Coming This Weekend: Ninth Sunday after Pentecost - JESUS MODELS A COMPASSIONATE SHEPHERD’S HEART

In the ancient Middle East, a shepherd needed certain skills to do his job well: knowledge of edible grasses, ability to trim hooves, capacity to fend off predators, and competency to birth lambs. However, the greatest qualification of a shepherd is much simpler. A good shepherd needed to care for his sheep. Without that, none of those other skills would be fully utilized.

In Scripture, meaningful ministry is often pictured as a compassionate shepherd caring for his sheep: Jesus’ care for us; a spiritual leader’s care for his “flock.” Certainly, gospel ministry requires specific skills: the ability to actively listen to people, the aptitude for applying the gospel to someone’s situation, etc. But ultimately, meaningful ministry requires a compassionate heart—a profound caring for others. An individual might know God’s Word backward and forwards. But if they lack compassion, they will not fully perform meaningful ministry. Today, we ask the Spirit to see how Jesus models a compassionate shepherd’s heart so that we might be filled with that same compassion.

Want to hear more? See you this weekend: Saturday at 5:15 p.m. • Sunday at 8 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

**Please remember that during renovation, worship is held in the school commons. If you have questions, visit www.emanuelnl.org/worship-relocation.