Posted on 05/08/2006 6:09:46 PM PDT by sionnsar
As it turns out, this sermon by the Rev. Charlie Camlin of Holy Trinity REC in Virginia, True Shepherds who follow the Good Shepherd, is quite relevant for all of us. While it seems appropriate for those who have been following the ECUSA elections this [past] week, it applies to anyone, whether laity or clergy, in any church. Rev. Camlin expounds upon John 10:11-16, and he adds this counsel:
Just like the Good Shepherd, ministers today are to seek and to save the lost. They are to gather together those who have been scattered. Jesus Christ is the model for ministry. What the Church needs today is an influx of bishops and priests who will follow the example of the Good Shepherd. Those who will teach sound doctrine in accordance with the Word of God and scatter those wolves who teach otherwise. We need shepherds who will comfort and discipline the sheep entrusted to them in love. We need leaders in the Church who teach right from wrong not only with their lips but also with their lives.Indeed, we need Godly bishops. Godly priests, Godly deacons--and Godly laity as well. May the Lord grant us faithful shepherds to help us feed on His Word. This is a good sermon--please read it all.
Unfortunately, I think that the Church has a number of pastors who have forgotten that there is a dangerous enemy out there. Our enemy would like nothing better than to infiltrate the flock and scatter the sheep. Maybe we have forgotten that the Church is to be militant against the world, the flesh and the devil. I am afraid that the Church in the United States has so compromised with the culture that we can no longer tell what is right from what is wrong. We need pastors who will protect the flock entrusted to them from false doctrine and teach in its place true doctrine so that we may come to “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” The Church today needs men who will watch and pray so that the sheep will be protected.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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