Thursday, April 24, 2008

My Last Sermon Before Sabbatical



This Sunday I will be preaching my last sermon before a three month sabbatical. I actually will be out of the pulpit for 14 weeks, since my first Sunday "back" will be in Mexico on a missions trip. I assure you that the pulpit will be in good hands.

I am thankful that many of you have said that there is spiritual profit for your soul in my preaching of God’s Word. I really marvel at that grace.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:12, "each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.' Has Christ been divided?"

For those of you who worship at Cornerstone, please reaffirm from this text what you already know, namely, that gratitude for spiritual profit from a preacher should not produce a kind of partiality that will only listen to that preacher.

My prayer and hope is that you will show in these next three months that your allegiance is not primarily to me, but to Jesus Christ.

Paul reminds us who our leader is in Colossians 1:18: "He [Jesus] is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything."

5 comments:

Christina said...

Rest assured that we will be there on Sunday while you are gone. We are praying even now how to encourage Shane (and Jess) while he takes on the added responsibility. And we're looking forward to hearing John and Kevin as well.

Having said that, we will miss you and your family. We are very thankful for your grace filled leadership and biblical preaching.

Kristen Borland said...

we are going to miss you guys, but we know shane and the elders will do a wonderful job, and we can draw nearer to God and worship Him no matter who's standing behind the pulpit.

by the way, nice fancy picture!

Alicia said...

I have really enjoyed hearing Shane preach. I'm not sure he needs a mike though :).
We will truly miss your preaching...and your family gracing the front row with four black heads and one golden top!:) It will be strange to not see you up there...all of you.
However, I am excited that God has things to show you all and he has things to show us too through this time.
Love the picture of the cornerstone cross.

Tricia said...

I have just come to realize how blessed I am. God has given me a loving church family and a biblical teacher. I did not know what I was looking for in a church when we came to Cornerstone. I just knew this was the right fit for us. I rejoice in the sovergienty of God. He knew where we need to be to grow. Thank you so much for teaching God's Word. We will miss you and your family. I know God will use this time to grow all of us closer to Him. I look forward to seeing what God leads Shane and the others to share.

Mike Borland said...

It's a bit sad to see you go, but I'm excited that you and your family are going to get a very well deserved break. You can't be a very effective pastor if your family isn't behind you 100% so I pray that these next three months are a wonderful time of family bonding. Have a great time in Israel and take lots of pictures so you can share with us when you get back! :) Thank you for being so concerned about your flock during your absence, but don't worry because you have left us in great hands. See you in three months!