The church needs Christlike shepherds who will faithfully declare and live out the gospel of God’s grace. As Paul says farewell to the Ephesian elders, in Acts 20, he reminds them of his conduct and his preaching, which is going to serve as the foundation for how elders are to shepherd the church of God, and then he charges them to do three things: To guard themselves, to care for all the flock of God, and to watch out for the enemy of their souls.
The apostle Paul knew that the church would always be in danger of growing weary, so in this passage, he gives the church gospel encouragement that would help to strengthen our faith and comfort us in all our affliction, as we continue to love and serve Jesus.
As we enter a new year with new challenges, Paul's letter to the Colossians reminds us to seek the things that are above, to set our minds on those things, and to hope in Christ.
On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we see that Jesus Christ is our Shepherd-King who came to bring us peace with God and with each other. We have the promise of better days that Jesus Christ, our Prince of Peace, is coming again soon to bring full and final peace to the earth.
On this third Sunday of Advent, we see that our joy isn't rooted in the inevitable disappointment of Christmas but in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our King. We can take great joy in the God who takes joy in us.
On this second Sunday of Advent, we're looking at the refining love of God that is purifying a people for Him. We can hold on to the promise of better days for the people of God, where evil and wickedness and injustice will be no more, because God has already drawn near to us with justice and justification.
On this first Sunday of Advent, we see that hope is based on the promise of a Person. We can confidently expect that better days are coming for the people of God because better days have already come in Jesus Christ.
In this passage, we see what happens when the gospel of Jesus Christ invades our lives and exposes our sinful, idolatrous hearts. But what this should do is lead us to repentance and to cling all the more to Jesus.
With the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we now live between the first and second comings of Christ. But what this passage in the book of Acts reminds us is that the kingdom of God is advancing into the enemy territory of the kingdom of darkness and that God's kingdom will prevail, because Jesus Christ is King.
We are constantly faced with new life situations, many of which are beyond our control and some of which are unpleasant. In this passage, we look at three events that remind us that God is in control of our times of transition, and that we can trust Him no matter what comes our way.