I took a break from the Ephesians series to talk about spiritual leadership, deacons, and servanthood because we are asking some more men to serve as deacons. I'll be back to Ephesians next week.

In 2 Peter 1:1, Peter views himself as a servant first and an apostle second. This example shows us that our titles and tasks are functions of our servant status. We are all servants first.
20120212_servanthood_and_spiritual_leadership.mp3
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The new year is a good time to make resolutions. What better resolution to make than one involving greater maturity in faith? In Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul points out that the goal of faith is maturity. Churches and individuals ought to set maturity as a goal, using the example of a mature church in Acts 2:42-47 as a guide.
Resolve to Mature
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Shepherding the Saints
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Texts: Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Acts 20:17-28

In this sermon, I examined the tragedy of the evil shepherds that God dismissed. They were evil because they did not bestow care upon the people they were to shepherd; instead, they destroyed and scattered them. Because of this, God regathered his people and put shepherds over them who would tend to them.

I used Acts 20:35 as an example of what it means to tend people. Paul taught the elders (shepherds) in this speech to "help the weak" (TNIV), which, broadly, means to teach them the whole will of God and build them up in their faith.

Godly shepherding is accomplished by tending to people, which means teaching them so that their faith is built up. My final application encouraged people--especially husbands and fathers--to begin shepherding their own families, in part through the practice of daily family worship.
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