Always Abounding - Spring 2017

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1 40th Anniversary of FBC 3 The Path to Restoration by Pastor Steve Damron 6 FBC Alumni Pastor Caleb Mitchell (‘07) 8 Preaching Conference and College Days CONTENTS 10 Starting Churches in Inner Cities by Pastor James Barker 12 Peace in This Place by Pastor Dan Armacost 14 FBC Alumni Jacob Unger (‘13) 15 Upcoming Events ©Published by Fairhaven Baptist Church. For correspondence or changes in subscription information, write: Fairhaven Baptist Church, <strong>Always</strong> <strong>Abounding</strong> - The Fairhaven Fundamentalist, 86 East Oak Hill Road, Chesterton, IN 46304, U.S.A. For more information, call (800) SEE-FHBC. 2 ‌‌‌‌│ ALWAYS ABOUNDING
The Path to Restoration Pastor Steve Damron One of my favorite Biblical descriptions of a pastor is shepherd, an analogy that Scripture frequently uses. For instance, Ezekiel 34 pictures those caring for a “flock of people” as shepherds. Consider the following passage and notice the imagery: “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock” (Ezekiel 34:1-8). Certainly the correlation between this Old Testament account of the shepherd and the responsibility of the New SHEPHERDING THE FLOCK Testament pastor is evident. In the next few paragraphs, I will consider the concept of shepherding God’s flock. In calling a man to pastor, God gives to that man a daunting task. He expects His pastors to “undertake” for His sheep. In the middle of the passage above, God explains that the shepherd is responsible to lead and guide his sheep. The passage also indicates that if the shepherd does not do his job properly, “beasts” enter and ravage God’s flock. When this happens, God places the blame on the shepherd. Additionally, this passage provides a descriptive word picture in verse 4, detailing the responsibilities placed on the shepherd: 1. Strengthening the diseased 2. Healing the sick 3. Binding broken limbs 4. Rescuing those driven away 5. Seeking those that are lost 6. Avoiding force and cruelty in the correction of the flock This is a convicting verse for a pastor. Many sheep come into our church fold that are diseased, have broken bones or limbs, are sickly, or need rescued. The shepherd needs to attend to these needs. As an undershepherd, are you caring for the flock as God commands? One of the specific jobs in the pastoral ministry is to help wayward sheep get back into the fold. Many examples in the Scriptures provide guidance on this. I would like to consider one of these instances—David’s sin and restoration. Most readers are familiar with the account of the sinful choice of adultery that David made, as well as the consequences that followed. There is one interesting aspect (cont., pg 4) www.fairhavenbaptist.org │ 3
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Page 15 and 16: UPCOMING EVENTS March 10 Men and Bo

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