Trey Corry
“Leadership in Focus”
1 Peter 5:1-7
In Peter 5:1-7, Peter transitions from the theme of suffering to the kind of leadership that will guide the church through suffering and difficulty. Specifically, he addresses the leader's proper place, purpose, power, and preparations.
I. A leader’s place (5:1)
“Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.”
—2 Samuel 11:1
“Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.”
—2 Samuel 11:2
II. A leader’s purpose (5:2)
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake …”
“… Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
—Psalm 23:1-5a
A. Task (Lead, feed, bleed)
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand … sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches and scatters them.”
—John 10:11-12
B. Motivation
“Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Those who are sickly … diseased … broken you have not bound up … and they have become food for every beast of the field.”
—Ezekiel 34:2-5
III. A leader’s power (5:3-4)
A. Delegated authority
“Tend My lambs … shepherd My sheep … tend My sheep.”
—John 21:15-17
B. Delegated stewardship
“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”
—John 13:14-15
IV. A leader’s preparation (5:5-7)
A. Humility before the Lord
“Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”
—1 Samuel 16:7
“The Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man.”
—Judges 3:15
B. Humility before others
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
—Philippians 2:3-4
“For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.”
—Philippians 2:20
“For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on … Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than birds!”
—Luke 12:22-24