Sermon Category: The Shepherd's Call

What is the final destination to which the Shepherd’s call summons us? The final destination of those who answer his call is pictured as God’s eschatological banquet in his very palace where he himself is the host! God’s lavish generosity and life-satisfying sufficiency poured on those whose favor rests is the final destination of his people. Paradoxically, this banquet is also an invitation to the enemies of God’s people to repent and be reconciled with their gracious host. God’s gracious, ever-pursuing love for humanity is, thus, the rich and fertile ground out of which our mission grows. God’s Table is an invitation to dwell in his house forever. Until the Kingdom comes, there is always a place at his Table for those who would answer his call.

To be saved does not mean to be pain-free. At least not this side of the resurrection. Receiving the gift of eternal life assures us of our ultimate destination in God’s presence but also ushers us into a journey where pain and suffering are part of the Shepherd’s call. As we grow in our commitment to the Shepherd’s way, we grow from faith into hope. It is in this part of the journey that we learn to embrace God’s sufficiency as he overcomes our deepest fears leading us through the valley of the shadow of our own mortality. Victory over our deepest fears is possible for as the psalmist declares “I will fear not evil, for you are with me.

Conversion is our first step in the disciple-maker’s journey. We cannot give what we have not received. The Shepherd’s call is first a call to salvation where we turn our back to sin to embrace God’s life-satisfying sufficiency. Salvation is not about what we do for God but what he has already done for us.