“The LORD is my Shepherd.” Pop quiz: where is that from? Psalm 23, of course. But how many of us have actually met a shepherd? In the ancient world, nearly everyone would have raised their hand. Shepherds were everywhere. Sheep were the backbone of the economy — providing milk, wool, occasional meat, and even functioning as currency. They were also the most common sacrificial animals.

wShepherding was hard, costly, messy work. Long nights. Open fields. No synagogue attendance because someone had to watch the flock. And the smell… well, it lingered.

Sheep themselves are complicated creatures. They have surprising intelligence — remembering faces for two years, recalling the layout of a maze after 22 weeks, maybe even recording podcasts if you believe the rumors. But when it comes to real-time decision making, they are notorious for self-destructive behavior: falling into streams and drowning, getting stuck in briars, flipping onto their backs and dying unless someone helps them up, or in one infamous case in Turkey, following one another off a cliff by the hundreds.

These creatures desperately need a shepherd.

David says, “The LORD is my shepherd.” My protector. My provider. My rescuer. My midnight companion. The God who comes so close that He begins to smell like me… and He does not mind.

When Heaven Broke In: The Shepherds Meet the Savior

Luke 2 brings us into the quiet of the night. Shepherds are keeping watch over their flocks. Imagine the scene: a flat hillside dotted with sheep, caves carved into the mountains behind them where animals could be penned at night, and a cliff overlooking a star-filled sky.

Suddenly — flash.
An angel appears. The “glory of the Lord” explodes around them. And these rugged, unflappable men are utterly terrified. God’s glory hadn’t shown up visibly since the dedication of the temple nearly a thousand years earlier. Now, it returns to a field outside Bethlehem.

The angel delivers the classic opening line of angel school: “Do not be afraid.”
Because something massive is happening.

A Savior has been born. The Messiah. The Lord.
You’ll find Him wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger — not significant unless you are trying to locate the one baby in Bethlehem sleeping in a feeding trough.

Even the location carries meaning. Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” The Bread of Life is born there. And it’s no accident that Bethlehem was known for raising the sheep used for temple sacrifices. Jesus is born in a sheep’s cave, laid in a sheep’s trough, in a town where lambs are raised to die.

Thirty years later, John the Baptist will point to Jesus and say, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”
Three years after that, Jesus will die at the exact moment the Passover lamb is sacrificed.

The Shepherd is also the Lamb.

Heaven erupts. A vast angelic army appears and proclaims,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

And the shepherds — still shaking — say, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing…”

God Chooses the Stinky Ones: The First Messengers

The first to the manger were not religious leaders. Not royalty. Not influencers. Shepherds. Uncredentialed, unpolished, stinky shepherds.

And God chose them.

They held Jesus first.
They believed the message first.
And they became the first evangelists.

They went into Bethlehem and told everyone, “We saw angels! We saw the Messiah! God is here!” They didn’t care who believed them. It became the story they told for the rest of their lives — the greatest story they ever carried.

Why? Because people who witness God do the impossible become unstoppable.

Be the Shepherds: Carry the Story Everywhere You Go

God still chooses ordinary, imperfect people. People who think, “I’m just a…”
A kid.
A business guy.
A stay-at-home mom.
A student.
A retiree.

Exactly the people God loves to use.

Being a modern “shepherd” looks like curiosity, compassion, and courage. Asking questions. Noticing people. Being fascinated with their stories. Watching for the openings God creates.

The pastor told a story about a dental trip to Mexico. A brilliant dentist named Dr. Arturo — not a Christian — played English worship music during surgery because he found it uplifting. While lying in the chair, the pastor sensed God nudging him to speak truth. Afterward he said, “You may not be a Christian yet, but I think God may be after your heart.”
Dr. Arturo replied, “Maybe.”

God is always moving. We simply step into what He is already doing.

So the challenge is simple.

Pray for One

Ask God to give you one person — someone in your relational circle — to bless, pray for, encourage, invite, or walk alongside. Someone who needs the hope of Jesus.

Our church uses lightbulbs as symbols — reminders that Jesus is the light within us, and His light is meant to shine into our friendships, families, workplaces, and neighborhoods. This week we begin again:
Pause. Pray. Ask.
When God brings a name to your mind, write it down and commit to pray for them.

We ended the service holding our bulbs high, praying that the light of Christ would break into the lives of the people we love.

Message recap adapted from the December 7, 2025, message by Minister Mark Ashton.

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