It's Better When You're Here!

Join Reverend Michael at our Chapel Campus during our sunrise service on Easter morning. Passage: John 20:11-18 CEB

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 sta...

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 o...

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 requir...

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 pl...

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 ma...

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 k...

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 interru...

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...

Plenty of churches exist for themselves. Some churches, even whole constellations of them, exist primarily to serve their members or elevate their pastors. But as we wrap up our series on our mission statement today, we are reminded of why we exist. We exist to inspire the hope of Jesus Christ. This is not a passive hope. It is not a hope meant to sit still or stay comfortable. It is a hope that p...

At the beginning of a new year, I’m especially grateful that we get to pause, set our tone, and ground ourselves in our mission statement: With God’s help, we embrace and connect with all people, and together experience the love, light, and hope of Jesus Christ. Last week, I was pretty sick, and I’m so thankful that Rick was able to step in and cover for me as we focused on the theme of love. He e...

A few years ago, when the leadership of Shepherds came together to shape a new mission statement, everything centered on one clear calling: to connect people to the love, light, and hope of Jesus Christ. As we step into a new year, our leadership knew it was essential to return to those same foundations—to ground ourselves again in what matters most: the love, the light, and the hope of Jesus Chri...

Join Reverend Michael LeBlanc on our last Sunday of the year!

Christmas has arrived. And that means we are here—gathered together—to remember the true reason for our celebration. The gifts, the songs, the stories, the turkeys—they’re all wonderful. But tonight, I want us to listen more closely. I want us to hear why this season exists. And it’s not just because Jesus was born—no, not only that. Christmas matters every time any of us chooses to keep Christmas...

As we arrive at the last Sunday of Advent, I pray that we have prepared our hearts. Just as the eggs in our incubator have been given an environment conducive to growth, I pray that over these last four weeks, you have been able to grow as well. Soon, we will have chicks—and soon, we will have Christmas. My prayer is that hope, peace, and joy have found you, and that this week, love has met you in...

Last week, we talked about how this season of Advent isn’t just about surviving, but about growing. It’s an invitation to do more than simply make it through—to allow God to form us into disciples who are willing to let the chaff fall away, the things that hold us back, so that new life can emerge. Today, I want to talk about what that new life looks like. I want to explore how a church that choos...

Today we enter the Sunday of Peace in this sacred season of Advent—a time when we pause to reflect on the peace Christ brings into our world and into our lives. But this isn’t a passive or complacent peace. It’s not a peace that asks nothing of us. Instead, the peace of Christ is deep, steady, and transformative. It’s a peace that invites us to grow, to mature, and to participate in God’s restorin...

Join us as guest preacher, our Worship Coordinator, Michelle Manzi brings us our sermon this Sunday morning.

I am always grateful for the kind and encouraging words I hear from so many of you after I preach—especially when the topics get a little spicy. Knowing I can speak about generosity with my whole chest tells me something important: this church is not a people who simply go through the motions. You are a church with purpose, with conviction, and with power. As we wrap up our journey on generosity t...

I’m beginning to suspect that I might know some of the most generous people on the planet. The Church has always been counter-cultural, and as I watch wealth concentrate into the hands of a few and see more and more cuts to the things that help my neighbors live with dignity, it only becomes clearer: I know incredibly generous people. Because generosity isn’t about a number. Generosity is about tw...

Join us as guest Preacher, Reverend Ed New brings us our sermon this Sunday morning.

I’m reminded today of the people who included me. I think of these saints on All Saints Sunday, because they were the ones who reached out, who welcomed me in, who brought me along. And they changed my life. As we continue our series on generosity, I want to tie a few things together. May we have a spirit of gratitude for the saints we celebrate. May that gratitude inspire us to give generously. A...

Friends, I find myself going back in time—digging up old, churchy words. Words like Eucharist. Membership. Passing the peace. I feel a little like Indiana Jones—or maybe more like one of those American Picker guys—sifting through dusty artifacts and discovering treasures. And today, I brought one with me: Stewardship. The way we talk about generosity in the church has always been wrapped up in thi...