ShepherdScroll™ | The Shepherd Network

A WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF THE SHEPHERD NETWORK LLC

Volume 1 • Issue 2

August 16–22, 2026

August 16, 2026

"Washed Clean — The Cleansing Blood of Jesus Christ"

✝️FAITH

🕊️TRUTH

🌳LEGACY

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." — Psalm 119:105

✦ AN INTRODUCTORY MESSAGE ✦

From Tammy's He♥rt

A Vision for ShepherdScroll™

For some time, I have carried a desire to see The Shepherd Network™ offer something that feels familiar, welcoming, and meaningful—a place where the simple beauty of a traditional church bulletin could find new life in a digital world.

That desire has now become ShepherdScroll™.

My hope is that opening ShepherdScroll™ will feel a little like opening the bulletin at church: finding a favorite hymn, reading Scripture, seeing a prayer need, celebrating an answered prayer, discovering what is happening in our community, and perhaps finding just the right word of encouragement for the week ahead.

The hymns are especially close to my heart. Music has a wonderful way of carrying the truths of our faith beyond the words on a page. I hope ShepherdScroll™ becomes a place where treasured hymns can be read, heard, remembered, and shared with another generation.

Most of all, I pray this bulletin becomes more than something we publish. I hope it becomes something people look forward to opening—a quiet place during a busy week where faith is strengthened, prayers are shared, praises are celebrated, and hearts are reminded of God’s presence.

From an ancient scroll to a digital one, the way we share the message may change, but the truth we carry does not.

Welcome to ShepherdScroll™ I am so glad you are here

Tammy J. Cooper

Senior Executive Vice President

The Shepherd Network™ LLC

✦ OPENING HYMN OF THE WEEK ✦

Nothing but the Blood of Jesus

Words: Robert Lowry (1876)

Tune: PLAINFIELD (Robert Lowry)

Scripture Connection: John 1:7

1. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Refrain: Oh! precious is the flow That makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 2. For my pardon, this I see, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my cleansing, this my plea, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 3. Nothing can for sin atone, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Naught of good that I have done, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 4. This is all my hope and peace, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 5. Now by this I'll overcome, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Now by this I'll reach my home, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 6. Glory! Glory! This I sing— Nothing but the blood of Jesus, All my praise for this I bring— Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

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Behind the Hymn

Robert Lowry (1826–1899) wrote both the words and music of "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" in 1876. Lowry was a Baptist minister, hymn writer, and professor of literature who composed many beloved gospel songs including "Shall We Gather at the River?" and "Christ Arose." The hymn's simple, repetitive structure underscores a single profound truth: that the blood of Jesus Christ is the only means by which sin can be washed away. Lowry intentionally used the phrase "Nothing but the blood" as a refrain that returns again and again, emphasizing that no human effort, no good works, and no other sacrifice can accomplish what Christ's shed blood alone has done. The tune name PLAINFIELD comes from Plainfield, New Jersey, where Lowry served as pastor. The melody is simple and accessible, designed for congregational singing, with a memorable rising and falling pattern that mirrors the text's movement from question to confident declaration. This hymn has remained one of the most beloved gospel songs in the church, sung across denominations for nearly 150 years. Its message remains as urgently needed today as when it was first penned: that the cleansing we need is found in nothing other than the sacrificial death and shed blood of Jesus Christ.

✦ MAIN DEVOTIONAL ✦

Washed Clean

A Work of Divine Renewal

Have you ever watched a pressure washer clean concrete? Years of dirt, discoloration, and grime can accumulate on a driveway, sidewalk, or patio. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the surface that was once clean becomes stained and darkened. The change happens so gradually that we may not even notice how far it has drifted from its original condition. Then the water comes. As the pressurized stream passes across the surface, the difference can be remarkable. What appeared permanently stained can become clean again. The dirt, the discoloration, the years of accumulation — all of it washed away by the power of the water. Sin creates a far deeper stain — A sullied blemish that human effort cannot remove. We cannot pressure-wash sin from the soul. We cannot earn enough good deeds to erase it. We cannot reform our way into righteousness. We cannot save ourselves. The cleansing we need was provided through the sacrificial death and shed blood of Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus bore the intense pressure and penalty of our sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). His blood was shed — not as a metaphor, not as a symbol alone, but as the real and sufficient payment for the debt of sin that no human being could pay. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from sin. And, only the shedding of His blood brings to us the way to salvation. This is not merely a cleaning agent applied to the surface of our lives. The blood of Christ addresses the deepest stain of all — the stain of sin that has separated us from God. Through His sacrificial death and atoning work, forgiveness is offered, redemption is accomplished, and new life is made possible. Scripture is clear: "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, consider the Gospel. The cleansing you need — the cleansing no human effort can provide — is available through faith in Jesus Christ and belief in His finished work on the cross. Come to Him. Trust in His sacrifice. Receive the cleansing that only His blood can provide. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." — John 3:16

"Washed Clean — The Cleansing Blood of Jesus Christ"

DID YOU KNOW?

1 John 1:7 — the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

BEHIND THE HYMN

Nothing but the Blood of JesusRobert Lowry (1826–1899) wrote both the words and music of "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" in 1876. Lowry was a Baptist minister, hymn writer, and professor of literature who composed many beloved...

FAITH IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Have you ever watched a pressure washer clean concrete? Years of dirt, discoloration, and grime can accumulate on a driveway, sidewalk, or patio. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the surface that was...

✦ SCRIPTURE TRAIL ✦

Scripture Trail

A journey through Scripture on the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Click any reference to read the full passage.

✦ SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST ALONE ✦

Salvation Through Christ Alone

Jesus Christ is not merely one way to God. Scripture identifies Him as the way. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." This is not a claim of exclusivity born of arrogance. It is a declaration of truth born of love — the love of a Savior who came to seek and to save that which was lost. In Acts 4:12, the apostle Peter...

✦ JESUS CHRIST — OUR INTERCESSOR ✦

Jesus Christ — Our Intercessor

You are not alone. This is not merely a comforting sentiment. It is a biblical reality — anchored in the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ on behalf of every believer. In Hebrews 7:25, Scripture declares: "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Jesus Christ is our Mediator and Intercessor...

✦ CLOSING HYMN OF THE WEEK ✦

Are You Washed in the Blood?

Words: Elisha A. Hoffman (1878)

Tune: HOFFMAN (Elisha A. Hoffman)

Scripture Connection: Revelation 7:14

1. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Refrain: Are you washed in the blood, In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? 2. Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin, And are washed in the blood of the Lamb; There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean, Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb! 3. When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright, And be washed in the blood of the Lamb? 4. When the last great trump shall awake the dead, Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? When the sun and moon in heaven dark go down, Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Behind the Hymn

Elisha A. Hoffman (1839–1929) wrote "Are You Washed in the Blood?" in 1878. Hoffman was a Presbyterian minister and prolific gospel song writer who composed over 2,000 hymns during his lifetime, including "I Must Tell Jesus," "Down at the Cross," and "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." The hymn was born from Hoffman's pastoral visitation ministry. While calling on a woman who was spiritually discouraged, Hoffman read to her from Zechariah 13:1: "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness." He explained that the fountain was the cleansing blood of Christ, and the woman's face radiated with new hope. Walking home, Hoffman began composing the hymn that would become "Are You Washed in the Blood?" The hymn's direct, searching question—"Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?"—was designed not merely as a devotional reflection but as a Gospel invitation. Hoffman intended each verse to confront the listener with the personal necessity of Christ's atoning blood and to point them to the fountain that alone can cleanse from sin. The refrain echoes Revelation 7:14, where the redeemed are described as those who "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." The hymn draws together the Old Testament imagery of the sacrificial Lamb, the New Testament declaration of Christ's atoning death, and the eschatological vision of the saints arrayed in white. For nearly 150 years, this hymn has served as both a call to salvation and a reminder to believers of the cleansing that is theirs through the blood of Jesus Christ.

✦ CLOSING BLESSING ✦

"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever."

— Hebrews 13:20-21