Class Lesson February 10, 2013

Hey Gang,

We continue this week in our series entitled: What Matters Most. We are studying the five “faithful sayings” in the Pastoral Letters of Paul. These sayings are clues for what matters most for churches and for believers today. This Sunday we look at Character being what matters most to those who desire to lead in the church.

Think about these 3 questions:

1. What are the three most important qualifications of pastors?
2. What are the three most important qualifications of deacons?
3. Why are all members responsible for godly living? 

Paul tells us this morning that “What Matters Most” when it comes to leadership, especially church leadership is Character. The 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, once said: “In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still.”

What makes a good leader?

What traits do you think a leader ought to possess? What choices get a leader to that character trait?

Intelligent – Honest – Courageous - Team-Builder – Attractive – 
Persuasive - Strong-Willed

A Teacher - Earns Respect - Pulls Together the Skills of the Group - 

Problem-Solver - Builds Trust

Sees Things the Way God Does – Wise – Sensible - Works Hard - Not Greedy

Life Goal

Affirm church leaders while maintaining your own accountability to godly standards.

The church needs and depends on godly leaders. This study gives opportunity for church members to notice what makes a leader godly. We can then affirm godly character qualities in our leaders. We can also develop godly qualities in our own lives. As each of us Christians grows in godliness, we build the church God has in mind.

I. BE ABOVE REPROACH – 1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7

Qualifications of Church Leaders

3 This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.” 2 An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, 3 not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy— 4 one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. 7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil’s trap. 

What was Paul’s faithful or trustworthy saying this week? What is noble work? What does it look and act like? How do you know when you see it? What makes a godly leader?

• As you explore the active work element of leadership, hopefully you will articulate that it’s more service than status. That’s a good thing!
• Overall it boils down to character. Church leaders had to be above reproach. That means living in such a way that others cannot legitimately call your behavior or motives into question.

Why did Paul emphasize what a church leader is instead of what he does?

• Only one item in the list describes something a pastor does.
• Everything else pertains to the kind of person he should be.
• The work of a church leader is important, but his character is the foundation for what he does.
• A pastor ought to be faithful in marriage, able to manage their temper and emotions, think reasonably, deserve respect, be generous, and teach well. At the same time they should not be drawn to wine, not be aggressive but be gentle and sensitive, not be prone to argue or stir up problems, and not be self-indulgent.

What do you think Paul would say to someone who wants to become a church leader? What personal conduct goes hand-in-hand with leadership? What qualities? What actions and attitudes show someone has each of these character qualities? Why are these reasonable essentials for someone who oversees welfare of others?

• God may be calling some in your class to a first-time role of leadership. Everyone should consider the possibility that God may be calling them to lead.
• All believers, whether or not they aspire to be leaders, should live by the standards in these verses. The only exception is being an able teacher; not all believers are called to teach. Also this is the one functional difference between overseers and deacons. Only overseers are given this charge.

How can church members under the leadership of pastors and elders, hold them accountable to these standards?

• How do we do this without picking and gossip?
• Include supportive actions such as saying thank you, or affirming specific actions, make friends with family members, and work as a team.
• Consider 1 Timothy 5:17-18
• Include that just having a leadership position at church doesn’t automatically mean godly leadership. Identify leaders who lead well even without an official position.
• A good testing ground for all these character traits is the home. If a person doesn’t display godly character in this most basic social unit, then leadership in the larger community is ridiculous. Furthermore, leaders ought to be mature enough in the faith to realize it’s about the church and not the ego. Leadership is about service and not self-gratification.

Leadership within the church is a high calling because God has high standards. But how delightful it is to live with these qualifications! How lovely is it to do life alongside someone who is self-controlled and sensible? What good happens when greed and quarreling are not part of the picture? With the exception of teaching (a particular gift), we are all responsible for lives marked by solid character (see Titus 2:2-8).


In your opinion, what does the world desire in leaders? How does Paul’s list actually fulfill these desires? How does it modify what we desire? Why do the ones being led, the common public, also need to choose these actions?





II. EARN RESPECT – 1 TIMOTHY 3:8-13

8 Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And they must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons. 11 Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything. 12 Deacons must be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently. 13 For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves, and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Moses, one of the most highly respected figures of the Old Testament, wisely appointed officials to help bear the load of leading Israel (Exodus 18:13-26). Jesus although completely capable of working alone, chose 12 main men to do ministry with, Paul championed this type teamwork in the church in Ephesus. The word translated “deacon” means helper or servant.


Rodney Dangerfield said he never got any and Aretha Franklin sang about wanting “just a lil bit.” Why is respect so important?

• Being worthy of respect is the only qualification listed in verse 2, 8, and 11.
• What point is Paul trying to make?
• Although you aren’t responsible for how other people view you, how can you make sure your life is one worthy of respect?

Compare the requirements of deacons to those of overseers – how are they different? How are they the same?

• Deacons in the early church served not as a governing board but ministered to meet the physical needs of the church body.
• The character required for serving as a deacon comes over time, and with repeated choices to obey God. Verse 8 indicates that deacons are held to God’s high standards. They must live lives marked by dignity and integrity. They refuse wine, and remain free from the lure of money and personal gain.

Why should church members care how their leaders manage their homes? Is it the church’s business? What does it demonstrate?

• Home life is a necessary indicator. So is being tested over time. The most telling situation to show our Christian commitment is with those we live with. The home is a community very similar to a church. We work together, we solve problems, and we help each other accomplish tasks (homework, chores, work, and budgeting money, managing the day).
• Christian parents cannot control every decision their children make – good or bad. Some teenagers and young adults make poor choices despite godly training.

How can the church test (3:10) potential leaders before selecting them as deacons? How does our church choose deacons (or similar leaders)? How biblical is our selection process?

• It takes time to test potential leaders by observing conduct and character in various situations. Call for specific examples.

How can the church increase the desire of the congregation to live out these 3:1-15 qualities?

• When do we feed greed, slander, and other damaging actions? (Hint: “It’s not gossip if it’s true.” And letting prayer requests become gossip in a tuxedo.)
• Would you agree that honorable living is a rare thing?
• Shouldn’t all Christians strive to reflect the transformative power of Christ at work in our lives?

III. INFLUENCE OTHERS RIGHTLY – 1 TIMOTHY 3:14-15


The Mystery of Godliness

14 I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Whose conduct was Paul concerned with? Is this group held to the same standards as the overseers and deacons? Why or why not?

• The same values and types of conduct apply to all believers (all those in God’s household) as to church leaders; being self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, worthy of respect, and so forth.
• Each of us is accountable both to God and to each other for the way we live.
• In accepting the role of a leader, deacons and pastors accept the responsibility to set an example to others for how to live the Christian life.

What does it mean for the church to be the pillar and foundation of the truth? How does our character and conduct either help or hurt us in fulfilling this role? What have you done today that helps or hurts? (Answer this privately)

• God has entrusted His Word to the church to preserve and pass on to people of our day.
• Our transformed lives testify to the effectiveness of God’s Word. Before they will ever pick up a Bible and read it, non-believers can see God’s Word lived out, or denied, in the lives of believers who have applied it in their lives.

Why do you think Paul wrote this letter to Timothy?

• To be sure there wasn’t any double standard among leaders in the church. Children are excellent detectors of double standards.

Act

With the requirements so high (above reproach, blameless, etc), how can those who lead or who live the Christian life, maintain these lofty standards in their lives?

• Paul himself struggled with sin in his life (Romans 7:15-22). In our own strength, no one can live well. But action by action, as we let God guide, we can develop Godly character. It’s choosing to obey God because we trust and love Him (Romans 7:25; 8:9-13).
• Godly leadership is not a game; it’s not about the leader’s needs; and it’s not to be political.
• Holiness is a series of choices empowered by the Holy Spirit. It affects every life we touch no matter where we go.

Church government and titles of church leaders are among the issues on which Christian groups have disagreements. Titles of leaders include pastor, bishop, elder, and deacon. Many of us believe the New Testament calls the most prominent church leader the pastor or elder or overseer or bishop, and that these terms all refer to the same office. One of the most important roles of the pastor is to equip the saints for the work of service (Ephesians 4:11-13). Deacons are also church leaders who fulfill important tasks of service.

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, help our pastor and deacons and our members be all that we should be. Amen.

This is an enlightening lesson for not only what I should expect of a church leader, but for what they too should expect of me.

Hope everyone has a blessed rest of the week and we'll look forward to seeing you this Sunday.

In His Love,

David & Susan

Class Lesson February 3, 2013

Hey Gang,


This week we begin a whole new 4 week series entitled: What Matters Most. This four-week study is based on the five “faithful sayings” in the Pastoral Letters. Nowhere else does Paul use the term faithful saying. In the Pastorals he used it five times. These saying were likely articles of belief deeply cherished and used as confessions in public worship in the early church. They provide clues for what matters most for churches and believers today.

Inherit the Wind - Spencer Tracy

Creation: Genesis or Evolution - Does it matter?

Does God play a role in sports?

Today a new NFL champion will be crowned, and it will be either the Baltimore Ravens or the San Francisco 49ers. And, if you are one of more than a quarter of Americans, you believe that God will actively decide the winner of the game. According to a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute:

• 27% percent of Americans believe that God “plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event.”
• About 40% of minority Christians and white evangelical Protestants believe God determines outcomes, while only 19% of mainline Protestants do.
• 36% of Americans living in the South agree that God plays a role in sports. However, in perhaps a twist of expectations, 28% of Democrats agree, while only 25% of Republicans think that God plays a role.
• But in addition to God’s overall role in the outcome of games, a majority of all Americans — 53% — believe “God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success.”

Does this really matter? Maybe it matters, but does it matter most?

Today our opening lesson in this series of “faithful sayings” from the Pastoral Letters of Paul to Timothy and Titus, is about the truth and what matters most.


This week we begin a whole new 4 week series entitled: What Matters Most. This four-week study is based on the five “faithful or trustworthy sayings” in the Pastoral Letters. Nowhere else does Paul use the term a “faithful saying.” In the Pastorals he used it five times. These saying were likely articles of belief deeply cherished and used as confessions in public worship in the early church. They provide clues for what matters most for churches and believers today.



The Pastoral Epistles

The final letters of Paul in the New Testament are called “The Pastoral Epistles.” They are 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. They were addressed to two of Paul’s most trusted helpers. These letters are called “Pastoral” because although addressed to individuals, they are more than personal letters. Paul wrote to these two helpers as men who had a pastor-like relation to the churches. Thus, a variety of topics are found in them. Paul wrote about proclaiming the gospel of grace, defending the faith against false teachings, working with leaders and people in the churches, and living a godly life.



Faithful Sayings

The lessons in this study theme are based on passages that begin with the words this is a faithful saying. The Greek word pistos can be translated faithful or trustworthy. These words are found in 1 Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; and Titus 3:8. The amazing thing about these words is that they are found nowhere else in the New Testament. The use of this formula alerts readers that the passage is vitally important to the Christian gospel.

How do you discover what’s real and imagined?

What’s true and what’s false?

Life Goal

Commit to see the truth, tell the truth, and live according to the truth. 

Dave Matthews Band - Funny the Way It Is

Funny the way it is, if you think about it

One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out

Funny the way it is, not right or wrong

On a soldiers' last breath, his baby's being born

Funny the way it is, not right or wrong

Somebody's broken heart becomes your favorite song

Matthews sings about the Truth of life - Sometimes it's confusing or funny.


You see, the question is not whether we want to know the truth, the question is whether or not we can handle the truth. The hope of this lesson is that you will see it, tell it, and live according to it.

Life Goal

Commit to see the truth, tell the truth, and live according to the truth.

 

Why Study This Lesson

We live in a culture of fuzzy mixtures of truth and error, and watered-down beliefs. Real life is found in distinguishing the truth of the gospel from Satan’s lies. We must develop a faith and a lifestyle that is grounded in the truth. In that way we live out the gospel of grace.



In Paul’s day there were a lot of distracters to the truth of the gospel and he warned Timothy against false teachers and their deceptive ways. He defined the gospel and showed how God saved him. He encouraged Timothy to fight the good fight of faith.

I. REFUSE DISTRACTORS TO TRUTH – 1 TIMOTHY 1:3-7

False Doctrine and Misuse of the Law

3 As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different doctrine 4 or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith. 5 Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. 6 Some have deviated from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.

“Just ignore them and they’ll go away!”

How many times have you heard; “Just ignore them and they’ll go away”? What was the big problem here in Ephesus? Why wouldn’t this work with the teachers in Ephesus?

• May work with bullies but it won’t work with deceivers.

What did Paul want Timothy to do? Why was it so important that Timothy remain in Ephesus?

• Paul came to Ephesus first during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:19-21). He returned there on his third missionary journey and ministered in the area for nearly three years (Acts 19, 20). After his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul revisited churches he had previously visited in Asia and Macedonia, including the one in Ephesus. This time he, and his associate Timothy, found widespread false teaching in the Ephesus church. When he left previously, Paul had been concerned about false teachers leading Ephesus away from the truth. He had warned them to be on their guard (Acts 20:17-31).
• The opposing doctrine was empty speculation that strayed from God’s plan in Jesus.

What’s wrong with discussing and debating theological issues? Why did Paul want Timothy to stop it?

• Discussion can lead to truth and to true living. But discussing peripheral points of Scripture and debating theology issues become a problem when they: 1) Distract us from the gospel, 2) Confuse people on foundational truths, and 3) Allow us to make our examination of God’s Word into merely intellectual exercise.
• This had gone beyond being off base intellectually; their lives reflected their error.
• Sometimes phony teaching or fruitless discussion is easy to dismiss. Most of the time it winds its way into the culture. One or two take the bait, and repeat it. As error intertwines with truth, it becomes more difficult to discern.
• We can hear a falsehood, teach one, pay attention to one or speculate upon one. When we begin to act on certain falsehoods we are led to misbehave or hurt someone.
• What else can Christians do? Christians must know what the Bible teaches so they can recognize false teachings. We must know reality so we can recognize fantasy. The Bereans in Acts 17 checked the teachings of Paul and Silas against Scripture for legitimacy – we should do the same.

What are some discussions or arguments that distract from the truth? (Board)

• Does God exist?
• Can God make a rock so big He can’t move it?
• Predestination & Free Will
• Original Sin
• Creationism or It is written so it must be true.
• Evil done in the name of religion
• Hell and who’s going there

“How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” 
(You laugh, but this was a serious debate in the Middle Ages.)

• In modern usage, this question also serves as a metaphor for wasting time debating topics of no practical value.
• It’s a preoccupation with irrelevant details. It references a ridiculous religious controversy of the Middle Ages. What are religious controversies believers get sidetracked with today? What’s the harm in discussing them?
• Some believers focus so much on one narrow area of doctrine and their own interpretation of it that they veer from the central message of Scripture, which is the gospel. They also miss the whole of scripture, the fullness of God’s revelation – foundational truths that will delight their lives and the lives of others. Some believers have been exposed to teachings or practices that distort truth. They’re left confused about why their lives are spinning. Stay grounded by centering life in the gospel. Ask God to expose seemingly harmless behaviors that distract from the truly valuable.

How did Paul teach, was his teachings theoretical or practical? How is truth a practical matter rather than a matter of intellectual or mental ascent? What should be the goal of teaching Scripture?

• Turning aside from truth results in fruitlessness. The supreme command is to show love. Love fulfills the law (Romans 13:8-10). Jesus summed up the entire Bible with two commands: Love God and one another!
• False teachers in Ephesus created confusion and conflict. Paul taught people to show love to God and to one another (1Cor. 12:31-13:13).
• Teaching Scripture communicates facts. But teaching it must go beyond head knowledge to show how we live out God’s Word in everyday life. The goal of biblical teaching is for people to receive the gift of God’s Son and to be transformed into His image.

What if you had to summarize the entire Bible with one word - what would it be? LOVE





II. STAND ON TRUTH – 1 TIMOTHY 1:12-17

Paul’s Testimony

12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— 13 one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.


Here is where we find Paul’s first “faithful saying” what was it? What trustworthy saying did Paul name that summarizes the gospel here?

• 1 Timothy 1:15 Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.

Why did Paul consider himself the worst of all sinners? Was he using hyperbole (literary exaggeration), or did he see himself that way?

• Verse 13 describes Paul’s past – blasphemer, persecutor…arrogant man.

What is Paul’s truth here?

• The reality of my sin and God's great mercy. (1 Tim. 1:15-16)
• Paul clearly understood the mission of Jesus Christ -- to save sinners. He also saw his own hopeless condition in sin apart from Christ. Moreover, he realized the awesome mercy that was extended to him, "the chief of sinners." Paul remembered how he had persecuted the church of Jesus Christ, even approving the execution of Christians (Acts 8:1; 22:20). Though the pain of his previous sin was a heavy burden, Paul rejoiced in the greatness of God's mercy toward him. He purposed in his heart to forget that which was past and forgiven and press forward in his ministry (Phil. 3:13-14). Here he notes in this first "faithful saying" that God's mercy was shown to the likes of him to demonstrate the patience of God in withholding divine judgment in order to save sinners. Paul's conversion also provides an example to future believers of the marvelous grace of God.

What should be our truth here?

• For the Christian, the key truth is to remember from whence you came -- so that you can identify with those who need Christ as much as you.
• If Christ came to save sinners – even the worst – why would we still think God could never forgive what we’ve done? How does redemption happen?
• No one could have been more blindly opposed to God and His purposes than Paul before he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. Thinking he was doing God a favor, Paul feverishly worked to stamp out Christianity? Paul was a self-righteous Pharisee.
• No one, no matter how bad, is beyond the reach of God’s redemptive purposes both for salvation and usefulness in the Kingdom.
• The fact that Jesus came to save sinners is a faithful saying.

How has truth been revealed by God?

• Nature (God’s creation)
• Scripture
• Our sense of right and wrong
• Through coming Himself in the person of Jesus Christ

Truth is objective – we can discover and live according to it. We can ignore truth, but we can’t create our own version of it.



Our lesson skipped over verses 9-11 – someone read.

Is homosexuality God’s design?

1 Timothy 1:9-11

9 We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching 11 based on the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.



In this passage, homosexuality (sodomites) are listed along with a variety of others who are acting contrary to sound doctrine. God’s design is for a man and a woman to be joined through marriage (Genesis 2:24). This is the only circumstance in which a sexual relationship is permitted in the Bible.


Most homosexuals feel that they have not chosen their sexual orientation. This belief is the basis of the discussion that “homosexuality can’t be wrong.” However, each of us has a “leaning toward” a particular sin. Whether that leaning is toward substance abuse, immorality, or pride, we are responsible for controlling it. The Bible gives clear perspective in God’s love and mercy for those who sin, including those who are homosexual. It cannot be dismissed simply as an alternative lifestyle. If we behave in a way that goes against God’s Word, we sin.


Jesus was clear about what is sin and displeases God and what pleases God. But while on this earth He also loved and cared for sinners without fear or reserve.


What one word would you use to describe how Paul felt about what God had done for him?

• Responses could include thankful, worshipful, amazed, grateful, and responsive. The gospel calls for a personal response. The language of faith is praise to God.

What would you say is the truth we can stand on here in this passage?

• Despite what popular culture might argue people do have definitive truth upon which to stand. Jesus is not subjective. He’s not someone we define; He’s not someone we can declare to be real or not. He’s not open for debate. He is open for discovery.

III. STEER CLEAR OF SHIPWRECKS – 1 TIMOTHY 1:18-20

Engage in Battle

18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle, 19 having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them, and I have delivered them to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.


GOING DOWN: Picasso said, “When I die, it will be a shipwreck, and as when a huge ship sinks, many people all around will be sucked down with it.”

How were Hymenaeus and Alexander like a shipwreck?

• They threatened to destroy anyone associated with them. Survival guides say for passengers to swim away from a sinking ship to escape from being sucked under.
• Being near some people will pull you under just as certainly.

The world of deep thought is a dark and dangerous place. (Board) They will suck the mind and soul out of your body leaving nothing but a shell of a self who has no joy in life, and waits endlessly for the next installment of a perceived enlightenment.


How can we swim away from people like these? What people might we want to swim toward?



Are you one who sucks people under and takes away their life, or one who nurtures and gives life? What habit in you would God change to make you one who nurtures and gives life?





Paul was always big on building unity (Ephesians 2:3), so why did he want Timothy to go to battle with other Christian teachers? Why not just let everybody teach what he or she wanted to teach?

• The phrase, “strongly engage in battle” shows the serious damage false teaching and false living can cause. It threatens individuals and churches. Paul taught on spiritual battle in Ephesians 6:10-18, where he warned his readers to put on spiritual armor to prepare for Satan’s attacks.
• Paul urged Timothy to contend with the troublemakers, to fight the good fight. The fight was not with the people but with their doctrine! Our struggle is not beat up the lost but to save them through the gospel of Jesus Christ! This means we must not isolate ourselves from those who are different from us - the poorer, and the richer, the socialites and the social outcasts, the sick and the well, those who agree and the antagonistic, the obedient and the rebellious, even the "sinners" (NKJV). The Christian is to make a difference in this world by reaching all people with the good news of forgiveness through Jesus Christ our LORD.
• Shane Windmeyer - Nationally recognized LGBT leader in higher education; bestselling author; executive director, Campus Pride and Dan Cathy – CEO Chick-fil-A. Throughout the conversations Dan expressed a sincere interest in my life, wanting to get to know me on a personal level. He wanted to know about where I grew up, my faith, my family, even my husband, Tommy. In return, I learned about his wife and kids and gained an appreciation for his devout belief in Jesus Christ and his commitment to being "a follower of Christ" more than a "Christian."

How did Paul deal with the two false teachers mentioned? How should the church deal with those both inside and outside its walls whose teaching and behavior contradicts the Bible? How harsh is disassociation? When can you tell it’s time to do that? How do we do that?

• Many believers can name fundamentals of faith and doctrine, but their behavior is selfish and cruel. We show in behavior what we believe.
• Church discipline is delicate but important. Why do churches avoid it rather than implement it? When is it overdone? Underdone?

Indecent Proposal

What matter's most here - the sin or the love?

Based on these passages, what do you think Paul would say is the most important thing you need to know and do? How would he want you to apply it today?

• Love God and love one another - commit to it, tell it, and live according to it.
• Why - Because it's the truth of the gospel. God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for your sins. There is nothing that you have done that is beyond the love and forgiveness of God. He wants you to know that!  

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, save me from my sins and help me live for You. Amen. 

Be in prayer this week as we begin this new series on what matters most and give some serious thought to what really matters most to you today.


See you on Sunday!


In His Love,


David & Susan