Bulletins - Keystone Presbyterian Church

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Gloria Patri
Doxology
It is a deep joy for us today to install Jon Little, who has been duly elected by the communicant members of this congregation to serve as a Ruling Elder in this church. And because this is not merely a human appointment but a sacred stewardship before God, it is fitting for us to turn to the Scriptures and consider what the Lord says about the kind of person who is to serve in this office.
The church is not merely an institution or an organization; it is a living family of people redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. And among that family, those who serve in leadership are especially visible, both to the congregation and to a watching world. That is why the qualifications we find in God’s Word matter so deeply: an elder’s life, doctrine, and example say something about the Christ we confess and about the health of his church.
We know that the enemy does not leave Christ’s church alone. Satan has often sown confusion, compromise, and error among God’s people, and many have been harmed because of it. That is why, especially in a time like ours, the church needs faithful, godly leaders—people who love Christ, submit to his Word, and are willing to shepherd his people with humility and courage. And that is precisely why passages like this one are so necessary: they teach us to look first not at worldly giftedness or outward impressiveness, but at the kind of character and faithfulness the Lord himself requires.
For that reason, the church must not be careless when recognizing men for spiritual leadership. A man’s life, character, and faithfulness must be carefully considered before he is entrusted with such a sacred responsibility. So as we come to this text, we do so asking the Lord to show us what kind of man should lead in Christ’s church, and to help us honor his wisdom as we consider this calling.
This evaluation has been done, and today I want to make a few comments about elders and the congregation.
I. Elders
First, a few comments about elders.
Acts 14:21-23 records the ordination of elders in the first-century church:
Acts 14:21–23 CSB
21 After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
How does God make known to His church the men He has appointed to serve as elders? Surely, prayer and fasting have their place, for the church must seek the face of God with humility, reverence, and dependence upon the Spirit. Yet in the end, the matter is not governed by human preference, worldly standards, or outward appearance. The Lord has not left His church without guidance. He has spoken clearly in His Word.
Therefore, the church must discern those whom God is raising up by measuring their lives according to the biblical qualifications He Himself has given. Elders are not chosen because they are successful in business, strong in financial resources, influential in the community, or naturally gifted in leadership. These may impress the world, but they are not the marks by which Christ identifies His shepherds.
Rather, elders are recognized as men whom God has called, sanctified, and prepared for the sacred work of shepherding His flock. The men God appoints will bear the character His Word requires. Their lives will testify that the hand of God is upon them, and the church, through prayerful discernment and submission to Scripture, must acknowledge those whom the Chief Shepherd has set apart for His service.
And what are the biblical qualifications of an elder? 1 Timothy 3:1-7 lists what is required of an elder. As you think of the man you have elected, know that he has met these qualifications:
1 Timothy 3:1–7 CSB
1 This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.” 2 An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy. 4 He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.
What, then, are the duties required of an elder?
When we ask that question, we must not answer it according to personal opinion or modern preference, but according to the Word of God and the polity Christ has given to His church. In Presbyterian understanding, the office of elder is not a human invention, nor is it a matter of mere practicality. It is a biblical office, instituted for the government, care, and spiritual oversight of the household of faith.
First, we look again to the passage before us. There we see that a ruling elder must be a man who manages his own household well. That is not incidental. In Presbyterian thought, this speaks directly to a man’s fitness for ordained office. The home is the first sphere in which his capacity for spiritual oversight is made evident. Certainly, there is a distinction between family government and church government; they are not identical. And yet, the one bears upon the other. If a man cannot order his own house with wisdom, gravity, and godliness, how shall he take part in governing the church of the living God?
But we must also turn to Acts 20, where Paul addresses the Ephesian elders and says, “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.” Here we see clearly that the elder’s work is spiritual oversight. He is charged first to watch himself—to guard his life and doctrine—and then to watch the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made him an overseer. This is not mere administrative service. This is not board membership. This is shepherding. This is oversight. This is participation in the spiritual government of Christ’s church.
And this is precisely why Presbyterianism has always insisted that elders are not simply advisers to the minister, nor merely respected men within the congregation. They are ordained officers in Christ’s church. Together with the teaching elder, they form the session, which bears responsibility for the government, discipline, worship, and spiritual care of the congregation. Their authority is not lordly, autonomous, or self-derived. It is ministerial and declarative, exercised under the authority of Christ, in submission to the Scriptures, and in communion with the broader courts of the church.
That is why the language of the Book of Order is so important. Ruling elders are not so named because they “lord it over” the congregation, for such tyranny has no place in the church of Jesus Christ. Rather, they are called to discern the congregation’s fidelity to the Word of God, to strengthen and nurture its faith and life, and to exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline. And they do so not as isolated individuals, but as men joined together in the ordered and connectional government of the church. Presbyterianism reminds us that Christ has not left His people to independency, confusion, or mere personality-driven leadership. He governs His church through appointed officers, gathered in courts, under His Word.
So then, the duties of an elder are high and holy. He must govern well, beginning in his own home. He must watch over himself with seriousness and humility. He must watch over the flock with tenderness, vigilance, and doctrinal faithfulness. He must take part in the government and discipline of the church. He must labor with his fellow elders for the peace, purity, unity, and edification of Christ’s body. And in all of this, he must remember that he is not his own master. He is an undershepherd, serving under the authority of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord.
II. The Congregation
Let me speak to you now about the life of the congregation.
One of the beautiful gifts Christ gives his church is godly leadership that teaches sound doctrine and helps us see how the truth of Scripture meets us in everyday life. And one of the beautiful callings of church members is to receive that truth with humble, Spirit-filled hearts and then walk in it at home, at work, in suffering, in service, and in every ordinary place where the Lord has appointed us to live.
We should remember this with gratitude and humility: all of us begin in the same place, simply as part of Christ’s flock. No one begins as great in the kingdom. The Lord often shapes his servants in quiet faithfulness, and those who prove faithful in small things are often the ones he is pleased to entrust with greater responsibility in his time.
So the congregation is never meant to be a passive audience. The church is the people God calls to do the work of ministry—to love one another, bear burdens, pray faithfully, encourage the weary, serve with gladness, and build up the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:12 CSB
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,
Hebrews 13:17 also helps us see the general calling of a healthy congregation:
Hebrews 13:17 CSB
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
When the leadership of a church is seeking to follow the Spirit and shepherd according to the Word of God, the congregation is called to respond with trust, humility, prayer, and willing support. That does not mean every member will understand every decision immediately, nor does it mean sincere questions can never be asked. But it does mean there should be a deep desire to walk together under the lordship of Christ. And when a church lives in that spirit, it becomes a living testimony to the watching world that Jesus truly is among his people.
There are many things that can wound a church and weaken its witness. Certainly, one of the most serious is poor leadership or false teaching that draws people away from the Word of God instead of rooting them more deeply in it.
But a church is also weakened when a congregation resists walking together in godly unity. That kind of resistance can lead to division, confusion, and a damaged witness before the world. So let each of us ask the Lord for hearts that keep in step with the Spirit—hearts that are faithful to Christ, eager for peace, and willing to joyfully support godly leadership for the good of the whole body.
I thank God for those he has raised up to serve as elders in this church. And I want to say with gratitude and confidence that the Lord has indeed provided faithful and godly people to serve here at Keystone Presbyterian Church.
Will you pray that God will strengthen them, guide them, and use them to serve faithfully as Christ continues to build this church for his glory?
And will you also pray that God would help you—and every member of Keystone Presbyterian Church—to keep in step with the Spirit, to be faithful and obedient to Jesus Christ, and to walk together in love, humility, and joyful obedience?
Let’s pray.
- - Acts 14:21–23CSB
- - 1 Timothy 3:1–7CSB
- - Ephesians 4:12CSB
- - Hebrews 13:17CSB

Acts 14:21–23CSB

1 Timothy 3:1–7CSB

Ephesians 4:12CSB

Hebrews 13:17CSB