More Than Words

Christians say that Jesus is the "Good Shepherd."  We say that with our voices and we sing songs that say that is true.  Do we also say it with our lives?  

Here are some questions to pray over as we prepare for worship tonight at Crossroads:

• Do you really want to hear your Good Shepherd's voice or do you prefer to go your own way?  
• Is there evidence from your life that our Good Shepherd has called you?
• Are there times you have obeyed His voice, changing something in your life, getting you out of an unwise or sinful path?
• Can you think of an example from the last week? 
• Are there ways you still need to surrender to what you know your Good Shepherd is saying?

Saying one thing and doing another makes our "saying" into a lie. That's not what Jesus has in mind when he asks who we "say" he is.  Jesus is asking you what we truly believe and DO now, in these days, in the circumstances and situation in which we find yourself now.  Are there ways in which your life demonstrates that you are desiring to follow our Lord?  Is Jesus really real for you?  Do you truly want to hear what He has to say?

Come and be with us tonight (see details below).  Let's be Real about our Good Shepherd.  For He loves you more than you will ever completely know.

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At 5:45 p.m., weather permitting, we'll get together at Crossroads Community Church for a simple soup supper and then, at 6:30, we'll move to the worship area for singing, scripture, conversation and prayer.  This is the season of "Lent."  We're continuing this Lenten tradition because it's truly a blessing.  How wonderful to gather for worship twice in a week instead of only once.

Through our cooperative relationship with North Heights and Community of Hope, we are in our second week of a series focused on the "I AM" messages of Jesus and Jesus' question "Who Do You Say that I Am?"  Tonight our theme is from John 10 where Jesus says "I Am the Good Shepherd."  The Good Shepherd brings Psalm 23 to mind as well as Old Testament promises like this one from Jeremiah 3:15 - "I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding."

There are many aspects of the idea that Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  The one that is most important, most important because it allows us to trust Him for the rest of life, is the fact that Jesus love us more than we will ever know.  When Jesus says "I Am the Good Shepherd" he immediately continues by saying that he "lays down his life for the sheep."  That's we can trust him to lead us always, every day.  We can.  Will we?  Will you?

I hear God calling us to focus on hearing and obeying the voice of the Good Shepherd tonight for several reasons.  (1) As you read through John 10, you'll see that theme coming forward several times.  (2) Hearing the voice of God has been major theme of a small group that several of us from Crossroads have experienced.  In what we call a "huddle" we look for "kairos" moments in our lives when God is speaking and then discuss the changes God is calling us to make.  (3) Yesterday the Lord arranged for two conversations about hearing God's voice, one with a Crossroads partner who is seeking after God with all her heart, and one with a friend who does not believe we can hear God's voice at all.  So, we will sing, hear scripture, discuss and pray together tonight, asking God to speak to us, and surrendering ourselves to follow His lead.

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* NOTE:  The Lord calls us to "enter the circle" of repentance/change and belief/action by bringing us to kairos moments.  More about those moments, and "the circle" can be found by clicking the word ►kairos◄.

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