Will You Feed My Sheep?

Three Is a Magic Number!

But not the three you’re thinking of (3 denials, 3 yeses).

Three as the official decree.

Equivalency with Matthew “Thou art rock.”

A Decree from Jesus; a Decree from Peter?

Peter promises to make disciples of all men.

The Gift of the Church

Not an institution, but the Body of Christ|Body of Believers

We are not meant to go it alone.

Vatican Council II, Volume 1: The Conciliar and Postconciliar Documents (Chapter II: The People of God)

“At all times and in every race, anyone who fears God and does what is right has been acceptable to him. He has, however, willed to make men holy and save them, not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a people who might acknowledge him and serve him in holiness. He therefore chose the Israelite race to be his own people and established a covenant with it. He gradually instructed this people—in its history manifesting both himself and the decree of his will—and made it holy unto himself. All these things, however, happened as a preparation and figure of that new and perfect covenant which was to be ratified in Christ, and of the fuller revelation which was to be given through the Word of God made flesh. “Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah … I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts, and they shall be my people … For they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord” (Jer. 31:31–34). Christ instituted this new covenant, namely the new covenant in his blood (cf. 1 Cor. 11:25); he called a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would be one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit, and this race would be the new People of God. For those who believe in Christ, who are reborn, not from a corruptible seed, but from an incorruptible one through the word of the living God (cf. 1 Pet. 1:23), not from flesh, but from water and the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn. 3:5–6), are finally established as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation … who in times past were not a people, but now are the People of God” (1 Pet. 2:9–10).

The “Church” is not a club or a group; it is a people and we are a part of it.

Whether we like it or not.

Whether we participate or not.

The People of God Make a Difference

In 1845, Texas became the 28th state in the union.

In 1870, the first missionaries from the Diocese of Galveston began making their way to rural communities in Texas.

They met wherever they could, usually in peoples’ houses, and whenever they could, often once a month or less.

In one small town, eight families took turns hosting the missionary priests.

Inspired by their dedication, the missionary asked the protestant businessmen in town to take up a collection, and in 1895 the first church was built.

The town, of course, was McKinney, and the church sat where the RaceTrac sits now on 380 near Collin College.

Over the years, these people continued to fulfill St. Peter’s promise. They continued to make disciples and grow.

Through their diligent witnessing to the Gospel truths, that Church of eight families is now the Church we know as St. Michael the Archangel, and some 3500 families call this Church home.

We Must Take Our Place

Once upon a time I was Baptist, and I really believed the world was about me and God.

Roll from here.