(This is a summary of the third sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on June 22, 2008. The audio is available here.)
What is shepherding and why must elders do it?
When you read in Acts 20:28 that the elders are to shepherd the church of God, what images come to your mind?
What tasks that pastors or elders do constitute shepherding?
Since this is a serious biblical command, we had better understand it well.
To understand it well, we need to look at how the Bible uses the term
What is shepherding, biblically?
(This is a summary of the second sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on June 15. The audio is available here.)
Why do we exist as a church?
The glory of God is our goal. This is the reason we exist.
We as a church are not able to glorify God in some ways:
- We won't create galaxies or planets
- We won't raise up kingdoms and bring them down
- Through Missions: Reaching ALL NATIONS with the Gospel of the glory of God
- Through Evangelism: Reaching our neighbors with the Gospel of the glory of God
- In knowledge
- In love
- In faith
- In Christlikeness
- In perseverance
- Expressing joy in Christ
- Spreading joy in Christ
- Deepening joy in Christ
- Through worship
- Through outreach
- Through edification
(This is a summary of the first sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on June 1. The audio is available here.)
The title of this sermon series comes from Ephesians 4:11-14, which says, in part:
He gave the . . . pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
Note that God gives pastors and teachers to the church.
- They are His gifts, His presents, tokens of His love for the church.
- They play a key role in equipping God’s people to minister as God intends.
- They play a key role in guarding the church from waves of false teaching.
- Thus they play a key role in enabling the church to become the interdependent, smoothly functioning body of Christ Paul describes in Ephesians 4:16.
Five main points: