A member of my church Sharon Hartsell has been involved in a mentoring program for students in our county who are classified as homeless. A few years back, Sharon was telling me that her student invited her to a “Character Counts” banquet. In our county, it is quite an achievement and honor for a student to earn this award – any student really, but much more so for someone who lives under tremendous uncertainty and stress. Sharon had been working with this student for almost a year at that point.

At the banquet, each student was allowed to bring someone up onto the stage with them and say a few words. When they arrived, they noticed that all the other students had parents or grandparents with them.  

Sharon’s student invited her to come up with her, and she said to the audience, “I didn’t have a mom or a dad to bring up here with me, so I invited my mentor, Ms. Sharon. And, she really is my mentor… and I’m glad she is here.”

As they were walking off the stage, the Superintendent of the schools, leaned over and said to Sharon, “We save one at a time.” 

We save one at a time. 

This reminds me of something that my friend Rev. Bob Gamble says. He says that people change people. Yes, education is important – but it takes a teacher. Yes, faith is important, but it takes someone to share that faith and someone to nurture that faith. It is ever people who change people. 

I wonder whose lives you are impacting… I wonder whose life God may be calling you to touch.  

Let us pray: God of Grace, thank you for sending Jesus to touch and change our lives. May our relationships with other people bring grace and peace to them; and to us. Amen. 

John Ortberg tells the story of a friend who made his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line from Chicago to Georgia. On that first morning, he went into a restaurant to order breakfast. It seemed that every dish included something called grits. Not being familiar with this southern delicacy, he asked the waitress, “Could you tell me, exactly what is a grit?” Looking down on him with a mixture of compassion and condescension, she said, “Sugar, you can’t get just one grit. They always come together.”

In the book of Kings, chapter 19, the prophet Elijah is running for his life. He lies down under a broom tree and he prays, “It is enough now, O Lord, take away my life…” When God responds, “What are you doing here, Elijah?,” Elijah responds, “… the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left…”

Elijah feels alone. So much so that he despairs of life itself. 

Later, God shares with Elijah that there are 7,000 left – who are with him. There are others.

In the book of Genesis, near the very beginning of the Bible, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” God created us to be in relationship with others. God created us for community. 

My prayer today is that you would come to see the people around you as a gift. May you cherish them and share your life deeply. 

Let us pray: Loving God, I pray today, especially for those who are feeling isolated or alone. May they know your presence with them – even now. Help each of us indeed feel the love of those we love. In your time, bring us together again. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yesterday, we reflected on Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10), and his challenging statement, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

Who are the other sheep?

On one level, Jesus words are a deep challenge to all denominationalism. On another level, I think about Christians around the globe.

When I was in Sarasota, every year we sent mission teams to Nicaragua. One year we helped rebuild houses destroyed by a hurricane. Other times, we worked with a local community group with farming, or whatever they needed.

The coolest part about this was that we would stay in people’s homes. We’d live with them for the entire week. These homes were pretty basic – dirt floors, often, no glass windows, no a/c, no indoor plumbing. Cooking was often done over a wood-burning stove outside. The people were very poor. And yet they were extremely hard-working, and very generous. There was a tremendous sense of hospitality and welcome.

But I think what surprised us the most, was that these folks were all people of deep faith. They trusted God’s providence from one day to the next… They had to…

I think what surprised us, was that initially, we thought we were somehow bringing the gospel to them… But actually, through our time together, it was our own faith that grew…

And then I think about a missionary our church supports in Indonesia, Farsiana, and another one, Bob Gamble in Ukraine. I wonder also about churches in China and in Afghanistan and churches in Kenya and Korea. I can only imagine their respective churches and styles of worship. I have to believe they would be very different. It is truly amazing to think that we all share that same compelling faith that touches hearts and lives.

Let us pray: We remember today, O God, that we have deep ties and even a spiritual kinship with people across the globe… With all the forces that would seek to divide, we ask for your healing grace. Begin with us; through Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Amen.

Psalm 23 is much loved. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

Powerful imagery isn’t it? Even though the realities of shepherding and sheep are far removed from our suburban setting, it still resonates.

In the Gospel of John (chapter 10), Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The shepherd calls the sheep by name and leads them out… He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

He calls the sheep by name and they know his voice… 

There is an intimacy to that. 

I’ve never been to the Middle East, but I understand that outside of the fertile valleys, there is a lot of desolate rocky land. In the Bible, that desolate, rocky, dry land is referred to as the wilderness or the desert. And so you can imagine shepherds leading the sheep across the wasteland to find the green pastures for food, and still waters for drink. And I think about all the dangers along the way: wild animals, thieves, injuries. On top of that, sheep are notoriously dumb… and are prone to wander off. They clearly need a shepherd!

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find myself in the wilderness… Sometimes I’m there like the stupid sheep because I’ve wandered off in the wrong direction…. I find myself confused or lost. Made a bad choice. Made a bad turn.

And other times I’m there in that wilderness by no fault of my own… As life unfolds, we don’t have to travel very far to learn that much of it is completely out of our control.

One of the things I really appreciate about these passages of scripture is that they don’t deny reality. Yes, the Lord is our shepherd. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t still have to travel through dark valleys, face enemies, or find ourselves in the wilderness.

But it does mean that we do not face them alone…

Let us pray: Jesus, you are indeed the Good Shepherd. And you have laid down your life for us. We praise you. Lead us, and guide us, we pray, as we seek to follow you all of our days. Amen.

Today’s message was written by the founder of Dial Hope, the Rev. Roger Kunkel

One of my favorite movies is “Forest Gump” which came to the theaters over 10 years ago. It literally took America by storm! Do you remember these Forest Gump sayings: “Stupid is as stupid does,” and “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” If you’ll pardon the pun, I want to suggest that we need more Christian Gumption. The word Christian means Christlike, and the word gumption means boldness, courage, wisdom, resourcefulness, strength. Forest Gump has a simple faith in which he lives boldly. He lives life unselfishly. He loves people unconditionally. He trusts God unreservedly. That basic outline is not only a summation of Forrest Gump’s life, it also is a pretty good synopsis of the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. 

When Jesus says things, such as “Be humble-minded,” “Be obedient,” “Be merciful,” “Be pure in heart,” Be peacemakers,” “Be the salt of the earth and light of the world,” “Turn the other cheek,” “Go the second mile,” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” he means “Have Christian Gumption.” Be bold and confident and courageous and strong. Live boldly in the spirit of Christ and trust God to bring it outright. In other words, live life unselfishly! Love people unconditionally! Trust God unreservedly! Trust God.  

Let us pray: Loving God of song and saga, of earth and history, we thank you for the rich heritage of our nation; for pilgrim’s feet and patriot’s dream; for fruited plain and purple mountains majesty, for universities and churches; for Indian and Scottish and Irish and Italian and Chinese and Puerto Rican and Slavic and Greek; for Protestant and Catholic and Jew, and Mormon, Amish, Mennonite, and Muslim. We pray for the dedication to keep the dream alive, the dream to deepen the sense of communication among races and individuals. Let the spirit of Christ unite our hearts and minds that we may praise you forever. Transform our attitudes, so that we live in excitement and expectation. Teach us to stand on tiptoe, listening for your voice and looking for the evidence of your presence, yes, even in our pain, our hurt, our illness. Anoint every listener with unexpected grace, especially those struggling to be whole. Bless us now so we may be a blessing to others, in Jesus’ name. Amen.