16 November

The local church is the hope of the world,’ writes Bill Hybels. ‘There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right.’ The community of Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep (v.20), is the most wonderful community on earth. It is ‘held together by love’ (v.1, MSG). This love is not just about feelings.

Let’s seek to be a community that grows like the mustard seed and becomes a place where the lost, the broken and the lonely can perch in its shade – a community that knows the Lord, where people really matter, and where we enjoy the leadership of our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep.