God's Growing Garden

Sunday, September 20, 2026

Jesus' Parables #2 - THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Jesus' Parables #2 - THE GOOD SHEPHERD

In this series we will be studying all of Jesus' parables. We previously studied six on this blog but that was before I decided to make this into a series.

Today we will be learning about "The Good Shepherd" parable in John 10:10-16.

Just as a reminder:

by Angie Ouellette-Tower for http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo SundayPARABLE_zpskg749l78.jpg

We begin by recognizing who our enemy is - "the thief" (the Evil one - the devil). Read verse 10 below - Jesus is the exact opposite of satan. The evil one steals, kills and destroys. Whereas, Jesus gives, saves and restores in abundance ("have it to the full").

If we have discernment and can see who are the evil ones, then we will be able to distinguish who are the false prophets. Recognizing who is our enemy is very important.

A good shepherd will lay down his life to save his flock. The hired hand can not be trusted when there is real danger. As we read in the Scripture passage below, the hired hand ran away when he saw the wolf coming because he did not love the sheep like the good shepherd does.

In one Bible commentary (1805 Bible), they believe that the thief and hired hand represent two types of Pharisees. The first type sacrifices the welfare of their flock for selfish gain. The second type of Pharisee is the hired hand who did not have true love for the sheep and thereby lacked the courage to risk it all to save the flock. I'm sure that we can all think of religious leaders today who fall into both Pharisee categories.

The second moral to this story (and probably the most important one) is about the combining of more than one sheep pen to create one flock. This represents the Gentiles being adopted in as equal members of the flock - this is the New Covenant (click HERE to read "7 Covenants -#7 NEW").

Gentiles and Jews alike listen to the voice of Jesus (the Shepherd) - we are one flock with one Shepherd.

Jesus gave his life for all sheep pens and created one flock following One Shepherd.

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Here is a list of the parables that we have already studied:

(Please click on each link to read each post)

- The Wicked Husbandmen/Vinedressers (aka Parable of the Tenants)

- The Persistent Widow (or Unjust Judge)

- PARABLE OF THE VINE (part#1) - "The True Vine & the Father Gardener"

- PARABLE OF THE VINE (part#2) - "Be a Fruitful Branch Instead of a Withering Branch"
- PARABLE OF THE VINE (part#3) - "Producing Joyful Fruit - God's Love Remains Forever"
- PARABLE OF THE VINE (part#4) - "Everlasting Fruit & Everlasting Friends"
- The Prodigal Son (Part#1) - The Son Who Ran Away
- The Prodigal Son (Part#2) - The Son Who Stayed Home
- The Good Samaritan (Part#1) - Love God First
- The Good Samaritan (Part#2) - Love Others
- PARABLE of the Sower (Part#1) - Along the Pathway
- PARABLE of the Sower (Part#2) - On Rocky Places
- PARABLE of the Sower (Part#3) - Seeds Among Thorns

- PARABLE of the Sower (Part#4) - Sown on Good Soil

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Below is a list of the parables that we will be studying in the future:

- The Lost Sheep

- The Lost Piece of Money

- The Pharisee & the Tax Collector

- The Wedding Banquet

- The Two Sons

- The Friend at Midnight

- The Barren Fig Tree

- The Growing Seed

- The Laborers in the Vineyard

- The Wise and Foolish Builders

- The Two Debtors

- The Ten Virgins

- The Weeds

- The Mustard Seed

- The Leaven (or Yeast)

- The Hidden Treasure

- The Pearl of Great Price

- The Draw-Net

- The Unprofitable Servants

- The Unjust Steward (or Shrewd Manager)

- The Unmerciful Servant

- The Great Feast

- The Rich Man & Lazarus

- The Strait Gate (or Narrow Door)

- Christ The Door

- The Talents (or Bags of Gold)

- The Pounds (or Ten Minas)

- The Sheep and the Goats

- The Tower Builder & the King at War

- The Lamp Under a Basket

- The Doorkeeper

- New Clothes on Old Garment & Old Wineskins

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by Angie Ouellette-Tower for godsgrowinggarden.com photo Day_zpsb50f87c9.jpg

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"Prayer Basics & 8 Ways To Find Answers"

Friday, September 18, 2026

The Journey of a Monarch Butterfly

The Journey of a Monarch Butterfly

This year has been an incredible year for butterflies! If you recall, I "mistakenly" planted zinnias (click HERE to read "Zinnias & the Importance of Labeling Seedlings") and I believe they are the reason why my garden has had an abundance of visiting butterflies. A few weeks ago I got some fuzzy pictures of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly (click HERE to view that post) and now I captured wonderful pictures of some Monarch Butterflies!

Before we get to the pictures, I wanted to share a little bit about the journey of a Monarch Butterfly and specifically their stop at Point Pelee National Park. I grew up living near Point Pelee and during my childhood we would spend every Saturday during the summer at that park (Here are a few posts that I shared in my "FunFriday" series: "Coffee & Cake on the Beach" and "Marsh Boardwalk").

Monarchs travel all the way to Mexico and in my area they stop off at Point Pelee before traveling across Lake Erie. Here is a link to the National Park's website page about Monarch butterflies: Monarch butterflies - Point Pelee National Park

Last year I was able to capture a few pictures of a Monarch when it visited my sunflowers (click HERE to view "Monarch Butterfly Visits the Sunflower Patch") but these pictures below are so much better! In some of these pictures you will notice that there were TWO butterflies.

Enjoy the following pictures:

All photos were taken by me (Angie Ouellette-Tower).
© (2026)