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Supporting God's Servants

After a few weeks of providing sermon reviews on Mondays, I have decided to switch to Wednesdays. My hope is that you will use this sermon review to help you remember and respond to God’s Word as it was presented on Sunday morning. Sermons are like homecooked meals, we need them for nourishment but often forget what we just ate. Inability to remember what we ate for lunch on Sunday afternoon does not change the fact that you needed that meal, and others like it, to survive. So maybe you can think of these reviews as reheating Sunday’s sermon and feasting on it again.

This past Sunday, May 23, our sermon came from selected Scriptures and had two main points: The Ministers Work and The Ministers Support. Let’s think about each point briefly.

The Minister’s Work
What is the minister to be and do? First, he is to be a Servant (1 Cor. 4:1). God’s minister is not a showman, salesman, or CEO. He is a servant for Christ who would “rather have Jesus than men’s applause.” Second, he is a Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:1-4). As a shepherd, or under-shepherd, of Christ’s flock, he busies himself feeding, guiding, and protecting the sheep that God has placed in his care. Finally, the minister is a Steward (Heb. 13:17). A true minister is humbled by the reality that he must give an account for how he cared for the souls of God’s children, so he is consumed with nurturing God’s children to maturity. Ministering with excellency requires a great investment of time, energy, love, and devotion.

The Minister’s Support
How should the church respond to a minister who serves, shepherds, and stewards his time and energy for Christ’s church? Do their best to set him free from secular affairs by providing the best financial support they can. The apostle Paul taught about this at different times in his ministry. He taught that elders who rule well are worthy of “double honor” (1 Tim. 5:17), that the “laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Tim. 5:18), that those who proclaim the gospel should “get their living from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14), and to the Galatians he said, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him” (Gal. 6:6). The church should consider their elders, pastors, and missionaries as God’s gift to them, and should joyfully provide them with the best financial support possible.  

Our church family has always been faithful to support the pastors who have served us, and now we have an opportunity to support a young couple from our church who is moving their family to Alaska where they will serve as missionaries. They are leaving their home, careers, family, and church behind so that they may tell the people of Alaska about the true Savior and Champion of souls, Jesus Christ. A move like this is exciting and terrifying all at the same time, and we can help support their confidence in God by providing the best financial support we can.

HOW CAN YOU USE THIS SERMON REVIEW?
1. Study the following Scriptures:
            The Minister’s Work (John 21:15-17, 1 Cor. 4:1, 1 Tim. 3:2, 1 Tim. 4:2, Titus 1:9, Heb.   13:17)
            The Minister’s Support (1 Tim. 5:17-18, 1 Cor. 9:14, Gal. 6:6)
2. As a family, talk with your spouse and children about the importance of giving to support those who devote their lives to the ministry of the gospel.
3. Prayerfully seek God about giving to support the Halls as they work in Alaska