A Word for Elders

I read this verse yesterday:
Acts 20:28 "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood."

There is a sermon in this one verse.
Don't miss the charge: "pay careful attention to yourselves and the flock"
Don't forget how you became an elder: "the Holy Spirit has made you overseers"
Don't neglect our duty: "to care for the church"
Don't forget who the church belongs to: "church of God"
Don't forget what He paid: "which he obtained with his own blood"

To be an elder is both sobering and rewarding. It is both joyous and sorrowful. May we be those like Paul who do "not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears" (Acts 20:31). May we never take lightly the calling we have received. May we never forget the reckoning that is coming for our stewardship.

Heb. 13:17 "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."

Heb. 13:7 "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith."