How to Remain Faithful to the Gospel | 2 Timothy 3:14-17

How to Remain in the Gospel - 2 Timothy 3:14-17

1st Timothy – the church every pastor should have.

2nd Timothy – the pastor every church should have.

Timothy is the young pastor leading the church in Ephesus. It is a city that needs a strong church to show the Gospel (Good News of Christ).

Paul uses this letter to remind Timothy of His Calling.

2nd Timothy

· Guard the Gospel ch 1

· Suffer the Gospel ch 2

· Continue in the Gospel ch 3

· Proclaim the Gospel ch 4

Revelation - God revealing Himself to mankind

Inspiration - Holy Spirit inspiring the words of God to the writers of Scripture.

Illumination - Holy Spirit bringing understanding to the readers.

The Word of God is:

Infallible - Scriptures are certain, reliable, trustworthy to what they speak to. Will not mislead.

Inerrant - The Scripture in the original languages is without error, free of mistakes and falsehoods.

Authoritative - the outgrowth of inspiration. As the words of God, it carries His authority. It holds truths and God's revelation of Himself to mankind.

Scripture is Profitable

Teaching

Rebuking

Correcting

Training

Follow, Flee, Fight | 1 Timothy 6:11-21

FOLLOW FLEE FIGHT 1 Timothy 6:11-21

Here we come to the end of Paul’s 1st letter to Timothy.

FOLLOW FLEE FIGHT

He closes the letter w/ words to the rich.

FOLLOW “But you, man of God”

Here is the Warning “flee from these things”

FLEE

God’s Word is our weapon in this fight.

The fight of faith is the fight to believe. Don't just run, run to something.

So Timothy should “flee” “and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.”

“Pursue” – constantly strive for.

“We are simply to run from evil as we run from danger, and to run after goodness as we run after success.” John Stott

FIGHT

“Fight the good fight of the faith.” .

“Worthy of Worship”

Words to the Wealthy

1. False pride “not to be arrogant or to”

2. False security “set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth”

As we reflect on this today, let’s ask ourselves.

1. Are we following Christ?

2. Are we fleeing sin?

3. Are we fighting the good fight of the faith?

How Do We Treat Family? | 1 Timothy 5:1-16

How Do We Treat Family? 1 Tim 5:1-16

1 Timothy is the church every pastor should have.

2 Timothy is the pastor every church should have.

1 Timothy Outline by Skip Heitzig

· The Message of the Church – 1 Timothy 1
·      The Members of the Church – 1 Timothy 2
·      The Ministers of the Church – 1 Timothy 3-4
·      The Ministry of the Church – 1 Timothy 5-6

Older Men - like fathers

Younger Men - like brothers

Older Women - like mothers

Younger Women - like sisters

Genuine Widows

Taking care of family please God

How are we doing as a faith family at Grace?

How are we taking care of our immediate and extended family?

How Not to Be Weak | 1 Timothy 2:1-7

HOW NOT TO BE WEAK

1 Timothy 2:1-7

And the letters to the young pastor, Timothy, are personal and instructive. Two distinctions from 1 & 2 Timothy

1. In 1 Timothy we have the ideal church every pastor ought to have.

2. In 2 Timothy we have the ideal pastor every church ought to have.

Be a Zealous Prayer Warrior vv1-4
Be Steadfast to the Mediator of Prayer vv5-6
Be a Rigorous Teacher of Prayer v7

Tears at Christmas | Jeremiah 31:15-17 | Matthew 2:13-18

Jeremiah 31:15-17

Weeping at the Exile, but Rescue Would One Day Come

Matthew 2:13-18

Weeping at the Slaughter of the Innocents, but Rescue would come because the Savior was born.

If You Have Tears This Christmas Season, remember the Savior will one day wipe away every tear.

What's My Relation to Uncle Sam? | 1 Peter 2:11-17

What’s My Relation to Uncle Sam?

1 Peter 2:11-17

This epistle was a circular letter to believers in northern Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey.

It is Peter’s encouragement to believers to live faithfully, even with hard times and persecution.

This letter was penned sometime between AD 64 (fire in Rome) and Peter’s death in AD 66-68.

Most of the recipients of this letter were Gentiles.

Some have called1 Peter a “Handbook of conduct for Christ’s ambassadors to a hostile world.”

3 Perspectives Christians can look at their obligations:

1. As Foreigners vv11-12

2. As Citizens vv13-17

3. As Servants vv18-20,21-25

Looking at Foreigners & Citizens today.

How can we abstain?

1. Live with a renewed mind. Be in prayer and in the Word.

2. Have a disciplined tongue. Be quick to hear and slow to speak.

3. Have a controlled body. Don’t seek to please the flesh. Please God.

As followers of Christ, we submit to His authority.

As Christians in America, we should exercise discernment in our relationships to the government. There are times when the right thing is to set aside our own privileges and other times using our citizenship for the right thing.

We are to be humble and honorable citizens, while always holding fast to the Gospel.

I love Jesus' words in Matt 22:21 in relation to God and government “Caesar’s,” they said to him. Then he said to them, “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

--

Love Between Treachery | Matthew 26: 1-16

Love Between Treachery

Matthew 26:1-16

Matthew’s Gospel has been called “a Passion story with a long introduction.”

Passover Exodus 12

4th passion prediction (16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19)

Caiaphas and religious leaders plotting.

Unnamed woman (John says Mary) act of love (almost a year's worth of wages) directly to Jesus.

Her act will be told to many (3 of the 4 Gospels have her story).

Judas sold out Jesus for four months of wages.

It Really Is About Resurrection | Matthew 22:23-33

It Really is About Resurrection!

Marriage is important on Earth, but in Heaven there is no marriage.

All relationships will be perfect and God will provide the intimacy and closeness as our Heavenly Father.

Pharisees

Believed in the OT books.
Believed in resurrection
Believed in angels
Heaven for God and His people

Sadducees (not like Jesus – spoke heaven, judgment and hell)

Only first 5 books

No resurrection

No judgment or punishment

No heaven

Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6 (Jesus knows his audience). Like John 3:16 to us today, Ex 3:6 to the 1st Century Jew.

God is not the God of the dead but the God of the living!

How Will You Respond? | Matthew 20: 17-19

How Will You Respond?

Matthew 20:17-19

Matthew 16: Christ first prediction of his death followed by Peter’s shocked response.

Christ second prediction of his death in Matthew 17 followed by the disciples being greatly distressed. (Not focusing on Jesus stating he would rise again).

Christ third prediction of his death Matthew 20:17-19 followed by the disciples seeking position and power. It was like they had become numb to Jesus’ message.

Shocked to distressed to glory seeking. May we not tire or miss the Gospel in our lives as we reflect upon the cross and the resurrection.

Who is the GOAT? | Matthew 18:1-9

How to be the GOAT (Greatest of All Time)? Matthew 18:1-9 || 2/19/23

Have you heard the saying, “He is the GOAT” “Greatest Of All Time.”

Disciples ask a version of the question, "Who is the greatest?"

Here in Matthew 18, we find the fourth of 5 great discourses in Matthew.

The Lead In:

Matthew 16 - Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?” Followed by “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16.
Matthew 17 we read the account of the transfiguration on the mountain with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Peter, James, and John witnessed.

· Moses – burning bush, parting of the Red Sea, 10 Commandments,…

· Elijah – powerful OT prophet, facing off against prophets of Baal.

The disciples knew He was the messiah who the O.T. spoke of. Jesus also told them He would suffer and die, but they seem to have missed the point.

Notice these first four verses of Matt. 18 set the stage for the rest of the chapter and how to relate to other Christians. God will deal with those who lead His children into sin. Jesus illustrates that sin is deadly and His followers should be deal with quickly with it.

How Would You Respond to Good News? | Luke 2:8-20

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Is There Room? | Luke 2:1-7

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

How Do You Destroy an Enemy? You Make Them a Friend! | Matthew 5:43-48

How Do You Destroy an Enemy? You Make Them a Friend!

Easy to say, is it easy to do?
Matt 5:43-48

Love Your Neighbor

Love Your Enemy (do loving things for them)

Pray for Your Enemy (pray daily for them)

As we do these things, we become more like Christ.

As we do these things, we will find it harder for someone to still feel like an enemy.

What's Up with Divorce? | Matthew 5:31-32

What's Up with Divorce?

Matt 5:31-32; 19:3-9

In 2021, there were 1.7 million marriages with 700,000 divorces.

1,000,000 million children see their parents’ divorce annually.

I was reading RC Sproul and the book by Harvard sociologist, Pitirim Sorokin, around the middle of the 20th century. He was pointing to the impending crisis in families between 1910 and 1948.

The divorce rate in:

· 1910 was 10%

· 1948 was 25%

Sorokin (historian of culture) said no civilization can survive when 1 out of 4 marriages are falling apart.

The divorce rate in:

· USA – 45% ---- in 1981 it was 53%

· Spain – 63%

· Belgium – 71%

· Global Divorce Rate projected for 2022 – 48%

Pharisees tried to trap Jesus. The thought was to get Jesus to offend the powerful or the religious.

Divorce for Sexual Immorality and Abandonment.

Church should comfort and confront.

A Message for All | Matthew 4:12-17

A Message for All - Matthew 4: 12-17

Galilee – the northern province of Palestine, small 25 by 35 miles in size, but quite densely populated. Estimated to be around 350,000 people with 100,000 being Jews. It was a farming and fishing community, far from Jerusalem.

Jesus began His public ministry to both Jews and Gentiles.

Repent

Means to admit your sin - confession

Express sorrow over your sin - contrition

Turn from your sin - conversion

“True repentance is never too late, but late repentance is seldom true.” Matthew Henry

Does God Procrastinate? | Psalm 70

Does God Procrastinate? Psalm 70

Ask God to Help Immediately

Ask God to Humiliate His Enemies

Ask God to Honor His Name

1 Sam 17

Rom 5:6

Heb 4:15-16

1 John 1:9

With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility | Colossians 1:24-29

With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility

As redeemed followers of Christ, we have the blessing and responsibility to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with all people and build up the church.

Colossians 1:24-29

Mindset - v24

Mandate - vv25-27

Mission - v28

Moxie - v29

Totally Trustworthy | 2 Kings 18 - 19

Totally Trustworthy

Who or what do we place our trust in?

2 Kings 18 & 19

Hezekiah trusted in the LORD.

Trust (outline from Tony Merida)

T - Take it to the Lord

R - Recognize the Greatness of God

U - Unload the Problem to God

S - Seek the Help of God

T - Treasure the Greatness of God

ACTS Prayer

A - Adoration

C - Confession

T - Thanksgiving

S - Supplication

Sermons

FOLLOW FLEE FIGHT 1 Timothy 6:11-21