“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3)
Psalm 100 echoes with God’s joyful praise in gratitude for God’s steadfast love and grace. It portrays a community of God’s people joined together as they center their focus on God’s majesty, goodness and strength. And the picture of God’s sheep brings to mind a people united under the protection of a caring shepherd.
The past several weeks I made two new friends. They are no strangers to CPC, but both Martha Henry and Pastor Ronald Britt have become known to me as fellow sheep of the same flock under the Lordship of King Jesus. They are a dear brother and sister in Christ whom I want to get to know better as we partner together for the cause of Christ.
Pastor Britt served in the US Army and was stationed at Fort Ord when he became a member of the Greater Victory Temple (GVT), part of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) family of churches, with nearly 8.8 million members worldwide. After serving for 23 years as Deputy Sheriff for Santa Clara County Department of Corrections he transitioned from being a long-time elder in the church to the be called as Pastor of GVT in 2015.
Sister Martha Henry is a teacher globally online and locally in Seaside who has a longstanding relationship with CPC. Many know her from a tutoring program at GVT that connected students with our own CPC folks. She also ministers to her community through a food pantry, community garden and free little library, of which we support. Her infectious joy means God has used her to be a bridge-builder and gospel herald for decades.
We are each sheep of the same Shepherd. We may worship at different churches, have diverse backgrounds and even hold varying theological stances, but what we have in common is that we belong to Him. We will be joyfully praising God for eternity as one flock and we’d like to join together to see a little bit of the heavenly realities to be revealed on earth as we work together on Kingdom endeavors (Matthew 6:10).
Living Out the Word of God
Please join us online Wednesday July 1 at 6pm for a Patio Talk on race relations and the gospel (https://www.facebook.com/carmelpreschurch/). In preparation for the discussion, Pastor Britt requested we would watch this informative video from Phil Vischer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGUwcs9qJXY). Pray for us as we pursue a mutually edifying relationship that speaks into each other’s lives.
Prayer
Good Shepherd, we come before You in unity and confidence in Your love. Help us to see the beauty of each other’s uniqueness while celebrating our unity in You. May You be glorified in the oneness that Christ prayed His disciples would experience and the oneness that the early Church displayed. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done! Amen.