My Pastor Appreciation Sermon
Memory Verse: '“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25
Sermon Sentence: The weight of the responsibility in pastoring is emphasized when Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Galatians 5:25
Sermon Sentence: The weight of the responsibility in pastoring is emphasized when Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Day 1
Point 1- The expectations of consistency and transparency.
Read Acts 20:17-38
Paul was in the city of Ephesus serving the Body of Christ for three years. He was an Apostle by his own declaration, and never referred to himself as a pastor or elder. What is the difference there? We don’t have a ton of information to go on to define those roles in exacts, but suffice it to say they were seen as different for sure. Three years is the longest that Paul stayed in a single area, in fact. He stayed in Corinth what looks like maybe 2 and a half years. He may have even spent more time with individuals on missionary journeys than three years, but the point here is that this is the church that would have known and saw the real Paul the most.
In this speech, Paul does mention being with them in “tears and trials” that seem to be brought on by the conflict with the Jewish leaders he broke rank with many years before. I even wonder if some of this suffering may be related to a physical struggle Paul had that maybe, at this stage of life, slowed him down a few months or years. Maybe he wasn’t able to travel. Either way, this was clearly a frustrating time in life.
It is easy to live consistent when it is easy to live consistent. You know what I mean? Give me a good life and an easy schedule and I will show you how to knock it out of the park in life. Mix things up a bit and let me deal with some chaos, let me fall into that moment where I am focused on keeping it together and not as much on performing the perfection of life for the masses, and that is when you can get a true glimpse of who I am. In verse 28, Paul tells the elders/pastors at Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves…” Sure, and the flock….but first of all, pay attention to yourself. Have you ever met someone that is really good at helping others, serving others, being what is needed for others, but rarely do they get the chance to, or choose to, or want to, turn the light at themselves and see what they need to see? Maybe you are there. Maybe this is a good text to reflect on for yourself.
How are you doing with transparency to and for others in your life? Are you transparent or are you pretty guarded? How is that healthy and how is it unhealthy?
Where do you struggle with consistency in your life while expecting it of others around you?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Read Acts 20:17-38
Paul was in the city of Ephesus serving the Body of Christ for three years. He was an Apostle by his own declaration, and never referred to himself as a pastor or elder. What is the difference there? We don’t have a ton of information to go on to define those roles in exacts, but suffice it to say they were seen as different for sure. Three years is the longest that Paul stayed in a single area, in fact. He stayed in Corinth what looks like maybe 2 and a half years. He may have even spent more time with individuals on missionary journeys than three years, but the point here is that this is the church that would have known and saw the real Paul the most.
In this speech, Paul does mention being with them in “tears and trials” that seem to be brought on by the conflict with the Jewish leaders he broke rank with many years before. I even wonder if some of this suffering may be related to a physical struggle Paul had that maybe, at this stage of life, slowed him down a few months or years. Maybe he wasn’t able to travel. Either way, this was clearly a frustrating time in life.
It is easy to live consistent when it is easy to live consistent. You know what I mean? Give me a good life and an easy schedule and I will show you how to knock it out of the park in life. Mix things up a bit and let me deal with some chaos, let me fall into that moment where I am focused on keeping it together and not as much on performing the perfection of life for the masses, and that is when you can get a true glimpse of who I am. In verse 28, Paul tells the elders/pastors at Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves…” Sure, and the flock….but first of all, pay attention to yourself. Have you ever met someone that is really good at helping others, serving others, being what is needed for others, but rarely do they get the chance to, or choose to, or want to, turn the light at themselves and see what they need to see? Maybe you are there. Maybe this is a good text to reflect on for yourself.
How are you doing with transparency to and for others in your life? Are you transparent or are you pretty guarded? How is that healthy and how is it unhealthy?
Where do you struggle with consistency in your life while expecting it of others around you?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Point 2- The need to be a strong cocktail of bold, humble, and direct.
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
I would almost bet you that you have the same fight in your home as we do in ours. One of us adult types will declare to the kids that they are spending way too much time on a device of some sort. It's a good parenting declaration that makes for an annoying situation for everyone. All of the sudden everyone is going around judging everyone for what they are watching or looking at on their phone or the tv! As parents, we want to avoid this and just think it would be better to circle around to this idea when we get our problem with these stupid devices figured out. But the value is still in the declaration. The declaration raised the awareness to everyone. The standard, the teaching, the value should be universal for everyone.
That is what I think about reading this text from Paul. It is one thing to write in and declare that everyone should not be lying up in here. It is a whole next level thing to live for three years in frustrating circumstances and tell everyone that you need to not be angry. Because Paul is not saying “You need to not be angry!” so much as he is really saying “We need to not be angry!” Do you feel the difference? God’s word is tough like that. It is for everyone. So there is not a “declarer” and some “hearers” only. The declaring and the hearing are both shared and also are for everyone involved. With the teachings of the Bible, everyone that declares is also joining in the hearing process. To declare and not hear, is the way the “Gentiles” do it, hardening their hearts and making the declarations foolish. They make themselves calloused and unable to be changed by their stubbornness.
Try it out. Tell someone about verse 29 and then see how you consider your words. That is how it is supposed to be…bold, but humble. Direct, but loving.
How have you struggled with declaring God’s words lately and not hearing them the same way?
What do you think humility looks like in your life right now?
Where is God calling you to be bold with His word this week?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
I would almost bet you that you have the same fight in your home as we do in ours. One of us adult types will declare to the kids that they are spending way too much time on a device of some sort. It's a good parenting declaration that makes for an annoying situation for everyone. All of the sudden everyone is going around judging everyone for what they are watching or looking at on their phone or the tv! As parents, we want to avoid this and just think it would be better to circle around to this idea when we get our problem with these stupid devices figured out. But the value is still in the declaration. The declaration raised the awareness to everyone. The standard, the teaching, the value should be universal for everyone.
That is what I think about reading this text from Paul. It is one thing to write in and declare that everyone should not be lying up in here. It is a whole next level thing to live for three years in frustrating circumstances and tell everyone that you need to not be angry. Because Paul is not saying “You need to not be angry!” so much as he is really saying “We need to not be angry!” Do you feel the difference? God’s word is tough like that. It is for everyone. So there is not a “declarer” and some “hearers” only. The declaring and the hearing are both shared and also are for everyone involved. With the teachings of the Bible, everyone that declares is also joining in the hearing process. To declare and not hear, is the way the “Gentiles” do it, hardening their hearts and making the declarations foolish. They make themselves calloused and unable to be changed by their stubbornness.
Try it out. Tell someone about verse 29 and then see how you consider your words. That is how it is supposed to be…bold, but humble. Direct, but loving.
How have you struggled with declaring God’s words lately and not hearing them the same way?
What do you think humility looks like in your life right now?
Where is God calling you to be bold with His word this week?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Point 3- The skill of making the Gospel the main thing in all things.
Read Romans 15:1-7
A key principle to learn in being a follower of Jesus is that the Gospel is not just the tool that saves us, but it is also the filter through which all of our lives should be lived. When we say the Gospel is the answer to all of life’s questions, it would be silly to think that what is meant in that is that if you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, you can be saved. That is the best answer to the hardest question. But it is also really important to learn that all of your relationships, work situations, family life, neighbor interactions, and so on, can be viewed through the lens that, as Philippians 2 tells us, if we have the mind of Christ, it makes all of life start to make sense.
Paul is bringing across that idea here in this text. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak. That is Gospel language. Do you see it? Jesus did that for us. Because He loved us. So every “weaker” person I come across is an opportunity to do to them as was done to me, to sacrifice myself for them to be lifted up. Why? Jesus did not do it to please Himself. It seems there would have been a much better way for Jesus to experience the benefits of life than to die on a cross in such a gruesome way for my sins. Notice how Paul draws all of the fingers of scripture as pointing at this truth in verse 4. This is the main idea of all things! The Bible has preserved this message that saves me from my sins, and then empowers and calls me to live like this, so that all can be drawn to salvation by my testimony of salvation. Then, right at the end of this section, Paul hammers it home, “Therefore welcome one another AS CHRIST HAS WELCOMED YOU!” It seems to me that a great lesson to learn when I begin to ask the question “How do I….” the resounding answer of value is “as Christ did for you.” And that is when I desperately need to sit and be reminded of the Gospel, today…and then again tomorrow.
What is something in your life that needs the Gospel applied to it to make it work better, more efficiently, or even for the benefit of others?
Work through each of the roles you have in life. How does the Gospel belief that you hold on to as faith, impact those today?
How does this become your prayer today?
Read Romans 15:1-7
A key principle to learn in being a follower of Jesus is that the Gospel is not just the tool that saves us, but it is also the filter through which all of our lives should be lived. When we say the Gospel is the answer to all of life’s questions, it would be silly to think that what is meant in that is that if you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, you can be saved. That is the best answer to the hardest question. But it is also really important to learn that all of your relationships, work situations, family life, neighbor interactions, and so on, can be viewed through the lens that, as Philippians 2 tells us, if we have the mind of Christ, it makes all of life start to make sense.
Paul is bringing across that idea here in this text. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak. That is Gospel language. Do you see it? Jesus did that for us. Because He loved us. So every “weaker” person I come across is an opportunity to do to them as was done to me, to sacrifice myself for them to be lifted up. Why? Jesus did not do it to please Himself. It seems there would have been a much better way for Jesus to experience the benefits of life than to die on a cross in such a gruesome way for my sins. Notice how Paul draws all of the fingers of scripture as pointing at this truth in verse 4. This is the main idea of all things! The Bible has preserved this message that saves me from my sins, and then empowers and calls me to live like this, so that all can be drawn to salvation by my testimony of salvation. Then, right at the end of this section, Paul hammers it home, “Therefore welcome one another AS CHRIST HAS WELCOMED YOU!” It seems to me that a great lesson to learn when I begin to ask the question “How do I….” the resounding answer of value is “as Christ did for you.” And that is when I desperately need to sit and be reminded of the Gospel, today…and then again tomorrow.
What is something in your life that needs the Gospel applied to it to make it work better, more efficiently, or even for the benefit of others?
Work through each of the roles you have in life. How does the Gospel belief that you hold on to as faith, impact those today?
How does this become your prayer today?
Day 4
Point 4- The flexibility to bring unity to differing opinions and cultures in the Body of Christ.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
There is a struggle that I find interesting in life. It is the struggle in accomplishing the reality of unity where it is needed the most. It seems that the places that it is needed the most, are also the most loaded for unity to fall apart. Take the example of marriage, it seems like the most wise and helpful place for unity to be present front and center is in that union. If that is the case, why does it seem that the hardest place to experience unity seems to be in the marriage? Or the family is another great example. Now you add to that list the church and we are starting to notice a pattern of the most disunity being around the place that unity seems to be the most helpful. It is almost like there is something that is constantly fighting against our chances of unity and does not want us, as humans, together. That makes sense. It seems like the work of an enemy would be to attack the most strategic places.
Have you ever considered how diverse the church is? The one that you go to. Consider the ages, the backgrounds, the stories, and the differences. This is not a small amount of things. For the vast majority of people at the church, rarely would you be able to orchestrate these lives together at these stages for any other reason. Maybe we would all find a common grocery shopping place among us, but we are not just gathering goods together, we are doing a much greater work. There is only one thing that could gather this group together to learn, grow, and live beside each other. That is one of the greatest powers of the Gospel of Jesus…the people it pulls together. It is one thing to show up together. It is something totally different to work together for a common goal, a common call. Notice how it all stays together too. If we were focused on our wants and desires, the largest or most powerful of our groups would win out. But the goal is not that. It is to sit with this Bible open and to draw out of those words the truths that make us reflect and consider each other. I consider you. You consider me. Anything short of that two part formula destroys unity and leaves behind the very thing that we said we gathered on, the Gospel of Jesus for sinners to be saved.
Where do you notice disunity where there needs to be unity in your life?
What does it mean to consider the teaching of the Gospel in that area right now?
How are you being a part of the Body of Christ, the Church?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
There is a struggle that I find interesting in life. It is the struggle in accomplishing the reality of unity where it is needed the most. It seems that the places that it is needed the most, are also the most loaded for unity to fall apart. Take the example of marriage, it seems like the most wise and helpful place for unity to be present front and center is in that union. If that is the case, why does it seem that the hardest place to experience unity seems to be in the marriage? Or the family is another great example. Now you add to that list the church and we are starting to notice a pattern of the most disunity being around the place that unity seems to be the most helpful. It is almost like there is something that is constantly fighting against our chances of unity and does not want us, as humans, together. That makes sense. It seems like the work of an enemy would be to attack the most strategic places.
Have you ever considered how diverse the church is? The one that you go to. Consider the ages, the backgrounds, the stories, and the differences. This is not a small amount of things. For the vast majority of people at the church, rarely would you be able to orchestrate these lives together at these stages for any other reason. Maybe we would all find a common grocery shopping place among us, but we are not just gathering goods together, we are doing a much greater work. There is only one thing that could gather this group together to learn, grow, and live beside each other. That is one of the greatest powers of the Gospel of Jesus…the people it pulls together. It is one thing to show up together. It is something totally different to work together for a common goal, a common call. Notice how it all stays together too. If we were focused on our wants and desires, the largest or most powerful of our groups would win out. But the goal is not that. It is to sit with this Bible open and to draw out of those words the truths that make us reflect and consider each other. I consider you. You consider me. Anything short of that two part formula destroys unity and leaves behind the very thing that we said we gathered on, the Gospel of Jesus for sinners to be saved.
Where do you notice disunity where there needs to be unity in your life?
What does it mean to consider the teaching of the Gospel in that area right now?
How are you being a part of the Body of Christ, the Church?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Galatians 6
One of the hardest things about the local church is the extreme focus on the idea of a community. Especially in America, we want the boundaries where the boundaries need to go and the business of the individual to be minded. Those are good values to have because the world is not like us. That guy believes differently than me and that lady doesn’t see things that way I do. So leave up those boundaries and dividers. But also, be careful of that mentality. There is only one thing that can cross those sorts of divides and bridge those sorts of gaps. Sure, I may not agree with that person, but remember, I do agree on the call of and sharing of the Gospel that WE proclaim as a local church. So are those American values a good thing? Sure! In the right context. But just like everything that we declare, it can be taken too far as well. The greatest extreme of that idea is me living in a bunker and unconnected to the world and all that is out there wanting to take from me and oppress me. That bunker makes sense if there is the assumption that is what everyone outside that bunker wants. But the gospel takes away that excuse, that ideology. In the declaration of the Gospel, I believe that there are also those that are focused on the fact that they have been graciously given the greatest gifts that they have. They have been given them with the heart and the goal of sharing that gift with as many people around them. In other words, they do want what is good for you. But this sort of living takes an incredible amount of transparency and conviction.
How do you see Galatians 6 speaking against what the world wants us to hear?
What is the application that you see here for your life?
How does this become your prayer today?
One of the hardest things about the local church is the extreme focus on the idea of a community. Especially in America, we want the boundaries where the boundaries need to go and the business of the individual to be minded. Those are good values to have because the world is not like us. That guy believes differently than me and that lady doesn’t see things that way I do. So leave up those boundaries and dividers. But also, be careful of that mentality. There is only one thing that can cross those sorts of divides and bridge those sorts of gaps. Sure, I may not agree with that person, but remember, I do agree on the call of and sharing of the Gospel that WE proclaim as a local church. So are those American values a good thing? Sure! In the right context. But just like everything that we declare, it can be taken too far as well. The greatest extreme of that idea is me living in a bunker and unconnected to the world and all that is out there wanting to take from me and oppress me. That bunker makes sense if there is the assumption that is what everyone outside that bunker wants. But the gospel takes away that excuse, that ideology. In the declaration of the Gospel, I believe that there are also those that are focused on the fact that they have been graciously given the greatest gifts that they have. They have been given them with the heart and the goal of sharing that gift with as many people around them. In other words, they do want what is good for you. But this sort of living takes an incredible amount of transparency and conviction.
How do you see Galatians 6 speaking against what the world wants us to hear?
What is the application that you see here for your life?
How does this become your prayer today?
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