HEART OF A HARVESTER

South Central District Pastor Teacher Family Conference 2010

Who am I?• Son of a lay couple -- MLS graduate• Parish pastor for last 12 years• Firm believer in the Means of Grace, the

Confessions, and love my Synod • Passions – preaching, evangelism, cross-

cultural ministry, and long-range planning• Husband and step-father• Have “itchy” feet• Strong-willed, goal-oriented, and have

strong desire for my people’s approval

PAIR SHARE

Pair with a neighbor and share:

Share two applications that struck you from “Get Service”

Share one concern from “Get service”

Needing a Heart Transplant

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:” (Philippians 2:5)

Think of the attributes of Christ’s heart:• _________• _________• _________• _________

TABLE TALK:

Discuss

What makes our hearts so heavy in ministry?

A Heart Transformed

“For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-16a)

An Emmaus Experience

“a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.” (Lk 24:13)

"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (v 32)

“They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.” (v 33)

_________ hearts -- hearts that ___ through the door of the open tomb.

Confident Spies

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take pos-session of the land, for we can certainly do it.

But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’(Nu 13:30-31)

_________ hearts – Despite the ________, hearts made confident in God’s ___________ for the work.

Chesty Puller’s Quote

"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...

________________________________"

"Risen Savior means a lot to me, to be honest. When I first came to Risen Savior, that's the first time I ever heard about God and that Jesus died on the cross for my sins."

-- Brent, 7th grader

Celebrate Harvest Victories

Risen Savior is special to me because we have church and we learn about Jesus. -- Dulce, 2nd grader

"It helped me understand more about the Bible. We have several Bibles in the house and I never touched a real one until I came here."

-- Na'quoya, 7th grader

 

Celebrate Harvest Victories

“Actually Risen Savior did a lot for me for the past years. Risen Savior has taught me about God. When I first came here, I knew that there was a God, but I did not know what Jesus had done for me. So if I wouldn’t of known that Jesus died for me and that Jesus had forgave [sic] me of my sins, I would of gone to hell. So, I really thank Risen Savior for doing that for me.

-- Jessica, 8th grader

Celebrate Harvest Victories

TABLE TALK:

Discuss:

Why is it so hard sometimes to keep the passion for ministry burning?

List “attitudes” which interfere. 

Imagine if…

Imagine if you had a leader who had these qualities…

“gospel joy, urgency for the mission of the kingdom – souls!, humility in attitude, positive attitude about God’s work, positive in your community (serving spirit), zeal or passion for ministry, enthusiasm/drive, ‘can do’ mind-set, ‘go for it’ spirit, passion to serve/share the gospel, and energetic in their mission.”

Do you agree?

[The pastor (applies to teachers, too)] needs much more of God’s Word for his soul than does an ordinary Christian because he is tempted much more. Doubt of the truth, weariness in ministry and depression, despair and fear, pride and a domineering spirit, men-service and hypocrisy, laziness, lust, greed, and worldly pleasure plague him more than ordinary Christians.

Do you agree?

More than anyone, he needs daily strengthening through doctrine, comfort, power, upbuilding, encouragement, and warning, so that his light is not extinguished in the darkness, so that he does not preach to others and himself be rejected.

-- August Pieper

“Scripture as the Special Task of the Pastor,”

Wauwatosa Theology, page 122-123)

Zeal Restored

“Zeal is not an artificially whipped up, phony frenzy and frothing fulmination; zeal is one part love and one part fear, and one part deep conviction concerning the truth and importance of God’s message.”

-- Edgar Hoenecke

St. Paul’s Missionary Approach to the Unchurched:

The Influence of One Man – p. 9