“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’”
Luke 15:6 NRSV
https://bible.com/bible/2016/luk.15.6.NRSV
Rejoice With Me - Pray As You Go
https://prayasyougo.org/prayer/rejoice-with-me-2918
#Jesus #dw4jc #PrayAsYouGo #create2learn #YouVersion #BibleVerse #Bible #LostSheep
Feeling lost in a dark world? 🌑 This powerful sermon unpacks God's relentless love through the parable of the lost sheep. Discover how Jesus calls us to love our enemies and seek the lost with grace, not pride. 🙏
Watch now and be inspired to live His truth! https://zurl.co/6Ndkr
#Sermon #Christianity #Faith #JesusChrist #LoveYourEnemies #LostSheep #GodsGrace #SpiritualGrowth #BibleStudy #Inspiration #CharlieKirk #TurningPoint
Everyone Matters [Sermon]
David Hayward is a cartoonist who goes by the name The Naked Pastor.
On his website he says
In case you’re wondering, I’m not actually naked. The idea behind my name, NakedPastor, is to seek to tell the naked truth – no matter how vulnerable it feels. I used to be a pastor but I’ve been creating art and working towards freedom with this community for over 10 years now.
He has a number of cartoons about sheep pens where the sheep have evicted one of the sheep – sometimes a black sheep, sometimes a sheep in rainbow or trans colors.
In some, the shepherd brings the evicted sheep back to the fold.
In one particularly distressing cartoon, the sheep keep discussing inclusion of the sheep outside, while the sheep outside perishes.
Let’s go to God in prayer.
God of wisdom, may the words that I speak, and the ways they are received by each of our hearts and minds, to help us to continue to grow into the people, and the church, that you have dreamed us to be.
Amen.
This country has a compassion crisis.
There’s not enough of it.
Various groups have been described as
Lazy
Criminal
Mentally ill
Evil
When there were cries of “Black Lives Matter” the response was “All Lives Matter.”
Language is interesting. Various phrases can mean more than one thing.
For example:
If I were to say that bread and water is better than nothing, you might agree.
If I were to say that nothing is better than getting one’s favorite meal prepared expertly, you might also agree.
So bread and water is better than nothing, which is better than you favorite meal, and so you would choose bread and water over your favorite meal.
What went wrong?
Nothing means different things in the two statements.
Bread and water is better than having nothing to eat.
There is no thing better than your favorite meal.
You would never say having nothing to eat is better than your favorite meal.
You would never say there is no thing better than bread and water.
Likewise, when people say “Black Lives Matter,” they are asserting that Black lives are included in the lives that matter.
They are making that case in opposition to a culture that does not seem to value Black lives.
When people counter with “All lives matter,” they are, at best, ignoring the apparent devaluation of Black lives, and at worst are deliberately drowning out the voices of people in pain.
There are arguments that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other sexual and gender minorities are asking for special rights that others do not have. In actuality, these people are asking for special protection of the same rights others have without question.
When people advocate for food, housing, and healthcare for people in poverty, they do not at the same time ask that the wealthy also have food, housing, and healthcare. We don’t need to ask for those that have much to have even more.
In his ministry, Jesus spent a lot of time with ordinary people, and especially with people that society had dismissed as being of low value. Yes, he spoke with the wealthy and powerful, but most often on behalf of the poor and oppressed.
For 165 years this church has continued as a Christian church in the Congregational tradition. In those years it has stood for social justice for many different groups.
We have had banners out front: At first, rainbow banners, but also other banners that lifted up the those with less power. And at times those banners have been defaced, torn, removed, and on at least one occasion someone tried to set fire to a banner.
These actions, while distressing, tell us:
These banners are a witness that we are the church for the one coin of ten, or the one sheep of 100. Beyond that, they are a witness that everyone matters.
This is not the same as “All Lives Matter” in response to “Black Lives Matter.” It is an assertion that no one is left behind.
The compassion crisis in our country is a dangerous crisis. It’s the kind of crisis that prophets have prophesied against.
In our reading from Jeremiah, God speaks through the prophet:
“For my people are foolish; they do not know me;
they are stupid children; they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.”
– Jeremiah 4:22, NRSVue
Devout followers of religions are often concerned with their own purity: Not eating the wrong things, not wearing the wrong things, not doing the wrong things, and of course prayer and attendance at worship services.
But most religions have scripture about caring for others. The Hebrew prophets called for caring for the poor. Jesus called for caring for the poor.
And yet, these are the things that are often overlooked while we focus on our own holiness.
I believe that no one can be holy while excluding others.
I’ll say that again:
No one can be holy while excluding others.
We are living together on this planet. God has created us all and called us good. To consider ourselves above caring for another is presumptuous.
So my challenge to all of us this week is to search for the lost coin, find and recover the lost sheep, remember that everyone matters.
Amen.
* Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. https://www.friendshippress.org/pages/about-the-nrsvue
* Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James version of the Bible.
#egalitarian #lostCoin #lostSheep #oppressed #poor #SocialJustice
Struggling to be real? Jack’s story shows how Jesus pursues us even when we hide our deepest fears. It’s time to drop the act and find freedom. 🙌 #LostSheep #MenOfFaith #BeReal
Alps no Roujin Heidi no Ojii-san - Episode 5
Airing at: 01/21/2025 10:00 PM
In episode 5 of Alps no Roujin Heidi no Ojii-san, Heidi and her grandfather embark on a daring adventure to rescue a lost sheep in the treacherous mountains. As the...
🔗 https://animenewsdaily.us/alps-no-roujin-heidi-no-ojii-san-ep5
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Backslider, Return
Same old battles, and always troubled
It didn't get better. My woes doubled
What's the reason? I'm totally floored!
Frustrated and weary, I left the Lord
But where am I headed? I simply roam
Dare I think of going back home?
What, this time, will be made right?
I see no sun. Just the black midnight.
A voice so sweet, and yet so stern
reminds me that I know where to turn
Years have passed. Is it too late?
I wonder. I ponder, and I wait.
Time is passing. It's slipping away
Yesterday's gone. But there's still today
I'll never be happy. Never be whole
Until Christ is back in my soul
Dear God, I give up. I surrender all
Restore me, Lord. I've heard Your call
The way might be bumpy, rough, uphill
But I claim blessing, if I do Your will
©2024 First Page by HeavenlyManna.net
https://heavenlymanna.net/christianArticle.php?article_id=1393
#Backslider #LostSheep #ChristianPoetry #ChristianPoems #Inspirational
Today's gospel reading (06.12.22): Matthew 18.12-14
At the heart of the Parable of the Lost Sheep is a simple, yet profound, message: Everyone matters to God who does not want to lose even one of us.
#LostSheep #HumanWorth
