Today’s passage: 1 Peter 5:1-5
Helpful thoughts:
- Peter exhorts (Comes alongside) elders as a fellow elder and as one who will share in eternity with all of us. Peter, an apostle (Having “witnessed” Christ), humbles himself first as an example before telling elders to be an example.
- The flock (The church) is God’s. It does not belong to the elder(s).
- Eldering (Or pastoring) is to be accomplished among the flock that is among you. This passage gives further evidence for the structure of the Local Church.
- Pastors are to exercise oversight. They are to lead, guard, and feed:
- Willingly
- Selflessly
- Humbly
- Without intimidation
- By example
- Every shepherd is under the authority of the Chief Shepherd
Questions to consider:
- Why is humility so important for godly leadership? Did Christ come to be served or to…?
- What might be the reason “younger” people in the flock were singled out in this passage to be submissive to their elders? What does the word “likewise” in verse 5 point us back to?
- Why is it so important for pastors to remember that churches do not belong to them nor that the “buck stops” with them?