Feeding Sheep

Pixabay

I didn’t know anyone. Not a soul.

I knew enough to realize that I needed to bring my Bible to a Bible study, but I didn’t know too much beyond that.  

They wheeled in a cart with a big-box TV on the top and a VHS player on the bottom shelf.  A woman with a Southern drawl, meticulously set hair, and a scarf around her neck appeared on the screen.  The lady sitting next to me loaned me colored pencils, and we began marking up the first chapter in 1 Thessalonians - writing in our Bibles!.  I chose to mark all references to Jesus with the symbol of the cross. 

My Holy Spirit symbol was a blue swirl.  ‘Wrath’ was a black ‘X’.  ‘Word of God’ was a sketched outline of an open book. Kay Arthur guided us through the Bible, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, attempting to decipher all that was said about the main themes.  Kay taught me to read my Bible with an inquisitive mind, asking questions, digging deeply, and building my understanding of God’s Word, “Precept Upon Precept."

Kay Arthur went home to Jesus on May 20, 2025.

After many years of  Precept Upon Precept Bible studies, I was in the time-exhaustive tumult of parenting and homeschooling when I decided to take the initiative to feed myself without a group of Bible study ladies.  I had a big monitor computer sitting on top of my computer desk, which housed an enormous central processing unit, power supply, and a slot to insert floppy disks.  I don’t think the word ‘internet’ was part of my vocabulary at that time.

Instead, I would order CDs with John MacArthur sermons and listen to them over and over again. I had never been under the tutelage of expository preaching like MacArthur. He opened the Bible and made it come alive.  I craved time in the Word, sneaking away to read my John MacArthur Study Bible whenever possible. 

John MacArthur went home to Jesus on July 14, 2025.

When my laptop computer no longer had the technology to play CDs, I stacked them in a huge Rubbermaid storage tub and found Tim Keller on YouTube.  From my kitchen table in rural Wisconsin, I was able to watch the sermons Keller preached at Redeemer in NYC.  The love and grace of Jesus flowed through him, and I found myself even more magnetized to Jesus.

Tim Keller went home to Jesus on May 19, 2023.

Today, a quick drive across the St. Croix River lands me in Minnesota, the home of John Piper.  Bethlehem Baptist annually hosts the “Godward Life Conference”, which I have attended each year since its inception. During this 2-day conference on September 26-27, 2025, dozens of articulate, Jesus-loving, Holy-Spirit-filled believers will present messages on a full array of topics. My favorite part is seeing Piper live.  He is the most dynamic preacher I have heard in my lifetime.  And he is still walking and breathing on this Earth.

These four individuals have each had an enormous influence on my spiritual life.  They have taught me how to study the Bible, created in me a desire to read my Bible, and helped me to realize my true purpose in life.  As I jointly mourn my loss and celebrate their gain, I ponder who will take their place?  Who are the up-and-coming preachers?  Who will share Jesus with the next generation?  Who will launch the next revival?

Many big names come to mind, yet I wonder how Jesus would answer.

 “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

If you have been fed, you can feed.  

The baton has been passed.

@ Tessa Lind

(First published in Pursuing Perfection on Substack by Tessa Lind.)