Bulletins - Formosa Baptist Church -k

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- - Psalm 100ESV
Big Idea for the Series: In the book of Acts, we see God advancing his Kingdom by his Spirit through his Church.
FCF: Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and his parting words to the elders at Ephesus offer us some insight on the biblical model for effective ministry. Effective ministry that honors God and advances his Kingdom is a result of stewardship, sound doctrine, personal holiness, and love for people.
Intro: Last week we looked at the first part of Paul’s farewell address to the elders at the church at Ephesus. Paul has spent a considerable amount of time with this church and loves them dearly, so his parting words to them are particularly helpful to us because they give us some insight into what Paul believes will make for an effective ministry and a healthy church.
Last week, we saw that two absolutely essential characteristics of an effective ministry are boldness in declaring the Word of God and perseverance. This week, we continue with Paul’s address to these elders to see what other wisdom we can glean for how to have an effective ministry and a healthy church.
Acts 20:24–38 ESV
24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.
Effective ministry requires good stewardship.
Acts 20:24 ESV
24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts 20:28 ESV
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
We are stewards of “the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus” (v.24) “to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (v. 28)
The fundamental aspect of stewardship is that the thing being stewarded does not belong to the steward. A steward is like a renter or a tenant—they don’t own the house, they just have permission from the owner to live there for a time.
Imagine that you owned a home and decided to rent it out to some tenants. Then, a year later, your tenants move out and you discover that they have repainted all the walls lime green. They’ve ripped out all the blinds in the house, knocked out a couple walls, replaced all of your hardwood floors with shag carpet, and dug a pond in the front yard, because “We liked it better that way.”
You’d be furious, right? It wasn’t their home to modify! It belongs to you. The arrogance of treating it as if it were their property would land them in court with some hefty penalties.
And, on the flipside of this analogy, when a spring thunderstorm rolls through and hail pummels the roof and the home needs a new roof, whose responsibility is that? It’s the homeowner’s, not the renter’s. The renter is not held responsible for events outside of his control and lease agreement. The ultimate responsibility for the home lies with the owner.
1 Corinthians 4:1–2 ESV
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
We are not responsible for the results of our spiritual labors.
Now, this implies two things:
1. We don’t get to take credit for the successes.
We don’t save people, we don’t change their hearts.
1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Paul knew that he couldn’t take credit for the salvations and the spiritual growth that he saw amongst the church at Ephesus.
As a pastor, husband, father—I don’t get to take credit when people come to Christ or mature in their faith. If I preach a sermon that moves someone to repentance, or I offer programs that help people grow in their faith, I don’t get the credit for that because ultimately, their response is owing to the moving of the Holy Spirit in their heart, and I can’t control that.
If we start trying to take credit for what God has done, we’re in dangerous territory. It’s not my ministry, it’s "the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus” (v. 24)
2. We are not held responsible for the failures of others.
Paul said,
Acts 20:31 ESV
31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.
Why does he say he did this “with tears”? Because even after all of Paul’s labors, sacrifices, sermons, and admonition, there were still people that refused to repent.
We’ve all heard the saying: “You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make him drink.”
Parents: Your job is to raise your children in the love and admonition of the Lord. That means you’re responsible for making sure they’re in church and that church is a priority in their life. It means that you’re responsible for teaching them how to pray, read their Bible, and teaching them right from wrong. But, if after all of that they rebel and deny the faith and turn their back on the church, despite your pleading and prayers, that is not on you. You are not the Holy Spirit. You cannot change their heart.
Teachers and ministry leaders: Your job is to study the Word and prepare your lesson. You are expected to spend time on it, let it influence your own life first before you presume to teach it to others. Your job is to work hard and serve humbly in whatever your ministry area is as if you were serving Jesus himself. But when someone in your class wanders away and denies the faith, despite your faithful exposition of the Word and your care towards them, that isn’t on you.
You are a steward. Whatever ministry God has given you—as a parent, as a teacher, a musician, a deacon, a greeter, or as a pastor—that ministry of the gospel does not belong to you. It is a gift from God. You can’t take credit for the successes, and you can’t take credit for the failures of others. You will not be held responsible for either. But...
We are responsible for our effort.
Paul knows that he’s not going to be held responsible for the faith or unbelief of the people he ministers to, but he knows that he will be held responsible for his efforts, his labors.
Look at all the language he uses to talk about his labors:
Acts 20:31 ESV
Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.
Acts 20:35 ESV
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak...
Good stewards work hard.
Elsewhere Paul reminds the church at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 3:5–9 ESV
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Now, earlier I said that if, after all your best efforts, someone walks away from the faith, that is not on you, and that is 100% true. However, you will be held responsible for your efforts, for your labor. Look at the warning that God gave to Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 3:17–19 ESV
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
If we have the gospel, the truth of salvation and of the coming judgement for those who reject Christ, and we fail to tell people about it, we are responsible for their judgment.
That’s the backdrop of what Paul says in Acts 20.26-27
Acts 20:26–27 ESV
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
This is why Paul “did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.” (Acts 20:31)
Teachers, the time that you spend preparing your Sunday School lesson is itself an act of worship and a reflection of how important you think it is. And this is why James warns that:
James 3:1 ESV
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
Deacons, how hard you work in serving your church is a reflection of how important you think your role as a servant is and how important you think God’s Church is. You are not serving people, but Christ.
Parents, how hard you work to teach your kids about God and his Word is a reflection of how important you think God is and how much you care about the eternal destiny of your children.
Worship leaders, how hard you work in preparing to lead God’s people in worship is a reflection of how holy and “worth-it” God is.
Christian, how much time and energy you give in serving your church, how much money you give, how often you share the gospel is a reflection of how important you think the Church of God is; a Church, that as Paul reminds us, Christ paid for with his own blood.
Acts 20:28 ESV
28 ...to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
When we work hard in the ministry that God has entrusted to us, we honor him as worthy of our efforts. Our labor in ministering to others is an act of worship.
Christian—the sacrifices you make to be here with your brothers and sisters in Christ, the offerings that you give, the act of sharing the gospel, the prayers you pray, the service you render to your church—that is your labor in ministry. That is what you will receive heavenly wages for. So, what will your heavenly paycheck be?
If we are going to be an effective church for the Kingdom of God, we must work hard.
If you’re running a race and you finish with gas in the tank and feeling like you could do it all again, then you haven’t given your best. The goal in a race is to pace yourself, but to leave all of your energy on the race course.
When Paul was nearing the finish line of his race, this is what he said:
2 Timothy 4:6–7 ESV
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Let us “work hard to help the weak,” let us “not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears,” let us steward well the ministry that God has entrusted to us so that we can truthfully say with Paul,
Acts 20:26–27 ESV
26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Effective ministry requires good doctrine.
Acts 20:28–30 ESV
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
“Doctrine” just means “what we teach/believe.”
Paul warns the elders at Ephesus to guard themselves against “fierce wolves” who will “speak twisted things.” He’s talking about false doctrines. This is something that Paul talks a lot about in his letters. In fact, in the ESV the words “doctrine” or “teaching” occur at least 44 times explicitly in the Pauline epistles, not counting all the times that Paul uses other phrases that mean the same thing like “what you have learned” or “philosophy” or others.
You cannot obey the Great Commission without good doctrine.
Jesus, in the Great Commission commanded us to “make disciples”—and that word “disciple” means a “learner/follower”—and teaching is an explicit part of the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:18–20 ESV
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
One of the marks of a healthy church is that it emphasizes and teaches sound doctrine.
There has been a push in the latter part of the 20th century and the early 21st to downplay doctrine. To focus on acts of service and being loving and welcoming—and all of that is great. We’re commanded to love and to serve. But, in many denominations, love and service are emphasized at the cost of doctrine, because some denominations want to include everyone and offend no one. And let’s face it, community service rarely drives people away from church, but doctrine often does.
And so entire denominations and many churches embraced this model of being “seeker-sensitive,” which often meant dumbing down doctrine, avoid any doctrines that were controversial or offensive, and in general, lowering the bar of what it means to be a disciple.
And I want to assume the best of these people and these churches. They wanted to see more people come to Christ. They didn’t want to drive people away. But, if you downplay doctrine and refuse to talk about the tough topics, you’re not fulfilling the Great Commission.
Many people view indoctrination as a bad thing.
You are always being indoctrinated. The only question is, “By whom?”
And here’s the problem...if we don’t indoctrinate our people—teach our people good, biblical doctrine—Satan and the world will not hesitate to indoctrinate them with his teachings.
Doctrine is a matter of spiritual warfare.
Acts 20:29 ESV
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
The way that Paul describes these false teachers reminds me of how Peter describes Satan:
1 Peter 5:8 ESV
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
There’s a good reason for that. False doctrines ultimately come from Satan. They are one of his primary tools in his war against the Church.
1 Timothy 4:1 ESV
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons...
Did you see that? Paul refers to false doctrines here as “teachings of demons,” or the “doctrines of demons.”
When we think of “spiritual warfare,” what usually comes to mind is something like a scene from The Exorcist or something like that. But, the primary way that Satan attacks people is not through possession or intimidation, it’s through getting them to believe things that are contrary to the truth that God has revealed.
If Satan wants to destroy you, and he does, he doesn’t need to possess you or get you to do Voodoo, he just needs you to buy into a few lies, a few false doctrines, false teachings. So, he fills the airwaves with as much of it as he can. “All roads lead to heaven.” “Hell isn’t real.” “Jesus was just a man.” “You’re a good enough person on your own.” And if you buy in to any of those lies, he’s got you.
And what has happened over time is that the denominations that watered down doctrine and embraced a “love above all” mentality ended up embracing false doctrines that led their churches down a dark road. Those denominations are in steep decline because the Spirit of God will not tolerate or bless blasphemy, so he departs and those churches die.
If you are averse to “doctrine,” if you think that it’s not that important what we believe, you did not get that idea from Scripture. You got that idea from the world, from Satan.
Look at how Paul describes spiritual warfare in this passage:
2 Corinthians 10:3–5 ESV
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
Satan’s primary target in this war is the minds of men, women, boys, and girls. If he can win your mind, he’s got your soul already. Satan cares a lot about what you believe, your worldview, your doctrine. Where the mind leads, the soul follows.
Our warfare against him is primarily a battle of the mind. The way we grow in Christ-likeness is by renewing and transforming our minds.
Romans 12:2 ESV
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
That’s why doctrine is so important! Satan is on the attack through the doctrines and worldviews of this world. Paul warns the elders at Ephesus:
Acts 20:29–31 ESV
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert...
There is a constant barrage of false doctrines both from outside the church, threatening to come in, and even from within the church. Paul says that pastors at the church of Ephesus would arise and distort doctrine and draw people away. We see this all the time, pastors and teachers falling prey to some false doctrine.
So, you need to “be alert!” And you need to follow Paul’s instructions here to Timothy and “be trained in...the good doctrine”
1 Timothy 4:6–8 ESV
6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Knowing good doctrine is a matter of eternal significance. That’s why we have Sunday School, and opportunities like Deep Discipleship, and Wednesday Night Bible study, and sermons that don’t just sit on the surface of Scripture and tell you how good you are.
1 Timothy 4:16 ESV
16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
But, if you’re paying attention, Paul doesn’t just tell Timothy to “Keep a close watch on your doctrine,” he also says “Keep a close watch on yourself...”
At the end of the day, if you don’t practice what you preach, you’re not going to be effective in ministry. In fact, you’ll be destructive.
Effective ministry requires personal holiness.
Acts 20:28 ESV
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves...
Again, Paul says almost the exact same thing to Timothy in I Timothy 4:16...
1 Timothy 4:16 ESV
16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Now, he obviously cares about Timothy’s teaching, his doctrine, because he says “and on the teaching.” But that also implies that he has something else in mind when he says “Keep a close watch on yourself.” Keeping a close watch on “yourself” could mean a lot of things, but in the context, he clearly has in mind Timothy’s personal holiness:
1 Timothy 4:12 ESV
12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
So, when Paul instructs all the elders here to “Pay careful attention to yourselves...” in v. 28, I think this is what he means. Keep your life holy.
Yes, being effective in ministry means that we have to work hard and be good stewards of what God has given us. Yes, being effective in ministry requires devoting yourself to sound doctrine and learning more about God and his Word.
Lack of personal holiness negates our doctrine.
But all of that is cancelled out if the life you live doesn’t back it up. In fact, it’s worse than cancelled out. When we don’t live out what we preach, it actually communicates that we don’t really believe what we preach.
Romans 2:21–24 ESV
you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
When a Christian says, “Stealing is against God’s law” and then gets caught embezzling their company or their church, it repudiates everything they said they believed. When a Christian says “Adultery is a grievous sin and it destroys families and dishonors God,” and then they turn around and cheat on their spouse, everyone knows that they don’t really believe what they said. Their “doctrine” is shown to be a lie.
How many churches and ministries who labored hard for the Lord, who had great doctrine and sound theology have been shipwrecked by impurity and unholiness?
Holiness reinforces our doctrine.
The life of Paul is a great example of this. Paul taught that godliness is more valuable than money and that Christians ought to strive for contentment and put their hope in God, not money...
1 Timothy 6:6–8 ESV
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
And when he warned people against the destructiveness of a love of money:
1 Timothy 6:9–10 ESV
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
That was his doctrine, his teaching. But, he backs all that teaching up with a life of sacrifice, and as he did so, it screams “This really is true! I really believe this and you can bank on it!”
Paul is able to say, “Don’t just listen to my words, look at my life! I practice what I preach!”
Acts 20:33–35 ESV
I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
None of us perfectly live up to our standards. If our standards come from Scripture, then it’s impossible to perfectly live up to them all the time. We all stumble, we’re all imperfect.
But, there’s a difference between stumbling your way towards a goal imperfectly and telling people that you’re headed towards the goal when you’re actually driving in the opposite direction.
Does your life back up what you say you believe? You say that God is the most important person in your life—does your life back that up? You say you believe that God knows all and sees all, but are you living as though he can’t see what you’re doing? Is there a sin in your life right now that if people knew about it would discredit everything that you say you believe?
Galatians 6:7 ESV
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
If today was your last day, could you say with Paul, “I practiced what I preached. My life wasn’t perfect, but it testified to the grace and mercy of God and honored him as ‘worth it.’”
A life that backs up what you say you believe is a powerfully effective witness to the gospel of Jesus. But a life that is lived in contradiction to your stated beliefs undermines everything you say you believe. If you want to have an enduring ministry, an effective ministry, you’ve got to practice what you preach.
Effective ministry requires love for people.
Acts 20:31–38 ESV
31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.
31 “for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears”
35 “we must help the weak...‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
37 “there was much weeping on the part of all”
If you’re going to be effective as a minister of the gospel, you have to care about people. You’ve got to be invested in the lives of your fellow church members. You’ve got to care what’s going on in their lives and serve. You can’t just come to church to get, you’ve got to come to church to give.
There’s an unstated rule in churches that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. That’s really sad. It shouldn’t be that way. There should not be a single Christian who is not actively plugged in and serving in a local church in some way.
Not a teacher or a preacher? Fine, can you shake hands and greet people? Can you change a diaper or rock a baby to sleep in the nursery? Can you be an assistant in a kid’s class? Can you make a meal for a family that’s sick or in the hospital? Can you run a computer or a soundboard?
Maybe you’ve been in church for a while and you really could teach, you just don’t want to commit because of the time and effort it would require. Do you love people? Do you want to serve?
How are you serving in this church? Aside from your physical presence today, how have you served God’s church? How have you demonstrated that you love the people here?
Love seeks to serve.
1 John 3:16–18 ESV
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers...Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Conclusion: When I stand before God one day, I know that I’m going to give an account of how I stewarded the gospel ministry that he has given me. And that doesn’t have to strike fear in my heart, because I know that I’m not going to be judged based upon how the people to whom I ministered responded, but simply upon my labors. All I’m responsible for is just working hard and being faithful. I want to have an effective ministry, one that leaves a mark and advances the Kingdom of God. Do you? If so, like we talked about last week, you’ve got to be bold and take a stand upon God’s Word. You’ve got to persevere when things get tough. You’ve got to work hard and be a good steward, and devote yourself to sound doctrine. You’ve got to back that up with the way you live your life. And you’ve got to love and serve people. If you do those things, then your ministry is going to honor God and advance his Kingdom, and you will receive rewards in heaven.
- - Acts 20:24–38NIV2011
- - Acts 20:24NIV2011
- - Acts 20:28NIV2011
- - 1 Corinthians 4:1–2NIV2011
- - 1 Corinthians 15:10NIV2011
- - Acts 20:31NIV2011
- - Acts 20:31NIV2011
- - Acts 20:35NIV2011
- - 1 Corinthians 3:5–9NIV2011
- - Ezekiel 3:17–19NIV2011
- - Acts 20:26–27NIV2011
- - James 3:1NIV2011
- - Acts 20:28NIV2011
- - 2 Timothy 4:6–7NIV2011
- - Acts 20:26–27NIV2011
- - Acts 20:28–30NIV2011
- - Matthew 28:18–20NIV2011
- - Acts 20:29NIV2011
- - 1 Peter 5:8NIV2011
- - 1 Timothy 4:1NIV2011
- - 2 Corinthians 10:3–5NIV2011
- - Romans 12:2NIV2011
- - Acts 20:29–31NIV2011
- - 1 Timothy 4:6–8NIV2011
- - 1 Timothy 4:16NIV2011
- - Acts 20:28NIV2011
- - 1 Timothy 4:16NIV2011
- - 1 Timothy 4:12NIV2011
- - Romans 2:21–24NIV2011
- - 1 Timothy 6:6–8NIV2011
- - 1 Timothy 6:9–10NIV2011
- - Acts 20:33–35NIV2011
- - Galatians 6:7NIV2011
- - Acts 20:31–38NIV2011
- - 1 John 3:16–18NIV2011
- - Luke 22:15NIV2011
- - Luke 22:16NIV2011
- - Luke 22:19NIV2011
- - Luke 22:20NIV2011
- - 1 Corinthians 10:16–17NIV2011
- - 1 Corinthians 12:13NIV2011
- - 1 Corinthians 5:11–13NIV2011
- - 1 Corinthians 11:27–30NIV2011
- - Luke 22:14–19NIV2011
- - Luke 22:20NIV2011
- - Matthew 26:30NIV2011
Behold The Lamb
- - Ephesians 3:20–21ESV

Psalm 100ESV

Effective ministry requires good stewardship.

We are not responsible for the results of our spiritual labors.

1. We don’t get to take credit for the successes.

2. We are not held responsible for the failures of others.

We are responsible for our effort.

Effective ministry requires good doctrine.

You cannot obey the Great Commission without good doctrine.

Doctrine is a matter of spiritual warfare.

Effective ministry requires personal holiness.

Lack of personal holiness negates our doctrine.

Holiness reinforces our doctrine.

Effective ministry requires love for people.

Love seeks to serve.

Acts 20:24–38NIV2011

Acts 20:24NIV2011

Acts 20:28NIV2011

1 Corinthians 4:1–2NIV2011

1 Corinthians 15:10NIV2011

Acts 20:31NIV2011

Acts 20:31NIV2011

Acts 20:35NIV2011

1 Corinthians 3:5–9NIV2011

Ezekiel 3:17–19NIV2011

Acts 20:26–27NIV2011

James 3:1NIV2011

Acts 20:28NIV2011

2 Timothy 4:6–7NIV2011

Acts 20:26–27NIV2011

Acts 20:28–30NIV2011

Matthew 28:18–20NIV2011

Acts 20:29NIV2011

1 Peter 5:8NIV2011

1 Timothy 4:1NIV2011

2 Corinthians 10:3–5NIV2011

Romans 12:2NIV2011

Acts 20:29–31NIV2011

1 Timothy 4:6–8NIV2011

1 Timothy 4:16NIV2011

Acts 20:28NIV2011

1 Timothy 4:16NIV2011

1 Timothy 4:12NIV2011

Romans 2:21–24NIV2011

1 Timothy 6:6–8NIV2011

1 Timothy 6:9–10NIV2011

Acts 20:33–35NIV2011

Galatians 6:7NIV2011

Acts 20:31–38NIV2011

1 John 3:16–18NIV2011

Luke 22:15NIV2011

Luke 22:16NIV2011

Luke 22:19NIV2011

Luke 22:20NIV2011

1 Corinthians 10:16–17NIV2011

1 Corinthians 12:13NIV2011

1 Corinthians 5:11–13NIV2011

1 Corinthians 11:27–30NIV2011

Luke 22:14–19NIV2011

Luke 22:20NIV2011

Matthew 26:30NIV2011

Ephesians 3:20–21ESV