Christ the Rock Community Church: Recent Episodes
Christ the Rock Community Church
One of the most famous phrases in Scripture, one that even most non-churchgoers are familiar with, is “The
Lord is my Shepherd”. But despite its ubiquity, much of this phrase’s meaning has been lost to us. The desert
people of Jesus’ day would have had firsthand knowledge of what shepherding looked like. When Jesus said,
“I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11), what did He mean?
Being a shepherd is not a glamorous calling. Shepherds are often at the bottom of the social ladder, boys and
young girls more than grown men. They care for flocks of sheep prone to wandering off. In the deserts of the
Middle East, places to graze are few and far between, and these shepherds put themselves in danger to find
that food for their sheep and to rescue those who go missing. They get to know each sheep in their flock
individually, with distinctions that would be lost on an outsider. Yet for all their work the shepherd receives no
glory.
We need a guide as the shepherd is to the sheep, someone to show us where to go. It is surprising that the
God of the Universe would want to engage in as lowly a profession as a shepherd. A shepherd certainly isn’t
the leader that Israel was expecting Jesus to be. They wanted a military leader; someone who would tell them
where to go and what to do, but a shepherd leads much differently. Israel didn’t get the leader they expected,
but they got the shepherd they needed.
What is a redeemer? And why do we need one? In our age of coupons, rebates, deals, and offers, what does it
mean that we have been redeemed and bought back?
Before we discuss what redeeming means, we need to address why we need to be redeemed. What is the
condition of humanity that makes it necessary for us to be bought back out of our bondage?
When we see our own condition and recognize what Jesus has done to bring us out, we are moved by
compassion for others. We cannot hold back when we truly understand what being redeemed means. It’s so
much more than getting a dollar off – it’s about the exchange of my life for His, and that’s a free offer to
anyone willing to accept. We can share this offer with all we know.
“I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends.” “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” “That’s what Friends are For.” And
of course, the new classic “Umbrella”. Our culture loves to celebrate friendship…and not without reason.
Friendship is an essential element of our existence. God designed us to live in community with others, to do
life together, to share our joys and sorrows, to hold each other accountable, to join hands in worship.
It can seem odd to say that Jesus is our Friend. It seems too simple, more like the topic of a kids’ Sunday
School song than a reality we can live out. So what did Jesus mean when He said that He is our Friend? “No
longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)
A key shift is happening here: Our relationship with Jesus is no longer that of a master and a servant. It’s not a
relationship where our superior issues commands and we follow them out of fear, compulsion, or
helplessness. It’s a relationship where we come together to partner with Jesus in the service of bringing glory
to the Father.
One of the most celebrated encounters Jesus has in the Gospels is when a sinful woman washes His feet with
her tears and her hair. Those around Jesus were shocked that He would allow Himself to be so intimate with
someone so sinful.
People would expect Jesus to shun the woman who washed his feet at dinner because of her past; the
Pharisees were shocked that Jesus would let himself be touched by her, but Jesus accepted what she brought
to him with love. Not only did He accept her, he defended her. Jesus forgave her, fully aware of what her sin
was, and Jesus honored her sacrifice and the enormity of what she brought to him. She didn’t even need to
speak during the entire story – she needed no defense. It was not because of her arguments that Jesus
bestowed His forgiveness.
We need to recognize our need for forgiveness before we can accept it. However, it is not because of our
effort that we receive it – it is freely given. And when something is that freely given, we cannot keep it to
ourselves. We often put ourselves into the position of the Pharisees. Who would the people be today that we
would shun? Whose sins would we say cannot be forgiven? How might Jesus be asking us to both extend and
receive forgiveness?
Our culture recoils at words like “authority” and “judge”. This is a society that elevates tolerance and
acceptance as the highest values. So why would we want to follow a God who is our Judge?
The woman caught in adultery and the woman at the well, two of Jesus’s best known encounters, didn’t need
anyone else to judge them. There were plenty of bystanders around for that. What they both NEEDED was
Christ as a compassionate judge. The way these women were treated by Jesus was completely different from
how everyone else would have treated them. Jesus is the only one who could have condemned them and
been totally justified, but He didn’t. He extends that same compassion to us. He’s not willing that any perish.
It may be time for us to change our perspective on absolutes. We may need to redefine what a judge is. And
when we do, we will recognize that we DO want to live in a world with a Judge. And because the only one who
can judge us has extended forgiveness to us, we can extend that same forgiveness to others.
So many members of our Body struggle with the weight of their past sin and shame. Even though we
embrace Christ as Lord and Savior and thank Him for His grace and forgiveness, we are still inundated with
reminders of who we were before. Many of us have to live daily with the consequences of choices we made.
We have learned to live with guilt and shame as our companions.
But that isn’t how it’s supposed to be. God doesn’t want His children to remain in bondage to their pasts. We
are new creations in Christ. And while we can’t change the past, we can give it to the One who gave Himself
so we could be free.
One of the certainties of life is that nothing is certain. No matter how well we try to plan and avoid
inconveniences and disasters, even the best-laid plans can go astray. The unpredictability of life gives rise to
many fears. And while you may have different fears than the person sitting next to you, we all struggle with
fear.
A huge component of fear is loss of control. This loss of control can cause us to give in to fear and crawl
inward, or it can lead us to yield our lives to the One who gave us life and who holds us in the palm of His
hand.
Many figures in Scripture struggled with fear. Jonah’s life was drastically altered when he gave in to fear. Yet
many trusted God to lead them, even while admitting their (often understandable) fear. Moses didn’t want to
go where God called him, but let God use him. Esther and Daniel feared for their lives but followed God’s call
to speak truth. Caleb and Joshua, likewise, had to take great risks.
What are you afraid of? What keeps you up at night?
Is it … loneliness? Singleness? Remaining childless? A lonely marriage? Intimacy? Heights? Spiders? Safety?
Your children’s security?
And what would it look like for you to entrust that to God?
Did you ever play make-believe as a child? Did you imagine your house, your spouse, your job, your kids?
Does your current reality match your dreams?
When things don’t turn out the way we want, it can be so easy to become disillusioned and hold more tightly
to our dreams. We vow to do whatever it takes so that things work out the way we want them to. But there is
always that dark corner of our minds that whispers that it could all come crashing down at any moment. The
louder that voice gets, the tighter our grip becomes.
Or maybe you love where you are. You are comfortable. But you are constantly on the edge of your seat,
waiting for that phone call that will turn everything upside down.
There is no way that any of us can know what the future holds. Yet we can know with absolute certainty that
the God we serve controls it. Our future is a mystery, one that we can do nothing to control. But we can make
the choice to surrender our futures to the One who surrendered Himself for us.