Week of 4/19/26 and Potlunch This Sunday
Dear Church Family,
The Great Commission given in Matthew 28:18-20 is both international and local, it's to the ends of the earth and in our homes. We are told to teach(and to be taught) to obey all that Jesus commanded, 'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another' (John 13:34). That is a tall order, but it is something he promises to help us in. That calling leads us to living countercultural lives of saying no to 'ungodliness and worldly passions' (Titus 2:12). We are instead led by Jesus to good works that come from a place of gratitude for being cleansed and purified by His death for us on the cross (Titus 2:13-14). We offer ourselves to those closest to us as Jesus did for us, we teach those God has put within our reach about his grace and truth. We work hard for God's glory and to be generous like he did.
As we continue to receive the instructions that Paul gives through Titus for young and old men and women we look to understand what the Lord is telling us even if it doesn't sound like the culture or even what we want at the moment. It is not easy to be sober, dignified, self-controlled when many around us have left that all behind (Titus 2:2). Will you respond in faith, believing and acting like Jesus in his love toward those you encounter this week? In doing so you will be made steadfast in both personal and global troubles as you see his faithfulness to you and mankind.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1 Cor. 15:58
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:1-5
Potlunch this Sunday after the service - I really want to encourage you to come, bring some food to share, but share your life as well! Ask someone you don't know to share some of their story or how did they come to know Jesus? Make a point to pray for each other.
Home Enjoyment
Read Titus 2. The focus this week is verses 1 and 2, but we will be looking at ch 2 for the next few weeks, so begin writing down your thoughts and questions.
We might take verse 1 for granted if we don't think about it. What other things might Titus or others be tempted to teach about not 'sound doctrine' based on Jesus teaching to the Apostles? What kinds of things can distract pastors today from preaching scriptural truth?
Looking at Verse 2.
What causes people to struggle with being Sober? Where are you tempted to look for relief or acceptance before or instead of in Jesus?
How does what Jesus has done (vs 11, 14) meet those struggles?
What is dignity? Where does it ultimately come from? (Genesis 1:27)
Why do men struggle to find dignity?
How does what Jesus has done (vs 11, 14) meet those struggles?
What are some reasons men struggle to be self-controlled?
Galatians 5:23 lists self-control as a fruit of the Holy Spirit making us more like Jesus. How was Jesus self-controlled? In the worst of circumstances Jesus remained self-controlled, what does Peter say was his reason in 1 Peter 2:21-24?
Why is healthy faith so critical to being sober, dignified, and self-controlled?
How does God's desire for us to be sober, dignified, and self-controlled show God's love for us? (1 John 4:10)
How does each show our love for God?
How do they show our love for others?
What causes men to struggle with being steadfast? What do you do when life hasn't gone the way you expected? What do you do when you are tired of the world and circumstances around you?
How do verses 12 and 13 speak to the purpose in our being patient or steadfast?
Please pray with me that we all take this to heart as a church family, but especially the men, that this is the example that we lead with regardless of what our will and the culture around us say. May the Holy Spirit fill us as we ask and seek to know more of Jesus in our midst.
In Jesus' Love,
Pastor Phillip
The Great Commission given in Matthew 28:18-20 is both international and local, it's to the ends of the earth and in our homes. We are told to teach(and to be taught) to obey all that Jesus commanded, 'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another' (John 13:34). That is a tall order, but it is something he promises to help us in. That calling leads us to living countercultural lives of saying no to 'ungodliness and worldly passions' (Titus 2:12). We are instead led by Jesus to good works that come from a place of gratitude for being cleansed and purified by His death for us on the cross (Titus 2:13-14). We offer ourselves to those closest to us as Jesus did for us, we teach those God has put within our reach about his grace and truth. We work hard for God's glory and to be generous like he did.
As we continue to receive the instructions that Paul gives through Titus for young and old men and women we look to understand what the Lord is telling us even if it doesn't sound like the culture or even what we want at the moment. It is not easy to be sober, dignified, self-controlled when many around us have left that all behind (Titus 2:2). Will you respond in faith, believing and acting like Jesus in his love toward those you encounter this week? In doing so you will be made steadfast in both personal and global troubles as you see his faithfulness to you and mankind.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1 Cor. 15:58
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:1-5
Potlunch this Sunday after the service - I really want to encourage you to come, bring some food to share, but share your life as well! Ask someone you don't know to share some of their story or how did they come to know Jesus? Make a point to pray for each other.
Home Enjoyment
Read Titus 2. The focus this week is verses 1 and 2, but we will be looking at ch 2 for the next few weeks, so begin writing down your thoughts and questions.
We might take verse 1 for granted if we don't think about it. What other things might Titus or others be tempted to teach about not 'sound doctrine' based on Jesus teaching to the Apostles? What kinds of things can distract pastors today from preaching scriptural truth?
Looking at Verse 2.
What causes people to struggle with being Sober? Where are you tempted to look for relief or acceptance before or instead of in Jesus?
How does what Jesus has done (vs 11, 14) meet those struggles?
What is dignity? Where does it ultimately come from? (Genesis 1:27)
Why do men struggle to find dignity?
How does what Jesus has done (vs 11, 14) meet those struggles?
What are some reasons men struggle to be self-controlled?
Galatians 5:23 lists self-control as a fruit of the Holy Spirit making us more like Jesus. How was Jesus self-controlled? In the worst of circumstances Jesus remained self-controlled, what does Peter say was his reason in 1 Peter 2:21-24?
Why is healthy faith so critical to being sober, dignified, and self-controlled?
How does God's desire for us to be sober, dignified, and self-controlled show God's love for us? (1 John 4:10)
How does each show our love for God?
How do they show our love for others?
What causes men to struggle with being steadfast? What do you do when life hasn't gone the way you expected? What do you do when you are tired of the world and circumstances around you?
How do verses 12 and 13 speak to the purpose in our being patient or steadfast?
Please pray with me that we all take this to heart as a church family, but especially the men, that this is the example that we lead with regardless of what our will and the culture around us say. May the Holy Spirit fill us as we ask and seek to know more of Jesus in our midst.
In Jesus' Love,
Pastor Phillip
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