May 10, 2026 - APEST: Shepherd

If you were a kid growing up in ancient Israel, Pastor Steven says, you'd have two action figures on your dresser you'd never trade: Moses and David. Both literal shepherds before they became shepherds of God's people. That image runs all the way through Psalm 23 and into Jesus calling himself the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. But what does that look like in a local church? A shepherd provides, guides, and protects. And the poet Thomas Merton reminds us why that matters: we all have paper flesh. We're fragile. We need people whose gift is true listening and genuine presence, people who cultivate the kind of caring culture where the rest of us can actually grow.