(A “Sermon Echo” is a short reminder or elaboration of something I preached or heard on a previous Sunday.)
For Christ the King Sunday, Pastor Chelsie spoke about what it means to be a strong leader based on the example Christ the King. More specifically, she spoke on his example from a short selection of Luke’s crucifixion narrative. (See Luke 23:32-43) Based on Jesus’ example, good strong leaders are people who:
- Forgive those who have hurt them. Jesus’ was being gravely wronged but chose to offer forgiveness and even prayed for those mistreating him.
- Look out for others. Jesus could have saved himself but instead died for us.
- Doesn’t return insult for insult. Jesus was sneered at, insulted, mocked, and taunted but did not retaliate.
- Hears the lowly and offers mercy. With all that was happening, Jesus still listened to the thief beside him and showed mercy rather than condemnation.
Let’s be thankful Jesus was that kind of leader and let’s all strive to follow his example.