Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Look for Love of Others – Part 1

Bryan Schneider · April 2, 2022

Acts 20:17-38

sharonrpc.org/sermons/look-for-love-of-others-43221642143392

Summary

Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders teaches that church leaders must love God and love the neighbors placed under their care.
An elder first takes heed to his own doctrine and life because private pride, impurity, greed, or impatience inevitably harms the flock.
He also watches the congregation as an overseer and shepherd, caring for God's church rather than treating it as his own possession.
The Lord's shepherding is gentle and protective: he gathers lambs, strengthens the weak, seeks the lost, binds the broken, and provides good pasture.
Moses' anger, David's abuse of power, and Ezekiel's self-serving shepherds warn how leaders can misrepresent God, exploit sheep, and teach a congregation selfishness.
God promises to replace failed shepherds with one Davidic shepherd, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who perfectly cares for his people.
Acts 20 supplies four marks for evaluating an elder: he watches his life, receives office from the Spirit with humility, remembers the church belongs to God, and focuses on Christ.
Christ purchased the church with his own blood, giving every member immense worth and providing the controlling motive for an elder's sacrificial love.

Why must love for God and love for neighbor govern the evaluation of an elder?
How does an elder's failure to watch his own life endanger other people?
What does Isaiah's image of gathering and carrying lambs reveal about Christlike leadership?
Why did Moses' angry treatment of the rock misrepresent God before Israel?
How did David turn shepherding authority into exploitation in his treatment of Uriah and Bathsheba?
What specific failures does Ezekiel 34 charge against Israel's shepherds?
How does selfish leadership influence the conduct of the sheep themselves?
How does Jesus fulfill God's promise of one shepherd from David's line?
Why must an elder remember that the office is given by the Spirit and the church belongs to God?
How should Christ's purchase of the church with his blood shape an elder's view of every member?

Elder: A church officer called to govern, teach, protect, and care for God's people under Christ's authority.
Overseer: The same pastoral office viewed in its responsibility to watch attentively over personal life and the flock.
Shepherd: The biblical image of a leader who feeds, guides, protects, seeks, and tenderly cares for God's sheep.
Self-watch: Deliberate attention to one's doctrine, character, habits, and spiritual health before attempting to lead others.
Stewardship: Managing and caring for what belongs to God while recognizing that no elder owns Christ's church.
Bad shepherd: A leader who uses authority for self-interest, neglects the weak, rules harshly, or scatters those entrusted to him.
Good Shepherd: Jesus Christ, the promised Davidic shepherd who seeks, feeds, protects, and gives his life for the flock.
Purchased church: God's people considered as those redeemed at the immeasurable cost of Christ's own blood.