by David Phelps

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa

July, 2026

Recently, our pastor, Andy, preached a sermon about sheep, so this seems like a good opportunity to write about them as well. In the motion picture The Sheep Detectives, there’s a plot device that sheep have the ability to deliberately forget unpleasant things. They simply count to three, there’s a sound, and they don’t remember any more. As a result, the sheep are unaware of the reality of death or of any other unpleasantnesses in life. One sheep, though, Moppet, doesn’t have this ability, so he remembers all the things his fellow sheep have forgotten. Alone, Moppet carries the burden of the past and all the sadness the others no longer recall. But he also remembers his parents and departed friends. And because he can remember the past, he has the ability to learn from it.

The prophet Isaiah compared the people of Israel to sheep for good reason: “Like sheep we had all wandered away, / each going its own way,” (Isa. 53:6a Common English Bible). Almost like the sheep in the movie, the people frequently forgot their God and what God had done for them. During the Exodus, they forgot what they had experienced in Egypt. A month and a half after they left Egypt, they were hungry and complained to Moses that they were better off under Pharaoh (Exod. 16:1-3). They forgot what they had been delivered from and the God who had delivered them. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Commandments, the people forgot their God and asked Aaron to make new gods for them (Exod. 32:1). We’re told Moses spent forty days on the mountain (Exod. 24:18). I wonder how long it took for the people to forget? A week? Two? A month? How long was Moses gone before they asked Aaron to make them new gods?

Before the people entered the promised land, Moses urged them, “Don’t forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you by making an idol or an image of any kind or anything the Lord your God forbids,” (Deut. 4:23b CEB). He knew from experience what they would do—what they had already done—and he didn’t want it to happen again.

Even later, during what was known as the “Babylonian Exile,” the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “A voice is heard on the well-traveled paths; / it’s the crying and pleading of the people of Israel, / who have lost their way / and forgotten the Lord their God.” (Jer. 3:21 CEB). The people of Israel had been conquered and forcefully taken to the country known as “Babylon.” They even thought God had forgotten them. “Why do you forget us continually; / why do you abandon us for such a long time? / Return us, Lord, to yourself. Please let us return!” (Lam. 5:20-21a CEB). But prophets like Jeremiah told them it was because they had sinned and forgotten their God. “My people were lost sheep; / their shepherds led them astray; / they deserted them on the mountains, / where they wandered off among the hills, / forgetting their resting place.” (Jer. 50:6 CEB).

But God’s people aren’t the only ones who can forget. Jeremiah also wrote, “‘They will no longer need to teach each other to say, “Know the Lord!” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord; for I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.’” (Jer. 31:34 CEB). In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews quoted this, writing, “‘I will be lenient toward their unjust actions, / and I won’t remember their sins anymore.’” (Heb. 8:12 CEB).

God knows we’re sinners (Rom. 3:23) but God doesn’t remember our sins either. That’s why scripture says God forgets our sins when we fail and not if we fail (1 John 1:8-10). Jesus bore our sins to the cross alone (1 Pet. 2:24), just as Moppet the sheep carried the memories of his fellow sheep alone. We can spread that Good News by remembering the God who removes our sins “As far as east is from the west,” (Psa. 103:12b) and by telling everyone we meet.


“I, I am the one who wipes out your rebellious behavior for my sake. I won’t remember your sin.” (Isa. 43:25b CEB.)

Copyright © 2026 by David Phelps