BH Bulletin - Thursday 30 July 2020

Thought for the Day by Rich Arnold
​(Youth and Families Minister at Holy Cross)

​Imagine you are a sheep!  (Insert sheep name here.  I’m going with Fluffy!)  As a sheep, what is it you need?  It is pretty simple isn’t it? You need a safe place and a green place.   
Well if you are the sheep in Psalm 23 then you are a particularly happy sheep because you really do have all that you need!   

At our 7pm Holy Cross services we are slowly going through the much-loved Psalm 23.  It is unusual to preach through any passage just a verse or two at a time, but it certainly allows for deep reflection on every little bit of it!  Last Sunday, we looked at v2:  
 
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters.

This a picture of plenty: a lush meadow full of green grass and fresh water.   
It is a picture of security: away from dangerous craggy rock and wild animals 
It is a picture of rest: the word quiet is same word for rest used in other Psalms 
This is a sheep’s dream! It is the best possible safe place and green place!  If you are Fluffy (or whatever sheep name you have decided for yourself), this is where you can truly flourish.  “Life doesn’t get any better than this!” you bleat to yourself. 
 
Notice the language of he makes me and he leads me.  The shepherd wants this blessed life for his sheep so he will make sure they have it.  And of course, this is a picture of the blessed life for all those who follow the Shepherding God.  King David (who wrote the Psalm) partially experienced the blessing of following his Shepherd.  King Jesus fully enjoyed the blessing of following his Heavenly Father.  In Christ, we too can know this life of blessing.  When we listen to, trust him and follow our Shepherding God, he will lead us to this blessed life!  That is how we can flourish.   
 
This blessed life doesn’t mean we will never face hard times.  Just as David and Jesus himself faced dark days, our Shepherd may lead us first through the hardships in order to bring us to blessing.  This blessed life doesn’t mean we have everything we want.  It does however mean we have everything we need- we lack nothing that is truly good for us.  John Calvin wrote ‘Those who enjoy the greatest abundance of outward good things are empty and famished if God is not their shepherd’. 
 
More than that, this blessed life is not just for now.  The garden meadow of Psalm 23:2 is a picture of life in the New Creation.  Our Shepherding God will one day lead us into a perfect place of plenty, security, and rest for all eternity!   That is where we – God’s sheep – will truly flourish.  On that day we will be say ‘life doesn’t get any better than this!’ 
​Rich

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​Sunday 2 August 9.00am Service. Booking now open.

​Places are going fast for this Sunday's service at Bishop Hannington. We would love you to be there. There are still some places available. All are welcome so please sign in.
You can book your place by either using MyChurchsuite, the website or if you don’t have internet access you can ring the office.  You will need to book a place for everyone in your group that is coming including anyone under 18.

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