SHIFT #6 - “SHEEP TO SHEPHERD” Jesus’s Agenda For Our Lives Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” Mark 1:16-17
Jesus Didn’t Simply Come To Save Us - He Came To RECRUIT Us To His Mission “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” Luke 19:10
To Follow Jesus Means To Be On MISSION With Jesus The Shift: Most People Begin To Follow Jesus With SELFISH Motives “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. Luke 5:4-6
“God Has The Ability To Take All Of The Temporal Stuff Of Your Life And Shape It In Such A Way That You Would Be Perfectly Positioned In Someone Else’s Life To Be The Preeminent Shepherd To Lead Them To The Throne Of Grace”
Implicit In The Call To Follow Is A Call To ENLIST Proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Matthew 10: 7-8 Jesus Gives Us The Authority And Responsibility Of A SHEPHERD But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.” Mark 6: 36 Two Practical Things To Practice 1.
INVEST (Matthew 9:12-13.)
2.
INVITE (John 1:45-47)
LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Questions To Ask Yourself Who is investing in you spiritually right now? What are they doing that is so valuable? Who are you investing in right now? What else could you do that might be valuable for them? Questions You Need To Be Asked What leadership opportunities has God opened up to you in the past few months? How did you respond? What are some things that make it difficult for you to move from sheep to shepherd? What relationships or friendships do you currently have that you could shepherd more intentionally? What specifically could you do to step it up in that relationship? Questions From the Sermon Read Mark 6:34-37. In what way did Jesus give the disciple the authority and responsibility to the disciples to shepherd the crowd. In what ways does Jesus give us the authority and responsibility to shepherd those He has placed around us? Read Matthew 10:7-8. Discuss the specific things Jesus instructs his disciples to do and draw personal application for Christians today. Questions For The Group What could we do to as a group to create room for people to grow and develop their God-given gifts? How could we restructure so that the responsibility of shepherding, is carried by more people? Do you know of people at waipuna who are not been shepherded closely enough? What could we do as a group to help them? Deeper Study Read Philippians 2:19–24. Look at Timothy’s qualities. According to Paul, what was he like and in what activities did he engage? Read Philippians 2:25–30. What words does Paul use to describe Epaphroditus in verses 25–26? Why did the Philippian church send Epaphroditus to Paul? What might these needs have been? Make a list of people you know who, like Epaphroditus, shepherd people by serving them with care. How does Paul instruct the church in Philippi to treat Epaphroditus (vv. 28–30)? How could we treat those servant-shepherds among us more like this? Pray for the pastor/shepherds of Waipuna Chapel and for each other.
Sources: “SoulShift” – A Measure of a Life Transformed” – Steve DeNeff & David Drury Send feedback or questions to
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