According to what Paul said in chapter 3 vs 15, he is writing this letter to Timothy “so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” Now that should be of importance to all of us, and I assume by your presence here today that you too are interested in how you should conduct yourself in the household of God. And that the church is likened to the household of God I think is the key to understanding

Read More…

The first letter to Timothy that we are studying is a personal letter to Timothy on the one hand, but it is also scripture, and as such it was meant to be read publicly in the church. And the purpose of that was two fold as well; to give instruction in regards to the qualifications of pastors and teachers in the church, but also to inform the church as to what to expect from a pastor/teacher. And I think that is very necessary today. I believe that many pastors and teachers are obviously wrongly informed as to what their job

Read More…

I think almost every week as I preach, I somehow find a reason to quote the words spoken by Jesus found in John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” That statement by Christ is closely correlated to another He made in prayer to the Father, which is, “Your word is truth.” And that statement finds it’s consummation in the words of Jesus found in John 8:32, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you

Read More…

As most of you know, we practice verse by verse preaching at this church, rather than trying to approach the scripture from a topical perspective. There are times when I think I would like to preach topically, and perhaps today is one of those days. But for the most part, I feel that the verse by verse, chapter by chapter approach is better for me, because it keeps me in line with God’s priorities, rather than my own, which may vacillate from week to week depending on the circumstances. We have been studying the first letter to Timothy for the

Read More…

Paul gives the purpose of this letter in chapter 3 vs 15, “I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” And so to that purpose, Paul has written so far about the establishment of the church, specifically, that the apostles were given to be the foundation of the church and to establish the church. Then he wrote about the ministry of the church, and we said there were many different types of ministers, or servants

Read More…

We are all probably very familiar with the word ministry. It’s often used as a synonym for the church. It’s derived from the root word minister, which often is used as a title or job description for a pastor. But ministry is really just another word for service. Depending upon the translation you use, you will see either ministry or service used in vs twelve. Vs12 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, or ministry.” I think I prefer the translation as service. Because ministry is a word

Read More…

As a general, overarching theme in this epistle, James has been contrasting the wisdom which is from the world, with the wisdom which is from above.  He has shown that contrast in a variety of ways.  For instance, James spent a great deal of time talking about the use of the  tongue, or our speech, as the evidence of which wisdom you follow – whether it’s the wisdom of the world or the wisdom from above.  You can tell by one’s speech. But he really begins this epistle by talking about wisdom. And in those opening verses, we get some

Read More…