It's Better When You're Here!

The joy of my life is to be— as a friend once named it— confetti for Jesus.

Bright. Scattered. Alive with celebration. But tonight… Good Friday asks something different of me. It asks me to gather the pieces, to still the color, to quiet the joy. Because this night is not like the others.

This is not a night for noise or lightness.

Tonight, the world slows. The sky darkens. And we remember.

We stand at the foot of the cross— not rushing past it, not softening it, not looking away.

Because if we want to truly know the brilliance of Easter morning, the bursting, radiant joy of resurrection— then we must first sit here…

in the weight, in the silence, in the sorrow of Good Friday.

Passage: John 19:16-30 CEB

As we come to the end of our Lenten journey—a season where we’ve taken a hard, honest look at the faith of our youth, where we’ve dared to deconstruct and begin reconstructing—I want to invite us one step further down this road.

We’ve spoken openly about deconstruction, trusting that together we are capable of rebuilding a faith that is durable, inclusive, and vibrant. A faith that can hold both our questions and our convictions.

But today, I want us to consider the next logical step in this journey: proclamation.

Because friends, a faith we keep to ourselves is not a faith we truly live. The gospel was never meant to be hidden—it is meant to be embodied, spoken, and shared.

So may our lives be so loud with the good news that even without words, the world can hear it.

Passage: Luke 19:35-40 CEB

Join Lee Bradley as he brings the message to us this week.

Passage: John 3:1-18 ESV, Ezekiel 36:25-27 ESV, Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

A life of faith will require us to come to grips with the questions that life demands of us. These questions aren’t easy. As the old adage goes, the truth will set you free—but not until she’s done with you.

Today, I want us to look at what it means to be honest in community and to choose growth together. At Shepherds, belonging doesn’t require you to become less of who you are. But it will require something else.

It will require bravery.

Passage: Ephesians 4:1-7 CEB

Of all the things I love about Shepherds is that, as your pastor, I get to be very real with all of you.

Today I want to share a part of my testimony and talk honestly about something many of us experience but rarely discuss—the connection between grief and doubt.

Grief has a way of shaking us. It can stir questions we didn’t expect and doubts we never thought we’d have. But those moments don’t place us outside of God’s love—they often become the very places where we encounter it most deeply.

My hope is that by the end of this conversation, we’ll be more prepared for when grief comes, more comfortable admitting our doubts, and above all convinced that there is no grief, no fear, and no darkness greater than the love of God.

Passage: Romans 8:35-39 CEB

The concept of deconstruction has swept through the Christian world. More and more people who grew up in the church are taking a courageous, honest look at what they were taught—examining it, questioning it, and searching for new ways of knowing God.

For many, deconstruction feels unsettling. For others, it feels necessary. And in many ways, it has become part of the lifeblood of Shepherd’s. So many of you have come to us from traditions that, for one reason or another, stopped working. You weren’t trying to walk away from God—you were trying to find Him again.

In this new series, we’re going to reframe deconstruction—not as the end of faith, but as the beginning of a deeper story. A story that leads to a faith that is well-earned, broken in, honest, and above all, worth sharing.

So let us seek—honestly and bravely—trusting that when we do, we will find God already meeting us there.

Passage: John 10:7-15 CEB

On this first Sunday, I thought it would be wise for us to talk about our walk.

This series sets before us the intentions we will follow as a church. It invites us to move beyond words and into action — to take the faith we confess with our mouths and live it with our whole lives.

Today, as we begin a season of preparation, my hope is that we would recognize something beautiful: this is the best kind of life. Not the easiest life. Not the most comfortable life. But the life that is full, meaningful, and rooted in Christ.

And we don’t walk it alone.

We walk it together.

So as we step forward, may we take up this easy yoke — side by side — learning the rhythms of grace, bearing one another’s burdens, and becoming a people shaped for the sake of the world.

Passage: Matthew 11:25-30 CEB

Join us with guest Pastor, Greg Rusch, while Reverend Michael LeBlanc is out this week.

Passage: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 NIV

No one likes to be interrupted.

Our day-to-day lives are filled to the brim with things competing for our attention—ads, social media, texts, the news—each one demanding a piece of us.

Today, I want to offer a different way of being interrupted.

An interruption that doesn’t steal from us, but frees us. One that makes space for God’s Kingdom to dwell among us as we allow the right things to interrupt the way things are.

May we be people who are willing to interrupt—for the sake of our neighbors, our communities, and the work God longs to do among us.

Passage: Luke 5:17-25 CEB

Welcome to our new series, The Walk, where we explore what it truly means to follow Jesus in a way that shapes every moment of our lives. We don’t want a faith that lives only on paper—we want a faith that is lived, practiced, and embodied.

We begin with the practice that brought us all here: sharing our faith.

To share your faith with someone else is to step into the legacy of the saints who came before us. It is to see people the way Christ sees them. It is to love as Jesus loves. It is, in many ways, to walk as Jesus walked.

May we come to know all people—so that all people may come to know Christ.

Passage: Matthew 4:18-23 CEB