Dear Members and Friends of Christ Lutheran Church...
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:27-28
When I was a young girl, my sister and I would spend Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:00 during the school year along with all the other children in our congregation who were in 1st to 7th grade at what was called “Saturday School”. 8th grade came with excitement as we went on to “Confirmation Class”. Throughout those years, our teachers spent time with groups of children who would probably have preferred sleeping in or playing outside with friends. But it was with these adults who generously gave of their time that we learned not only about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; but also learned that God knew us better than we knew ourselves and that He wanted a relationship with each of us. As the days drew closer to our Confirmation, we were given a paper with about 15 Bible passages and were asked to choose the passage which would forevermore be called our Confirmation verse. We were told it should be a verse we felt would be meaningful to us as we faced our futures, and to this 8th grader it seemed an undaunting task…how were we to know where the future might lead us or what would be meaningful? But as I read through the list, the Holy Spirit guided me to the verse from John 10:27-28. As I grew into my adult years, John 10:11 came to be included in my confirmation verse.
When we read of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, He is described as the true and loving Shepherd who knows His sheep. He is not a distant leader who guides us from afar, but is with us always as he protects and watches over us. He has an intimate knowledge of each of us and He calls us by name. Jesus not only calls us to his fold so that He can guide and lead us, but as the Good Shepherd, when we stray from His path He will pull us back to His path of righteousness. He knows even the worst parts of us – and still He loves us. Our Good Shepherd does not only call to us who have learned of Him and already believe in Him, but he calls out persistently to the people who have not yet heard of His goodness. The depth of His love can be felt when He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”
As His sheep, we hear His voice and respond to Him. Hearing and recognizing the voice of our good and loving Shepherd comes from listening in the silence for His voice, reading and hearing the Word of God repeatedly, and trusting the truth of all He says. His promise to us as the one true Shepherd is that no man can pluck us out of His hands and at the end of our days we will have eternal life and join Him in his kingdom.
In humility I give thanks to our Lord and Savior for the price he paid for this lowly sinner. I give praise to Him as Our Good Shepherd, who never forgets any of us, including me. He calls me by name. He forgives me by name. And when the time comes for me to breathe my last breath on this earth, He will welcome me to eternity calling me by name. I give thanks that I listened to the Holy Spirit leading me to this verse as it has guided my life and given me comfort, peace, and joy. May we all take comfort in knowing Our Good Shepherd is with us always, no matter what our circumstances may be.
In Christian love, Louise Hall
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10:11
When I was a young girl, my sister and I would spend Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:00 during the school year along with all the other children in our congregation who were in 1st to 7th grade at what was called “Saturday School”. 8th grade came with excitement as we went on to “Confirmation Class”. Throughout those years, our teachers spent time with groups of children who would probably have preferred sleeping in or playing outside with friends. But it was with these adults who generously gave of their time that we learned not only about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; but also learned that God knew us better than we knew ourselves and that He wanted a relationship with each of us. As the days drew closer to our Confirmation, we were given a paper with about 15 Bible passages and were asked to choose the passage which would forevermore be called our Confirmation verse. We were told it should be a verse we felt would be meaningful to us as we faced our futures, and to this 8th grader it seemed an undaunting task…how were we to know where the future might lead us or what would be meaningful? But as I read through the list, the Holy Spirit guided me to the verse from John 10:27-28. As I grew into my adult years, John 10:11 came to be included in my confirmation verse.
When we read of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, He is described as the true and loving Shepherd who knows His sheep. He is not a distant leader who guides us from afar, but is with us always as he protects and watches over us. He has an intimate knowledge of each of us and He calls us by name. Jesus not only calls us to his fold so that He can guide and lead us, but as the Good Shepherd, when we stray from His path He will pull us back to His path of righteousness. He knows even the worst parts of us – and still He loves us. Our Good Shepherd does not only call to us who have learned of Him and already believe in Him, but he calls out persistently to the people who have not yet heard of His goodness. The depth of His love can be felt when He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”
As His sheep, we hear His voice and respond to Him. Hearing and recognizing the voice of our good and loving Shepherd comes from listening in the silence for His voice, reading and hearing the Word of God repeatedly, and trusting the truth of all He says. His promise to us as the one true Shepherd is that no man can pluck us out of His hands and at the end of our days we will have eternal life and join Him in his kingdom.
In humility I give thanks to our Lord and Savior for the price he paid for this lowly sinner. I give praise to Him as Our Good Shepherd, who never forgets any of us, including me. He calls me by name. He forgives me by name. And when the time comes for me to breathe my last breath on this earth, He will welcome me to eternity calling me by name. I give thanks that I listened to the Holy Spirit leading me to this verse as it has guided my life and given me comfort, peace, and joy. May we all take comfort in knowing Our Good Shepherd is with us always, no matter what our circumstances may be.
In Christian love, Louise Hall
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10:11