Messages for 2008 (Winter)
Fully Devoted Followers

Our church mission statement is “A community of healing and wholeness, taking Jesus to everyone and making them his fully devoted followers.” Last Spring we looked at being a community of Healing and Wholeness through passages in Luke’s Gospel. In the Autumn we looked at taking Jesus to everyone through the Blowing Your Cover course and as we looked at Acts 2 about being A People Full of God.

During this coming term we will now be turning to the third section of our Mission by looking at what it means to be and to make Fully Devoted Followers of Jesus. We will do this by looking at the Biblical teaching on shepherds and sheep. The role of those who shepherd the flock of God is to ‘proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ’ Col 1:28. The shepherding motif runs throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Moses was a shepherd before God called him to shepherd his people, as was King David. In Psalm 23 the Lord himself is referred to as the Shepherd, and Jesus calls himself ‘the Good Shepherd’ and refers to himself several times as a shepherd, even though he was a carpenter by trade and never looked after sheep as far as we know. So this coming term under the general heading of Fully Devoted Followers, we will be looking at various scriptures that show us what God expects of‘his sheep’ and of those who care for the flock of God which is the local church.

Please do take and read a copy of the current Newfrontiers Magazine, particularly Terry’s article on page 30 which is very much a synopsis of the subject matter that I believe the Lord would have us consider together over these coming months.

1. 6th January. Phil Rogers. The Shepherds of Israel. Isa 53:6 Eze 34:1-10
2. 13th January. Steve Jones The Lord, our Shepherd. Eze 34:11-16
3. 20th January. Dave Rogers. The Behaviour of the Sheep Eze 34:17-22
4. 27th January. Matthew Skirton. David the Shepherd. Ps 78:71-72 Eze 34:23-30
5. 3rd February. Phil Rogers. The Lamb of God. Isa 53:7, John 1:29-37
6. 10th February. Dave Rogers. The Lost Sheep. Luke 15:3-7
7. 17th February. Phil Draper. Jesus, the Gate of the Sheepfold. John 10:1-10.
8. 24th February: Testimony Meeting
9. 2nd March. Phil Rogers. Jesus, the Good Shepherd John 10:11-16, 26-30
10. 9th March, Steve Jones. Feed my Sheep. John 21:15-17
11. 16th March. Dave Rogers. The Great Shepherd. Luke 12:32 Heb 13:20-21 1Pet 2:24-2, Col 1:28

This takes us up to Easter on 21st-23rd March which is very early and comes a week before the schools break up for the “Spring Holiday”. As we look at being fully devoted followers of our Great Shepherd Jesus, let us not forget about healing and wholeness and being People full of God, taking Jesus to everyone, but as we work these things out let us become and make fully devoted followers of Christ.
                                                                                                          Phil Rogers

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