Sunday’s Blessing – 04/26/2026 – 4th Sunday of Easter: Good Shepherd Sunday

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/26/2026 – 4th Sunday of Easter: Good Shepherd Sunday

Today’s focus is on hearing the voice of Jesus and trusting Him. One of the most loved images of Jesus is that of a shepherd. Psalm 23 describes the role of God as Shepherd over His people, Israel. The New Testament reality is seeing those same attributes, written by David so many years before the Messiah came, applied to Jesus and His care for the Church.

One of the essential elements in the relationship between the sheep and their shepherd is that of knowing his voice and then trusting the message you hear from the shepherd. One exercise I find helpful is studying all the various names attributed to all three of the Godhead: the Father, the Son (or Word as John calls Him), and the Holy Spirit. There are hundreds of titles, both formal and implied, for all three of the Trinity. Knowing these and the context in which they appear can help you develop a strong relationship with God. You learn about His character, His nature, and get familiar with His voice.

There’s a song by Babbie Mason called “Trust His Heart” which speaks to this very thing. The chorus of the song says:

God is too wise to be mistaken

God is too good to be unkind

So when you don't understand

When don't see His plan

When you can't trace His hand

Trust His Heart

When you find yourself in those moments of not knowing, you need to be able to recognize the voice of the Shepherd when He speaks. It can literally mean the difference between life and death. If you do not know God’s heart for yourself you can be easily swayed to follow the voice of another which can lead you into a dangerous place, or at the very least, into a place outside of where God wants you to be.

Today’s blessing:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever. Psalm 23 (ESV)

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/19/2026 – 3rd Sunday of Easter - Continued celebration of the Resurrection and Its Impact on the Early Church

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/19/2026 – 3rd Sunday of Easter - Continued celebration of the Resurrection and Its Impact on the Early Church

Every Sunday in the liturgical calendar is Resurrection Sunday. On this particular day, the 3rd Sunday of Easter, the focus is on the Continued celebration of the Resurrection and Its Impact on the Early Church. After Jesus came out of the tomb, He was seen by many people. Some say as many as 515 people saw Jesus in the flesh, alive, after He was crucified, buried, and then was raised from the dead. That’s a lot of people! It’s not easy to get even a few people to concoct a false narrative about most anything. But 515 people? That would be nearly impossible.

There had already been a precedent for someone coming back from the dead. Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, brother of Martha and Mary, came out of the tomb at Jesus’ command. He had been dead for several days to the point that the sisters discouraged the men from rolling away the cover of the entrance to the tomb, saying, “He’s already stinking.” Jesus gave the command, “Lazarus, come forth.” When Lazarus stepped out of the tomb it caused quite a stir.

But now Jesus, who had prophesied His own resurrection, comparing it to rebuilding the temple after it was demolished, stood in their presence alive, bearing in His body the scars of the nails and the spear, the crown of thorns and the scourging, speaking words which now carried a new weight saying, “Come, place your finger in the holes. They are real.”

When word began to spread that Jesus was, indeed, alive it ignited faith in what had been spoken by this one called Jesus, and they believed He was the Messiah sent by God to redeem mankind back to their Creator. Like the two who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, just His words caused their hearts to “burn within us”.

In just a few more weeks after the resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven right before the eyes of many of these people. They heard His final words of hope when the Promised One, the Holy Spirit, would be sent to abide IN them, not just ON them as He had up until this time. That would be the confidence they would have of a new heart and a new life.

Today’s Blessing:

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:26-30 (ESV)

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/12/2026 – 2nd Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/12/2026 – 2nd Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy

I’m still learning about the liturgical calendar. I never knew the Easter theme continued for seven weeks until Pentecost Sunday. This year, the seven themes for the Sundays of Easter cover the full scope of the relationship between the Believer and the Creator.

Since this series started last week (and I missed it) let’s look at this year’s theme for Easter Sunday was the Focus of Hope, Victory Over Death, and New Beginnings. Jesus promised His disciples that He would rise from the dead on the third day. He wanted to give them something to hope for, something to believe in, something to replace the black hole the crucifixion of Jesus would create in their soul.

Through the victory over Death, Hell, and the Grave, He restored their belief that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah. Life as they knew it would never be the same. It truly was a time of new beginnings.

This week, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, calls us to look at Divine Mercy. As humans, we have the ability to show a level of mercy to others. Things like compassion, pity, and empathy can lead us to things for others, but when you look back at all Christ endured in the week leading up to the crucifixion, you see something beyond human caring. You see Divine Mercy in action. Jesus, laying down every aspect of His human life to become the Supreme Sacrifice needed to save mankind, gave Himself up as the Passover Lamb without spot or blemish, providing the blood needed for the propitiation (see earlier post explaining this) to redeem all people, past, present, and future.

When Jesus presented Himself to the disciples and others in the days following His crucifixion, He restored hope in the promise of the Father to send the Second Adam, the Son of God, to once-for-all remove the penalty of sin brought on by the First Adam. Jesus fulfilled the promise made by the Creator in the Garden of Eden when He proclaimed, “The seed of Eve would crush the head of the serpent (satan).” This was accomplished by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Divine Mercy had intervened into human existence to make salvation possible. This was the purpose of Easter.

Today’s Blessing:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4-6 (ESV)

Sunday’s Blessing- 04/05/2026 - Easter Sunday

Sunday’s Blessing- 04/05/2026 - Easter Sunday

He is risen indeed!