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1 Peter 5, 1-14. Follow along with me, please.
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's suffering,
who also will share in the glory to be revealed.
Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them,
not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be,
not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve,
not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
And when God called, when the chief shepherd appears,
you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away.
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders.
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another,
because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.
Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
because you know that the family of believers throughout the world
is undergoing the same kind of suffering.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
after you have suffered a little while,
will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast,
to him be the power forever and ever.
Amen.
With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother,
I have written to you briefly,
encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Stand fast in it.
She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you,
sends you her greeting, and so does my son Mark.
Greet one another with the kiss of love.
This is the word of the Lord.
Amen.
Thanks, Shonsonez.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Andrew, one of the pastors here.
We're glad to be worshiping with you today.
Why don't we go to the Lord in prayer before we open up his word together.
Our Father, would you lift up our eyes to see what an amazing hope we have in Christ.
Would you give us eyes to see you?
Would you give us eyes to see your son?
Would you give us eyes to see your church as you see it, Lord?
And would the preaching of your word bring honor and glory to your son and confidence to your people?
Because we have such a wonderful Savior.
It's in his name we pray.
Amen.
All right.
So we're wrapping up, finally, our series in 1 Peter.
Today we're in chapter 5, the very last chapter.
And in case you are new, brand new to Christ Church, or you missed the whole series,
all Peter's been doing this whole letter is he's been trying to encourage and testify
to like these suffering, persecuted Christian religious minorities scattered all throughout Turkey.
He's been trying to encourage them that it is still worth it.
It is always worth it to follow Christ.
Even when it involves suffering as an outsider, as a cultural alien, being persecuted or perceived
as a deviant or a weirdo, the message of 1 Peter for us is that even when following
Jesus might isolate us from the cool kids at school or from the center of all the fun and
attention at their parties, or even when we're disadvantaged economically or in the marketplace
because of our commitment to generosity and to lifting up the burdens of our neighbors,
or because we just don't elevate profit and production as our highest priority and purpose,
or even when we're considered as backwards and bigoted because we are committed to following
Jesus' way and holding His holy views on the human body and marriage and sex,
Peter wants us to know that it's still worth it.
It's still worth it to not walk in the counsel of evildoers, to not stand in the way of the
wicked or to sit in the seat of scoffers.
Peter's saying again and again and again throughout this letter, it's worth it, it's worth it to
stand in the way of Christ like a tree planted by streams of living water.
And even when it feels like we're wilting in this stream, even when it feels like Jesus'
way isn't the way to favor or success or blessing or even justice, Peter wants us to know that our
sufferings and our experiences of alienation are not because we're standing in the wrong stream.
That's why he says in verse 12 at the end here,
I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Stand fast in it.
He's saying when you're uncomfortable following Jesus, when you feel tied down by your faith and
disadvantaged and like an outsider and like your commitment to Christ is costing you so much,
he's saying you are actually standing in the true grace and favor of God.
You are communing with the crucified and risen Christ.
So continue to stand in Him.
Stand fast in Him because resurrection is coming.
Glory is coming.
And this is not merely conceptual to Peter.
Peter is writing this, as it says in verse 13, from Babylon.
Now Babylon is what many Christians called Rome at the time.
Babylon was, Rome was the new Babylon, right?
The new domineering world power.
So Peter is writing pretty much from the center of the belly of the beast.
And probably fresh on his mind are some of the last words that Jesus spoke to him.
In John's Gospel, chapter 21, Jesus has this moment with Peter.
And he says,
And John writes that Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death that Peter would glorify God with.
And we know from history that he too was crucified in Rome.
So Peter is no stranger to exile.
He's in Rome.
He's close to his crucifixion.
And yet he's still telling his readers, he's still telling us,
Yo, it is worth it.
It is still and always worth it to follow Christ.
We can entrust ourselves to him and to his ways.
That's how he ended last week in chapter 4.
So then those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful creator and continue to do good.
He's pointing us again and again and again to the faithfulness of God and the sureness of God's promises.
He's pointing us again and again and again to the example of Jesus who lived a perfect life and suffered for it on a cross.
And yet rose again into imperishable glory.
This is the way, he says.
This is the way.
You're not off track.
You're suffering in and with Christ will lead to glory in and with Christ.
Now I just mentioned this final chapter in John's gospel, John chapter 21.
But there was something else that Jesus also said in that chapter to Peter that you've got to believe was also on his mind as he's wrapping up this letter in 1 Peter chapter 5.
Maybe you remember the story.
Peter is at the Lord's Supper, right?
The last meal that Jesus has with his disciples.
And Jesus is like, Peter, you're going to deny me three times, right?
And Peter's like, no, Lord, that's never going to happen.
All these busters, they might do that, but not me.
I would sooner die than deny you.
But of course, he denies him three times, right?
When everything hits the fan.
So chapter 21 of John's gospel tells us what happens next.
After Jesus rises from the grave, what happens next between Peter and Jesus?
And what we read there is that just as Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus asked Peter a question three times on the beach.
He says, Peter, do you love me?
Peter, do you love me?
And Peter's like, yes, I love you.
Yes, I love you.
And then he's even hurt that Jesus asked him the same question over and over and over again.
But Jesus wants it imprinted on Peter's mind for the rest of his life and for the rest of his ministry.
He wants to make sure Peter hears very clearly how he will love Jesus for the rest of his life.
So what Jesus tells Peter when Jesus says, I love you, I love you, I love you, he says, well then feed my lambs.
Feed my lambs.
Shepherd my sheep.
Feed my sheep.
If you are going to love me, Peter, for the rest of your life, this is the way.
Feed my sheep.
Shepherd my sheep.
So you've got to believe that this is on Peter's mind as he's writing this very last chapter in this letter, 1 Peter chapter 5.
Feed, shepherd, and guide the flock of God.
And that's why in this last chapter, Peter's pivoting briefly from his discussion about suffering,
and he speaks a very specific and particular word to the elders of the church.
Verse 1.
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings,
who also will share in the glory to be revealed,
be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care,
watching over them not because you must, but because you are willing,
as God wants you to be,
not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve,
not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Just as Jesus had commissioned Peter to go and make disciples who would shepherd the flock of God,
Peter's now commissioning his own disciples,
who will make disciples, who will make disciples, who will make disciples,
generation after generation of elders,
generation after generation of shepherds of God's people.
And that's what we're here to recognize today.
I don't know if you knew that, but we are going to be ordaining two new elders today,
Lori Poore and Brian Lee.
And I want you to have a biblical understanding of what it means to be an elder.
See, an elder, if an elder is anything, an elder is a shepherd.
Not primarily a decision maker or some spiritual C-suite officer,
not some just voting board member on a religious committee.
See, an elder is first and foremost a shepherd.
So what we're recognizing today and celebrating with Lori Poore and Brian Lee
is the ministry of elders that can be traced all the way back to the ancient people of God.
This commission that Jesus gave to Peter on this beach of redemption,
where he entrusted this man who denied him three times,
he entrusted him still with an incredibly high and holy calling and role
and responsibility in the history, really, of the world.
And this is what Brian and Lori are entering into today.
This is what Jonathan St. Clair and Wes Selke and Karen Wastlowski
and Tonya Roby, Bill Barnes, Jesus Arciniega, and myself have all stepped into.
It's a really high calling.
It's a really loaded responsibility.
The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 13,
says that your elders are responsible for keeping watch over your souls
as those who will give an account.
It is a heavy and terrifying thing, actually, to be an elder.
So I hope you're ready, Lori and Brian.
You know, last year when I was invited to join our session of elders,
I couldn't say yes right away.
I wasn't exactly jumping at the opportunity.
Because I kind of liked, you know, blaming all the problems of our church on Jonathan
and the rest of the elders.
I couldn't say yes right away.
It's not because I don't love this church,
but because I realize I understand the heavy responsibility
of being a shepherd over this flock.
A shepherd after the model and the way of our good shepherd and Lord Jesus Christ is crazy.
Those are the shoes that we're stepping into in one sense.
To be a shepherd is to know the flock, to feed the flock, to guide the flock,
to protect the flock, like to know each of you by name,
to enter into your lives with empathy,
to carry the griefs of over 150 plus adult members here.
It's a huge emotional capacity that this entails.
And honestly, some of you are not the easiest sheep to guide, all right?
But we're committed.
We're committed to being in communion with our sheep.
We will pursue you when you stray,
when you go after self-destructing habits and ideologies and patterns and idolatries,
just like the good shepherd of Jesus' parable, right?
The one who leaves the 99 and pursues the one.
Christ Church East Bay, you need to know,
we're not going to be the kind of church
where your name is just going to be stuck on some membership role
and where we're going to be content to not have you show up,
you know, for six months at a time.
No, we're going to come after you.
Because that's what a shepherd does.
In love.
In gentleness.
Because that's what a shepherd does.
We're committed to feeding you a healthy diet, right?
Making sure you are nourished by the green pastures of the scriptures and the sacraments
so that you'll be full with Christ and equipped to serve Him.
And, you know, preaching the Bible is hard.
It's hard.
I have no idea what I'm doing up here most of the time.
But I do it because God has ordained this institution.
And He's given us His Word.
And these are the words of life.
And, you know, that's not even the hardest part.
To guide you, to lead you towards streams of living water, right?
To lead you toward the refreshment of your soul,
oftentimes through the valley of the shadow of death.
To make calls and take risks and to discern God's will for this whole body of people
when we don't know the outcomes.
To live with that kind of faith and humility and confidence all at the same time.
It often feels like a tightrope.
And then also to protect you.
That's what we're called to do.
Whether physically.
You know, the elders were the ones really wanting to step up our security presence here.
During our Sunday worship,
they were the ones who called us to raise up our standards of safety guidelines.
But also spiritually, we are called to defend you from all the wolves
and all the bears and all the false voices and spirits
that contend with God's Word and God's Spirit.
It's our elders who, it's on us elders,
to wield the rod and the staff.
Not to harm you, but to comfort you.
To protect you against your enemies.
To preserve the peace and purity and integrity and unity of this church.
I can remember a time when our elders did that before I joined.
The session.
A few years ago, our elders had a super tense meeting
with some disgruntled members in our church
who wanted to change the church's theological position
on something that Jesus is very clear about.
That the whole of Scripture is very clear about.
And one of the disgruntled members,
he was just arguing,
you know, why can't we just get with the times?
Why can't we just get with the times?
And you know, honestly, that would be the easy thing to do.
And it would probably boost up our reputation here in Berkeley.
It would have allowed us to swim in the cultural mainstream of the Bay Area.
But I want you to know that that kind of argument
is not going to fly at Christ Church East Bay with your elders.
I guess we will always consider our context.
We will always seek to be relevant.
But we will not just get with the times to get with the times.
No, we're here to protect the flock from falsehood.
So all this is to say that being an elder is a heavy responsibility.
And I'm not saying this so you'll have more respect for us.
I'm not trying to manipulate you into pity toward us
or greater appreciation for us.
But I'm here to teach you how God sees the office of elder
that Lori and Brian are stepping into today.
I want you to see the fullness of what is happening today
as two people take up this super high calling.
And not because they must, verse 2,
not because they must,
but because they are willing,
because they love Christ,
because they love His church,
and because they love you.
Not for dishonest gain.
Lori and Brian aren't getting paid for this, all right?
You know, me and Jonathan, we're teaching elders.
At least we're on the payroll.
But you should trust your ruling elders here, all right?
You should trust them.
They love you.
They're doing this for free
because they so believe in the mission of Christ Church East Bay
to lead people into deeper relationships
with Christ and His church for the good of the city.
Our elders are eager to serve, as it says in verse 2.
Eager to serve.
And listen, that's the key word, serve.
So I think for some people,
especially actually where I come from
in maybe like the more Asian context,
it can be seen to be an elder
as some kind of status symbol, right?
Some kind of social, religious status symbol,
or you just get lots of power now
over this large group of people.
But that's not the biblical understanding
of what an elder is like.
An elder is not like just being in the C-suite,
just calling all the shots,
and then making other people execute your plans.
No, an elder is a servant leader.
An elder is a servant leader.
The church is such a unique institution and organization,
and it's actually quite difficult to run
because we're trying to steer this 200-plus person boat, right,
into a deeper relationship with Christ,
into greater impact on our city.
But our elders, our shepherds,
we don't have the hard accountability tools, right,
of like wages or of threatening layoffs
or anything like that.
A church is ultimately powered,
in addition to the Holy Spirit,
by volunteers, right?
A church operates through the organic eagerness
of God's people to serve and give their time
and their talent and their treasures
in addition to their responsibilities at work
and in their homes.
So how does a shepherd elder guide sheep
without being able to smack them around
with their rods and with their staffs?
How do they do it without being able
to dangle a nice carrot?
Well, elders, elders lead like our good shepherd, right?
They lead like our good shepherd,
not by self-interested, self-preserving,
self-glorifying dominance,
but through selfless, sacrificial,
self-giving love.
Verse 3,
Effective elders and shepherds live such beautiful lives
that their sheep aren't like,
oh man, I had to follow Bill Barnes
because they made him an elder at this church.
Oh man.
No.
If you're an effective elder,
then your people will say,
oh man, I'm so glad to follow Bill Barnes.
Look at the life he's living in his retirement.
Look how he's giving himself
to feed our houseless neighbors.
Look at how he's spending days in a week,
every week,
to go visit and make disciples of people in prison.
This is what elders do.
Christ Church, your elders are your examples.
These are the ones we are setting forth before you
and telling you to follow them
as they follow Christ.
These are your examples.
And this is how everything links back
to everything that Peter was saying
about suffering and how suffering leads to glory.
See, your elders are your examples.
They're meant to live lives that testify
that living for Jesus is worth it.
Even when it includes suffering,
because it will lead to glory,
our elders believe that with all their hearts.
These few verses on elders here in 1 Peter
are not some random change of topic
that Peter's just trying to squeeze in
at the end of his letter.
Notice in verse 1 how he says
that these elders will share in the glory
to be revealed.
See, what he's doing is he's saying
that not only do you have the example of Jesus,
whose selfless and sacrificial suffering
for others led to glory,
but hey, you have elders.
You have shepherds who are called to do the same,
who are called to point you
to a suffering way of life
that still leads to glory with Christ.
Peter is writing to these weary religious minorities
who are wondering if it was worth it
to follow Jesus,
and he's calling upon the elders
in these churches
to confirm to their wavering flocks
by the way they live
and by the way they lead
that it is worth it to follow Jesus,
even through hardship and persecution.
He's calling on these elders
to show their congregations
by the examples of their lives
that in Christ,
we always have a living hope,
that in Christ,
we always have an imperishable inheritance
that we did not earn
and cannot lose
no matter how terrible our suffering.
See, elders are God's gift to the church
to demonstrate with their lives
and with their leadership
that nothing can strip us
of the glory and the joy
and the honor and the blessing
that are ours in Christ.
And to me, it is so providential
and fitting that we've come to this text today
as we ordain Lori Poor
and Brian Lee specifically.
Because man,
these elders,
specifically Lori and Brian,
if anyone believes in the glory
that will be revealed,
it is them.
You know, we're not ordaining them today
just because they're good looking
or because they passed our Bible
and theology
and church government
and church history exams
or because they're willing to show up
to a three-hour meeting
once a month.
They're being called as elders
because of their faith in
and love for Christ.
And because of the super evident hope
that we've seen them hold on to
in the face of terrible tragedies.
For the many of you
who are newer to Christ Church,
if you're planning to be part of this church,
if you want to get to know us better,
if you want to know the history
of who we are
and the events that have shaped us
as a family of faith,
you need to know the Poor's and the Lee's.
You need to know the stories
of the Poor's and the Lee's.
Both families have experienced
tremendous loss.
The loss of Elizabeth Poor
before she even turned a day old
in that hospital.
And three years ago,
the loss of Isaac Lee.
We were just hanging out with him.
He was only a junior in high school.
We were just hanging out with him
the Wednesday before he was taken
from us on Sunday
from a cancer that none of us
even knew that he had.
You need to know these stories.
You need to know these families
if you want to know
who Christ Church East Bay is.
So that today,
when you watch us lay hands
on Lori and Brian,
you are watching us
as a church family
declare that we want to follow
these kinds of people.
Men and women
who've unreservedly
placed all their marbles,
all their hopes
in the glory
that is to be revealed.
We're setting before you
these people who long,
as it says in verse 4,
for the reappearance
of the chief shepherd.
These people
who are coming up here
are people who believe
by faith
in the unfading glory
to come.
And they don't just believe
it personally,
but they want it
for all of us as well,
for the flock
of Christ Church East Bay,
for the nations,
for the world.
Starting today
for Lori and Brian
and for every single
one of us elders,
again, Jonathan, Karen, Wes,
Tonya, Bill, and Jesus,
and me,
our charge
is to guide you
into glory
as shepherds
guiding their sheep
toward the glory
of green pastures
and living water
even through the valley
of the shadow of death.
We're here
to show you the way,
and it's not just
some way that we made up,
it's the way
of our good shepherd
who also walked
through the valley
of the shadow of death
and came out
on the other side.
Your elders exist
to point you
to Christ
and His way
that leads to life.
We're here to point you
to the ultimate shepherd
who took the rod
of God's judgment
against sin
and evil
in our place
so that we might know Him
as our good shepherd,
so that His rod
and His staff
might comfort us
rather than strike us
with fear.
that this is what
we're about here
at Christ Church East Bay.
We're about following
the ancient traditions
of the scriptures,
the churchly institution
that's laid out
in the Bible
because we trust
that this way
is the way of Jesus
and it will direct us
toward Him
and deeper communion
with Him,
our good shepherd.
And that's why
for the members
of this church,
you will be asked
when we ordain them
in a couple moments,
you'll be asked
to submit to these elders
as it says in verse 5.
In the same way,
you who are younger,
submit yourselves
to your elders.
All of you,
clothe yourselves
with humility
toward one another
because God opposes
the proud
but shows favor
to the humble.
Listen,
this is not a weak
kind of unthinking
submission
to church authority,
to some institutional
religious figures.
No,
it is a humbling
of ourselves,
not simply under
these human elders
but under the divine
designs of God
who as we saw
in the life of Jesus
will always lift up
the humble.
This is why
we clothe ourselves
with humility,
not because Lori
and Brian
and the rest of us
are perfect,
no,
not even because
they deserve
our fullest confidence
and dependence,
no,
we clothe ourselves
with humility
toward one another.
We submit to our elders
not by faith
in our elders
or even in the church
but by faith
in God's mighty hand.
Verse 6,
Humble yourselves
therefore
under God's mighty hand
that He may lift you up
in due time.
Cast all your anxiety
on Him
because He cares for you.
And this could be a sermon
in and of itself,
right,
on humility and anxiety.
We won't get into that today
but ultimately
Peter is wrapping up
by saying,
hey,
look to your chief shepherd.
Look also
to your shepherd elders
and you will be filled
with an anxiety
defying confidence
as you humbly trust
in the mighty hand of God.
And you will also find
when you do that
that He is not only mighty
but He is caring.
And friends,
this is our only hope
in the world
if we are going to live
the Christian life
as elect exiles
in this place.
Look away from Christ.
Look away from the body
of Christ
and its leaders
and you'll only become
more anxious
and more vulnerable
to the visible
and invisible powers
of evil
that you might not
even be aware of.
See,
Peter isn't merely interested
in giving us
some mental health advice
here for people
struggling with anxiety.
anxiety.
He's got a far bigger
picture in mind,
a far more cosmic view
of what we're up against
and what afflicts us.
You know,
throughout this whole letter,
Peter's been giving them
reason after reason, right?
Truth after truth
that they might stand firm
in the faith
and believe that Jesus
is worth it, right?
But in order for them
to know how much
God is for them,
they also need
a clear picture
of what they're up against.
And this is why
he mentions
the very personal powers
and spirits of evil
that love to make
God's people suffer
and fill us with anxiety
in verse 8.
Be alert
and of sober mind.
Your enemy,
the devil,
prowls around
like a roaring lion
looking for someone
to devour.
Resist him,
standing firm
in the faith
because you know
that the family
of believers
throughout the world
is undergoing
the same kind
of sufferings.
Peter's saying,
your struggle
is not merely
against flesh and blood.
God.
And that is exactly
why you need
your chief shepherd,
Jesus,
and his whole flock,
the body of Christ
and all its elders
to resist the devil
and stand firm
in the faith
together as a family.
And maybe this sounds
like super superstitious
to you
and I wish I had more time
to comment on that
but let me just share
with you what one
historian and New Testament
scholar,
N.T. Wright,
says about this.
I love it.
He writes,
the thing about recognizing
the existence
and power of the devil
and learning to see him
behind not only
temptations to sin
but also persecution
and suffering
is that this enables you
to take the position
which the rest of the letter
has been advocating
as elect exiles.
See,
many Western countries
dismissed both God
and the devil
over the last two centuries
but the danger with that
as has been apparent
throughout the last two centuries
is that once you get rid of God
you get rid too
of the devil
and then you yourself
and your friends
or your party
or your country
take the role of God
while your enemies
take the role
of the devil.
But the whole letter
has been insisting
on the contrary
that the way to respond
to attacks
of whatever sort
is with a firm
but gentle faith.
Treating people
who aren't Christians
with respect,
living within the law,
behaving with humility
and patience
in all circumstances.
The point is this,
the actual human opponents,
even your fiercest persecutors,
are not in fact
the real enemy.
There is a real enemy
and he will be using them
but if you resist him
staying resolute in faith
and remembering
that you are holding
your bit of the line
while your Christian brothers
and sisters
all across the world
are holding theirs,
you will find that courteous
and civil behavior
acting with respect
and gentleness
will again and again win.
This is what he's calling us to.
So to close,
this is God's word to us
from 1 Peter.
That yes,
there will be suffering
and hardship
and persecution
and even death
when we follow the way
of our good shepherd,
when we live in his way
of love
even toward those
who mistreat us
because evil is not random.
Evil is not merely material.
It's real
and it's spiritual
and it's personal
and it's prowling around
devising our demise.
But when Christian exiles
remember our status
as the beloved of God,
as the elect
who are united
with the crucified
and risen Christ,
we need not fear.
And we can know
that we'll win
and end in glory.
I love verse 10.
And the God of all grace
who called you
to his eternal glory
in Christ
after you have suffered
a little while
will himself
restore you
and make you strong,
firm,
and steadfast.
See,
in Christ
there is nothing
so broken
that God cannot
restore it
to its proper glory.
Your elders
believe that.
Lori and Brian
believe that
and so must we
as we follow
their examples.
We must believe
in the power of God
which is proclaimed
here in verse 11.
To him be the power
forever and ever.
Amen.
We must believe this
with all our hearts
because this is the gospel.
Verse 11 and verse 14.
To him be the power
forever and ever.
Amen.
Verse 14.
Peace to all you
who are in Christ.
I love this.
To him be the power
and to us be the peace.
To him be the power
and to us be the peace.
This is the good news
of 1 Peter.
That our peace
does not depend
on our own power
but on Christ.
The one who defied
every other narrative
about power and peace.
Unlike the counterfeit
peace of Rome,
right?
The Pax Romana
that was achieved
through violence
and power
and flattening
all their opposition,
Jesus showed us
a different kind of power
and a better kind
of peace.
Rather than demonstrating
the power of his might
and putting his enemies
to death
to preserve himself,
he demonstrated
the power of his love
and selflessly
and sacrificially
gave his life
for his enemies,
for us.
He was pierced
for our transgressions.
He was crushed
for our sins.
The punishment
that brought us peace
was upon him
and by his wounds
we are healed
and raised to life
together with him.
This is the gospel.
To him be the power
and to us
be the peace
in Christ
forever and ever.
Amen.
And so we all say
blessed be the God
and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to his
great mercy
he has caused us
to be born again
to a living hope
through the resurrection
of Christ
from the dead
to an inheritance
that is imperishable,
undefiled,
unfading,
and kept in heaven
for all of us
and in this
we must rejoice.
Let's pray.
God we thank you
for the chief shepherd
to him be the power
and we thank you
that you said to us
to you be the peace
in Christ.
Lord let us not forget
what this peace
cost you
how your son
emptied himself
of his power
to demonstrate
to the world
a greater power,
resurrection power,
new creation power.
Oh God would we
live in
and under
that kind of power
unto your glory
and for the good
of the world.
God would you
be lifted up,
would you be honored
in this moment
of ordaining new elders
to this church.
we thank you
for the institution
of the church
and we ask
that you would help us
to faithfully
fulfill our callings
oh God
to lead people
into deeper relationships
with Christ
for the good
of the city
in Jesus' name.
Amen.