- Acts 13: 14, 43-52
- Psalm 100: 1-2, 3, 5
- Revelations 7: 9, 14b-17
- John 10: 27-30
- Where did my comfort zone go?
- How has God opened you up to bigger, more different possibilities in your life over the past few years?
- What made it difficult for you to step into those broader horizons, those opportunities?
- Do you think that you're getting any better at that process?
- Legacy
- There is so much that we want to leave to our children - our faith, morals, values, and that heirloom china cabinet of Aunt Mabel's that no one seems to be able to find a place for.
- How do you tell what's important for that next generation, the things that are immutable, transcendant, versus just something that was meaningful to your generation, and should just stay there?
- How do you tell what's important for the future you, the person that will wake up in your skin tomorrow morning, next year, in a decade? How do you tell what to hold on to and what has served its purpose and is ready to be shed, like old snakeskin?
- Do you think Jesus ever struggled with such questions?
- Stress and distress
- The apocalyptic vision of Revelation warns of prolonged and intense struggle at the end of the age. How can we be better prepared for that?
- What place do you think fellowship with fellow believers will have in giving us the strength to weather those days?
- What can we start doing today to strengthen those ties, make our communities stronger?
- Is it worth it?
- To know and to be known
- How well are you known? If your funeral were held today and you were able to attend (anonymously of course, no need to frighten the guests), what might you hear said about you?
- Do you feel comfortable with that level of understanding of others for you, or would you like others to understand you better, really appreciate the "real you"?
- What do you think is stopping you from sharing that innermost self with others?
- What is slowing you down from sharing that person with Jesus?
- Am I willing/able to embrace all those whom God sends my way?
- How have I been tending the sheep of God's pasture lately?
- How am I preparing the communities that I'm a part of for the tough times ahead?
- How am I learning the sound of God's voice better in my life?
Shepherd me oh God
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Just how high on Mazlow's pyramid does your average sheep go?
Is this about contentment with the basics like food and safety?
Or is the Good Shepherd about fulfilling deeper desires?
The crying need for the transcendent,
That still small voice beyond and other than ourselves,
Can be frightening at times, asking that we leave the security
Of the merely good enough, and strike out on a pilgrimage.
The voice of our smaller selves, the scared child within,
Wants to know when good enough is truly good enough,
When this growing, stretching, seeking, will finally rest.
But the real me, my best self, hears a call within the call.
And I must find the courage to rummage through my pack
And ask what I will leave behind this time, and what is needed still.
Knowing that the way provides most of what's needed
Once I set foot upon the next step.
Just how high on Mazlow's pyramid does your average sheep go?
Is this about contentment with the basics like food and safety?
Or is the Good Shepherd about fulfilling deeper desires?
The crying need for the transcendent,
That still small voice beyond and other than ourselves,
Can be frightening at times, asking that we leave the security
Of the merely good enough, and strike out on a pilgrimage.
The voice of our smaller selves, the scared child within,
Wants to know when good enough is truly good enough,
When this growing, stretching, seeking, will finally rest.
But the real me, my best self, hears a call within the call.
And I must find the courage to rummage through my pack
And ask what I will leave behind this time, and what is needed still.
Knowing that the way provides most of what's needed
Once I set foot upon the next step.
Shalom!
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