Shepherd's Heart 09/18/26
Dear Good Shepherd,
I've been sitting with Philippians this week. Paul wrote it from a prison cell to a church he loved, and you can feel that love in almost every line. He calls them his joy and his crown. He tells them he thanks God every time he remembers them.
Every year I'm your pastor, I understand that a little more.
When I pray for you, I think about specific things. The people who come early to make the coffee. Kids running down the hallway after Sunday school. Those of you who buried someone this year and still came back. Those of you carrying something heavy that nobody else knows about. I think about you, and I thank God.
So I want to write to you the way Paul wrote to Philippi. I'm writing as someone who loves you and wants you to keep going. If you have time, open your Bible and read Philippians chapter 3 top to bottom. Then continue reading.
What Paul let go of
Philippians 3 is one of the most personal chapters Paul ever wrote. He starts by listing his résumé. Circumcised on the eighth day. Tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of Hebrews. Blameless under the law. By every measure, he had arrived.
Then he says something startling. "Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." He goes even further and calls all of it garbage compared to "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
Paul's history still mattered to him. It had just stopped being the thing that held him up. His confidence had moved to a person.
I think that's a word for us.
We are a church with a long and faithful story, and we're getting close to fifty years. There is so much to be grateful for. Through every one of those seasons, the one who carried this church was Jesus. He's the one who will carry us into the next one.
I want to know Christ
Verse 10 might be my favorite in the whole letter. "I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings."
Paul keeps those two things together. Resurrection power and suffering sit right next to each other in the same sentence. Following Jesus includes the hard parts. We just don't walk through them alone, and they don't get the last word.
Some of you are in a season of resurrection right now. Something in your life is coming back to life. Praise God.
Some of you are in the middle of the suffering. Waiting on test results. Grieving. Worried about one of your kids. Tired in your faith. Paul's words are for you too. The Christ who shares in your suffering is the same Christ who walked out of the tomb. That power is still at work.
Press on
Then Paul writes this: "I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
The apostle Paul says he hasn't arrived yet. I find that so freeing. None of us have it all figured out, and God isn't asking us to. Maturity in Christ looks a lot more like leaning forward, week after week.
Straining is a runner's word. It's the picture of someone reaching for the finish line. It takes effort and endurance. Some weeks, putting one foot in front of the other is all we can manage. That counts.
So, church, keep going. Keep showing up to worship, even on the weeks it feels dry. Keep opening the Scriptures. Keep praying when the words feel thin. Keep loving your neighbors and loving each other well. Keep pressing on.
Paul closes the chapter by reminding the Philippians that "our citizenship is in heaven." Philippi was a Roman colony, and its people were proud of their Roman citizenship. Paul tells this small church that their deepest belonging is somewhere else.
Belonging to Jesus sends us right into the life of our city. We get to love Naperville with open hands. We get to be good neighbors, bless the families and businesses around us, and live as a sign of the kingdom that's coming.
Which brings me to an invitation.
Join us
On Wednesday, September 30 at 4:00 pm, we'll gather with the Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting celebrating the beautiful new gathering spaces, in and outside of our building. It's a small moment, and I think it matters. It says we want to be a church that's open to our community, a place where neighbors are welcomed and people can find their way to Jesus.
I would love for you to be there. Bring your family. Bring a friend. Let's celebrate what God has done, and let's keep pressing on together.
I love you, Good Shepherd. I thank God every time I remember you.
From my heart,
Pastor Tara Beth
I've been sitting with Philippians this week. Paul wrote it from a prison cell to a church he loved, and you can feel that love in almost every line. He calls them his joy and his crown. He tells them he thanks God every time he remembers them.
Every year I'm your pastor, I understand that a little more.
When I pray for you, I think about specific things. The people who come early to make the coffee. Kids running down the hallway after Sunday school. Those of you who buried someone this year and still came back. Those of you carrying something heavy that nobody else knows about. I think about you, and I thank God.
So I want to write to you the way Paul wrote to Philippi. I'm writing as someone who loves you and wants you to keep going. If you have time, open your Bible and read Philippians chapter 3 top to bottom. Then continue reading.
What Paul let go of
Philippians 3 is one of the most personal chapters Paul ever wrote. He starts by listing his résumé. Circumcised on the eighth day. Tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of Hebrews. Blameless under the law. By every measure, he had arrived.
Then he says something startling. "Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." He goes even further and calls all of it garbage compared to "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
Paul's history still mattered to him. It had just stopped being the thing that held him up. His confidence had moved to a person.
I think that's a word for us.
We are a church with a long and faithful story, and we're getting close to fifty years. There is so much to be grateful for. Through every one of those seasons, the one who carried this church was Jesus. He's the one who will carry us into the next one.
I want to know Christ
Verse 10 might be my favorite in the whole letter. "I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings."
Paul keeps those two things together. Resurrection power and suffering sit right next to each other in the same sentence. Following Jesus includes the hard parts. We just don't walk through them alone, and they don't get the last word.
Some of you are in a season of resurrection right now. Something in your life is coming back to life. Praise God.
Some of you are in the middle of the suffering. Waiting on test results. Grieving. Worried about one of your kids. Tired in your faith. Paul's words are for you too. The Christ who shares in your suffering is the same Christ who walked out of the tomb. That power is still at work.
Press on
Then Paul writes this: "I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
The apostle Paul says he hasn't arrived yet. I find that so freeing. None of us have it all figured out, and God isn't asking us to. Maturity in Christ looks a lot more like leaning forward, week after week.
Straining is a runner's word. It's the picture of someone reaching for the finish line. It takes effort and endurance. Some weeks, putting one foot in front of the other is all we can manage. That counts.
So, church, keep going. Keep showing up to worship, even on the weeks it feels dry. Keep opening the Scriptures. Keep praying when the words feel thin. Keep loving your neighbors and loving each other well. Keep pressing on.
Paul closes the chapter by reminding the Philippians that "our citizenship is in heaven." Philippi was a Roman colony, and its people were proud of their Roman citizenship. Paul tells this small church that their deepest belonging is somewhere else.
Belonging to Jesus sends us right into the life of our city. We get to love Naperville with open hands. We get to be good neighbors, bless the families and businesses around us, and live as a sign of the kingdom that's coming.
Which brings me to an invitation.
Join us
On Wednesday, September 30 at 4:00 pm, we'll gather with the Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting celebrating the beautiful new gathering spaces, in and outside of our building. It's a small moment, and I think it matters. It says we want to be a church that's open to our community, a place where neighbors are welcomed and people can find their way to Jesus.
I would love for you to be there. Bring your family. Bring a friend. Let's celebrate what God has done, and let's keep pressing on together.
I love you, Good Shepherd. I thank God every time I remember you.
From my heart,
Pastor Tara Beth