Praise be to Zion, who guides our every step, just as I guide you my beloved congregation…

When I was a young boy, my favourite past time was playing a video game called Lemmings; a game in which tiny creatures follow each other blindly.

These animals required guidance; they required direction. They needed a shepherd – just like each and every one of you.

Within the game, there were lemmings with different skillsets. There were climbers, builders, blockers, and those brave souls who used umbrellas to fall safely from greater heights.

These lemmings were much like human beings, navigating through the treacherous levels of life. Without a guiding hand, they would plummet into danger, be led astray, and fall into the pits of despair. But with a wise and loving guide, they could climb the highest mountains, build bridges over troubled waters, and block the paths to destruction – a set of circumstances that did not befall our Arcadian brother, Maxwell.

You see Max was a man who thought he could see the way; who thought he knew better than the wisdom of our Almighty God. As a result, flock, he failed to observe the fact his own son was a misguided boy with a taste for flames.

Blind to the dangers, he followed his son’s lead – just like one of those lemmings – and was led straight into the fire.

James, his son, was the equivalent of a lemming who just couldn’t resist the urge to blow things up. And Maxwell, instead of seeking divine guidance, followed his son straight into the inferno – trapped by the flames, and unable to escape the fiery fate that awaited him.

If only he had turned to Zion, brothers and sisters; if only he had sought the divine wisdom that comes from above, then the Lord Zion would have been his umbrella, guiding him safely to the ground.

He would have been Maxwell’s blocker, standing firm against the dangers that threatened to consume him.

But instead, Max was a lemming without direction – a soul without a shepherd – led to his doom by the very one he trusted most…

It is a reminder to us all, flock, to not be like Maxwell; to not be one of those blind lemmings that are led into the flames of this world. It is why we must all open our hearts to Zion and seek His guidance, to let Him be our climber, our builder, our umbrella, our blocker… For it is only through His wisdom that we can navigate the perils of life, building bridges over every obstacle, and standing firm against the jeopardies that lay in wait.

With the Lord’s guidance, none of us shall fall. With His wisdom, none shall be led astray.

Just as I guide you, my children, Zion guides us all. Follow Him, and He will lead us to safety, to salvation, and to everlasting life.

So remember the lesson that little old game of mine teaches us all: to trust in the Lord – to let Him be our guide – and we shall all be befallen the strength to navigate this life with grace, with courage, and with His everlasting protection from harm.