This is the word of the Lord.

Lord, we are gathered before you this morning in our great sheep pen. Sheepishly aware of our weakness, we wait to hear our shepherd's voice. We are eager to feed on your Word. Come to your flock now, Lord, and fill this room with your mighty shepherding presence. Lead us into the ways of life and truth. Guide us along the paths you wish us to take. In Jesus' name. Amen

The famous novelist Frederick Forsythe tells a story about Christmas Eve 1957. A young Royal Air Force pilot is stationed at a base in Germany. As Christmas approaches, he yearns to visit home, but his hopes are dashed when his commanding officer tells him that he has to stand duty on Christmas day. He resigns himself to the prospect of a lonely holiday, when suddenly late on Christmas Eve, the word comes: he is released from duty and can fly home to England.

At ten o'clock on Christmas Eve, the young aviator climbs into the cockpit of his single-seater Vampire fighter jet and takes off under a moonless sky for the 400-mile flight home to Kent, England. But just ten minutes out over the North Sea, there's a short in the jet's electrical system. His instrument panel goes dark, and both the compass and the standby compass fail. Fighting a rising sense of panic, the pilot realizes he only has 80 minutes worth of fuel for the flight home. Recalling what he has been taught to do in such an emergency, he descends in altitude, slows his airspeed and flies in an emergency triangular pattern in order to be picked up on radar. He wonders: Will anyone see me? Will help come in time? He begins to pray: "O heavenly Father, lead me home . . . "

Suddenly, from out of nowhere there appears beneath him a dark object — a plane that dips its wing as a signal for him to follow. This plane leads the young aviator to a landing field with a lighted runway. As he gets into his landing pattern, the plane disappears into the night.

In aviation parlance, such a plane is known as a shepherd. As he touches down, the young pilot breathes a prayer of thanks for that unknown shepherd who found and led him home.

My friends, today we live in a dark and dangerous world. In John 10, Jesus speaks of robbers, thieves and wolves. In modern times, we can add terrorists to the list of dangers. Did you ever dream that America would have a daily terrorism index? Right now it's yellow. Not long ago, it was orange. Yellow means you should go about your business very carefully, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

Today's business climate is also frightening. Who knows when we'll find the bottom of the stock market? Some of the families and business persons in this congregation have been hit hard. Last week a cartoon in the Wall Street Journal showed a high- powered CEO behind his big desk, phone receiver in hand. The caption read, "Security? Bring me my blanket . . . " Where do we find security in today's world?