignore His love for us, He is still there for us. Even when we fail, God’s love will not.

It is up to us to open ourselves to God’s love. God won’t make anyone love Him, but He waits for us to be ready for the wonderful gift He offers. When we live in His love, we are blessed to share that love with all our brothers and sisters. 

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the times we have lived outside Your love. Forgive us and strengthen us in faith, that we may bring Your love to the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 25:40 (NLT).

And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

Jesus tells us that when we care for one another, we are showing our love for Him. We can’t directly help or give anything to Jesus; instead we demonstrate our love for Him to those who desperately need Him in their lives. He told us before He sacrificed Himself for us “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35).

Bringing comfort to one another is part of that process. Paul writes “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Perhaps we can’t solve the problem by ourselves, but we can be part of the solution.

Every effort we make on behalf of our brothers and sisters is a step toward a better world for all. Jesus knows we can’t do all the things He does but we can love as He does by sharing our gifts and the Good News of His coming. He says when we do this for those in need “you were doing it to me!”

Gracious God, You have called us to love one another as You first loved us. Help us to hear the needs of those around us and use what You have blessed us with to care for all Your children. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 25:35-36 (NLT).

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.

This verse from Jesus expresses so well the care He calls us to give to one another. Washing His disciples feet was an example, practical in that time, but these instructions are for all time. Jesus wants us to notice the last, the least and the lost, and use our gifts to do something about it.

Sometimes we overthink the call Jesus makes on our lives, saying “I don’t have the skills or resources to do big things.” Mother Theresa had an answer for this: “Not all of us can do great things; but we can do small things with great love.” When we turn our attention to those in need it is the first step toward caring for them.

You don’t have to start from scratch. I’ll almost guarantee your church and your community have programs in desperate need of volunteers. Find something that the Spirit leads you to check out and invest some of yourself in reaching our brothers and sisters.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we ignore Your children and the needs they have. May we be energetic, generous and welcoming to all who need our love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 25:34 (NLT).

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”

Jesus continues His lesson on The Final Judgement, where each of us will be evaluated according to our faith, not our works as such. Yes, we are expected to respond to His love by sharing our gifts with everyone, but it’s not a contest and there is no quota. Jesus wants us to connect to the Father through Him, and live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Like a lot of things in the Kingdom, this seems backwards to us. If you work hard enough and amass enough “stuff” you can do anything, right? That’s what the world wants us to think, but it’s not God’s way.

In John 14:2 Jesus says “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” The way to the place prepared for us is not achieved through power, prestige or possessions. Only our love for God and our care for each other counts in His Kingdom.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we worry about our things and not one another as You have taught us. Forgive us and may we be the bringers of the Good News to all our brothers and sisters. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 25:31-32 (NLT).

But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

In this prophecy of our future Jesus returns to fulfill the promise of God’s kingdom. Matthew 25:31-46 often carries the heading “The Final Judgement”, He will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. This imagery reflects human nature – goats who are stubbornly independent and follow their own way and sheep who “know their Shepherd’s voice” (John 10:27).

We mustn’t think that good works alone are the standard for judgement. The New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition says “the criterion of judgment is not mere philanthropy (good as that is), but people’s response to the kingdom of heaven.” Are we doing good things “just because”? Unless we have a relationship with Jesus, they do us no good. We can’t earn our way into eternity.

Our good works are a response to the free gift of salvation we have been given, an expression of our love returned to God. They are not eternal life bargaining chips or an account where we store up credit for ourselves. Accepting Jesus as our Savior and following faithfully as one of His sheep is the only way.

Loving Lord, in Your mercy You sent Your Son to love and save and free us. Forgive us the times we have failed and send us to share Your love everywhere. Amen.