Dear Christ our Shepherd Family,
To write that greeting is to be failed with joy because of your love for Jesus, for fellow believers and for the work to which God has called us. However, it causes us, as your pastor, to search my heart and weigh my words before the Lord, so that I pass on to you that which I have received from Him.
Do you sometimes feel a bit like a kindergartener? There is so much to learn, but I want to encourage you! The Holy Spirit will be our teacher, and we will mature together in every facet of our corporate life, and we will graduate one day in the presence of the Lord. The apostle Peter reminded his flock that “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example” .(1 Peter 2:21) The word used here for “example” is the word for a tracing over which young students would write, in order to learn to from their letters and their writings style so that they could communicate legibly. Christ, our good Shepherd, sacrificed his life for our church and in doing so he has left an indelible outline of the truth for every area of our life. Like young children, our attempts to follow this tracing may be a bit wobbly at first, and we conform more closely to his master-line, then our presentation of his life to our community will become more legible and therefore more intelligent. Truly we will become an epistle read of all. When Gavin comes to me and shows me his latest attempt at writing, I love to tell him how proud I am of his efforts.
I believe that the Lord Jesus wants us to know that he is pleased with the way we have begun and that he will continue to help us with any “wobbles” that we may discern in our individual or corporate lives. Father God’s intention is not that we form some thing, but that we conform to someone, that more nearly we become like the Lord Jesus who is the perfect ABC for life.
This morning I read a feature article in The Washington Post entitled,” The Fundamentals of Disillusionment,” commenting on the heartsickness in the nation caused by the combined effects of the PTL revelations, the Iran-scam investigations and the demise of Gray Hart’s presidential ambitions. The author was emphasizing the subversion of trust in spiritual and political leadership that has occurred.
“For many Americans , the air these days is so thick with disillusionment, it ca take one’s breath away…. The aftermath of shattered faith rarely adds up to more than a pervasive sense of despair and gloom.”
The prayers that we offered on Sunday for the leadership of Church and nation must be maintained and amplified. Lets make the heart of this church a resting place for the burden of God’s heart for our nation.
CHRIST OUR SHEPHERD
May 10, 1987 : 2:30p.m
MESSSAGE OUTLINE : Pastor Stuart McAlpine
At a time when there are so many things to do, and they all seem equally pressing, let us heed the Chief Shepherd’s voice and allow his Spirit to remind us of . . .
“ONE THING”
“One thing is needed . . . “ (Luke 10:42)
DEVOTION: developing intimacy“One thing I do know . . . “(John 9:25)
DISCERNMENT: developing knowledge“One thing I ask . . . “(Psalms 27:4)
DESIRE: developing affections“One thing you lack . . .”(Luke 18:22)
DISCIPLESHIP: developing character“One thing I do . . .”(Philippians 3:13)
DIRECTION: developing perspective“Don’t forget this one thing . . .”(2 Peter 3 :8)
DESTINY: developing watchfulness
Pastorally yours,
Stuart McAlpine