I want you to think about your faith this morning. What is your faith in? What does your faith do? Who has your faith made you become? If your faith is in the power of Christ who has overcome all temptations and holds the power of life in the palm of his hands, you are redeemed, and can indeed overcome any trials or temptations you may face. Unfortunately, many do not have a faith in Christ which transforms them and empowers them. Many place their faith in their own strength and ability. Many place their faith in the pleasures of this world to power their few temporary moments of elation. Many place their faith in money. Those with the Gold make the rules. And many place their faith in false gods or false gospels. This morning our hope is two-fold. That if you haven't, you would place your faith in the only true hope of the world, Jesus Christ. And then secondly, that those of you who have placed your faith in Christ, would hold strongly to your faith as if your life depended on it. Especially, those called to be Shepherds and Servants in the church.
- Aug 20, 2023Shepherds & Servants Part 3: Hold To The Faith (1 Timothy 1:18-20)
Shepherds & Servants Part 3: Hold To The Faith (1 Timothy 1:18-20)
I want you to think about your faith this morning. What is your faith in? What does your faith do? Who has your faith made you become? If your faith is in the power of Christ who has overcome all temptations and holds the power of life in the palm of his hands, you are redeemed, and can indeed overcome any trials or temptations you may face. Unfortunately, many do not have a faith in Christ which transforms them and empowers them. Many place their faith in their own strength and ability. Many place their faith in the pleasures of this world to power their few temporary moments of elation. Many place their faith in money. Those with the Gold make the rules. And many place their faith in false gods or false gospels. This morning our hope is two-fold. That if you haven't, you would place your faith in the only true hope of the world, Jesus Christ. And then secondly, that those of you who have placed your faith in Christ, would hold strongly to your faith as if your life depended on it. Especially, those called to be Shepherds and Servants in the church.
- Aug 13, 2023Shepherds And Servants Part 2: Praise God For His Mercy (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
Shepherds And Servants Part 2: Praise God For His Mercy (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
Why is an understanding of God's mercy so important to us as believers? Why should we not only be aware of it but deeply meditate upon it? I think it is because as humans we have a sickness called desensitization. The more familiar we become with something, the less important it becomes. Where as the cross, the sacrifice of Christ, and the sin which he saved us from should always break us, we've heard about it so much in church that it is just the same old record. But when we are talking about something as important as the mercy of Christ to save us from our sins we should never ever allow ourselves to be desensitized to it. Instead we should determine to keep the same sober- mindedness about it that we had when we first realized it. And if we can do that, we will have no problem praising God and worshipping him as he deserves. A worship that extends beyond the weekly worship service and permeates our entire lives. We should be in a perpetual state of praising our God because of the mercy he has shown us in saving us from our sins. Today I want us to leave with a sense of understanding that; There is nothing that can keep us from praising God when we are constantly aware of the mercy Christ has shown us.
- Aug 6, 2023Shepherds And Servants Part 1: Protect The Gospel (1 Timothy 1:1-11)
Shepherds And Servants Part 1: Protect The Gospel (1 Timothy 1:1-11)
The Ephesian church was very dear to Paul's heart and he wanted to make sure that they did not stray from the faith in his absence. All of this is the setting in which we find ourselves for the foreseeable future. So what is the primary message that Paul gives to Timothy for the Church of Ephesus? As we will come to find out later, it is for the establishing of church leaders and proper church community. But here Paul simply communicates to Timothy his most pressing matter, that as the primary Shepherd in Ephesus at the time, Timothy must make sure that the other Shepherds are preaching sound doctrine. By the way, I'm using the term Shepherd here as it communicates what an elder or pastor is primarily supposed to do; shepherd the people of God spiritually. We will get into that topic more in depth later in our study. For now we must focus on the issue at hand; Shepherds must protect the Gospel so that the church won't abandon the Gospel. The message of Christ as our Lord and God, who redeemed us from our sinful state through the sacrifice of his own life is non-negotiable. The commands He expects us to live according to, in order to show our devotion to him, are inalienable. When we move away from the standard of the Word of God and its precepts, we will inevitably walk away from our faith.