OK, so what if Santa Claus were real? What if there really was a big man with a red suit who visited your house one night a year by sliding down the chimney with his big bag of gifts? What if this guy really existed . . . but what if you did not know about him? What if Santa Claus was a real guy who really did what “The Night Before Christmas” said, but you had never heard the story? Now if Santa Claus did exist, and you did not know anything about him, how would you react at midnight on December 24 if you heard a “thud” on your rooftop? As you would spring to your feet to see what was the matter, you would find a grown man hiding behind a bushy beard packing (or unpacking . . . from your angle it is tough to say) an overgrown pillow case worth of stuff in your living room. What would you do? You would either call the cops or grab your shotgun! But why would anyone do that to good old Saint Nick?
Think about it for a moment. Why would you assume that the man in the red suit intended to cause you harm instead of help you? I really want to know your answers (you can comment to this post and let me know!)
This Sunday at Wildwood we will be exploring our answers to that question as we look at John 10:9-10 together. I believe the reason we expect the worst from the man in red, is the same reason we “expect the worst” from the direction we get from our Heavenly Father. We’ll take a look at that in more detail on Sunday.
For the past several weeks in our Sunday morning worship services, Pastor Bruce Hess has been leading us through a discussion of Psalm 23, where we have seen that “The Lord is my shepherd.” This Sunday, in our John 10 passage, Jesus further expands on the shepherd/sheep imagery to tell us something more about our relationship with Him. We will take a look at this passage together on Sunday. Hope you can join us at either 9:30 or 10:50 AM!