Sometimes We Need to Be Reminded...
Memory Verse:
'I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. '- John 15:5
Sermon Sentence: Paul’s guidance and encouragement to Titus as he led his church in ancient Greece is directly applicable to us today.
'I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. '- John 15:5
Sermon Sentence: Paul’s guidance and encouragement to Titus as he led his church in ancient Greece is directly applicable to us today.
Day 1
Read Romans 13:1-14
Our key text for the week was Titus 3:1-9. Paul, writing to Titus, gives him specific instructions that he is to remind the church of. In the devotions this week, we will work through some of these things and see what we need to learn as well. So be sure to follow along by revisiting that text as well.
Paul told Titus to remind the church to be submissive to rulers and authorities in Titus 3:1. I wonder if that doesn’t strike you as a strange thing for a church to be paying attention to? When you consider it from the world they lived in, it may seem even more strange. The government was not exactly their friend and it certainly did not represent their values and concerns. Therefore, it may seem strange to tell people to be submissive to the very entity that seems to want to do as much as kill them. In the book of Romans, Paul returns to this idea again.
I think the value of the lesson is not in the ability to obey the government, but rather in the posture of being a person that knows how to humble themselves to a place of submission. Oftentimes we teach that when a child becomes an adult, they will then be able to make their own decisions or guide their own life. While the basic premise is true, the reality is that the moment we become unwilling or uninterested in placing ourselves under someone, is the moment that we find real danger. All of the Christian life is one of submission. Not forced submission, but certainly willing submission. The bulk of the point is in the practice that we learn as we are doing it.
There seems to be two halves to this chapter: one on ruling authorities and one on fulfilling the law in love. How could these two ideas actually be tied together rather than two separate points?
Assume the government were to ask the reader of this passage to do something against the Bible, how does this passage still apply and how would you work through the wisdom of considering everything here?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Our key text for the week was Titus 3:1-9. Paul, writing to Titus, gives him specific instructions that he is to remind the church of. In the devotions this week, we will work through some of these things and see what we need to learn as well. So be sure to follow along by revisiting that text as well.
Paul told Titus to remind the church to be submissive to rulers and authorities in Titus 3:1. I wonder if that doesn’t strike you as a strange thing for a church to be paying attention to? When you consider it from the world they lived in, it may seem even more strange. The government was not exactly their friend and it certainly did not represent their values and concerns. Therefore, it may seem strange to tell people to be submissive to the very entity that seems to want to do as much as kill them. In the book of Romans, Paul returns to this idea again.
I think the value of the lesson is not in the ability to obey the government, but rather in the posture of being a person that knows how to humble themselves to a place of submission. Oftentimes we teach that when a child becomes an adult, they will then be able to make their own decisions or guide their own life. While the basic premise is true, the reality is that the moment we become unwilling or uninterested in placing ourselves under someone, is the moment that we find real danger. All of the Christian life is one of submission. Not forced submission, but certainly willing submission. The bulk of the point is in the practice that we learn as we are doing it.
There seems to be two halves to this chapter: one on ruling authorities and one on fulfilling the law in love. How could these two ideas actually be tied together rather than two separate points?
Assume the government were to ask the reader of this passage to do something against the Bible, how does this passage still apply and how would you work through the wisdom of considering everything here?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Ephesians 2:1-10
Paul is making his appeal to Titus in Titus 3:1-9, for the church, by calling out the truth of their past. For the church, that idea should be different from the view of their current lives. They were not following Jesus; but now they are following Jesus. There should be a difference there. Paul does not spend a small amount of time in his ministry on this point. Over and over again he keeps going back to that idea in most all of his letters to the churches.
Is it something that really needs to be said? Think about it. If I have been changed from being a sinner to now living like a follower of Jesus, I can get hung up on the change that has made me a better person. I can come out of this whole thing just thankful that I am not like I was, if I am convinced that how I was was not a good way to be. But Paul is appealing to the next level here. We were saved, changed and then called to good works. Not to just be a good work. Sure! We should show off the good work in us and be thankful and let everyone know it was God working in us, but if it all stopped there, we would be missing the point. For if God has worked a good work in us, then we are His workmanship and God’s workmanship is for the good works He is doing. I am that work. And therefore I am to look for the good works that I can be a part of because that is what God did in me.
Why is it important to understand that is was God that saved us to fully understand the idea that we are to be looking for the good works He has saved us for?
What does it mean to be saved “by grace through faith?”
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Paul is making his appeal to Titus in Titus 3:1-9, for the church, by calling out the truth of their past. For the church, that idea should be different from the view of their current lives. They were not following Jesus; but now they are following Jesus. There should be a difference there. Paul does not spend a small amount of time in his ministry on this point. Over and over again he keeps going back to that idea in most all of his letters to the churches.
Is it something that really needs to be said? Think about it. If I have been changed from being a sinner to now living like a follower of Jesus, I can get hung up on the change that has made me a better person. I can come out of this whole thing just thankful that I am not like I was, if I am convinced that how I was was not a good way to be. But Paul is appealing to the next level here. We were saved, changed and then called to good works. Not to just be a good work. Sure! We should show off the good work in us and be thankful and let everyone know it was God working in us, but if it all stopped there, we would be missing the point. For if God has worked a good work in us, then we are His workmanship and God’s workmanship is for the good works He is doing. I am that work. And therefore I am to look for the good works that I can be a part of because that is what God did in me.
Why is it important to understand that is was God that saved us to fully understand the idea that we are to be looking for the good works He has saved us for?
What does it mean to be saved “by grace through faith?”
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
In Titus 3:2, Paul challenges Titus to remind the people “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward people.” It seems like those would all be good practices for people that follow Jesus, but it also stands to reason that if we need to be told to do this, there is a breakdown somewhere! In the letter to Ephesus, Paul was right back at talking these same things over. The reason that is given to approach all people with these attitudes in place, is because we were once the type of people that would provoke a reaction that is opposite these things. Again, as Pastor Pat taught about on Sunday, it was the grace of God that has changed us only. For Paul, the formula seems to be obvious: lost, hurting people treat people out of lost, hurting ways. Saved, changed people treat others out of that reality. Maybe it is not that much different but it is like saying “I treat people like I do because of who I am.” Not “I treat people like I do because they are who they are.”
Many times, the values of Ephesians 4:29-32 seem to be the things that are not really elevated as a higher way of living in the world today. But for us to understand what it means to follow Jesus, in part takes a mind that also realizes how Jesus saw other people and ministered to them. He was certainly careful in his speech and kind in His approach. The arguments that we make against that truth feel more like us trying to justify what we want to do, rather than how we are supposed to be.
Which thing called out in these verses could use some attention in your life this week?
Why does the gospel change the way you treat people that annoy, frustrate, or anger you?
How far should you take Ephesians 4:29 in what you are facing today?
How does this become your prayer today?
In Titus 3:2, Paul challenges Titus to remind the people “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward people.” It seems like those would all be good practices for people that follow Jesus, but it also stands to reason that if we need to be told to do this, there is a breakdown somewhere! In the letter to Ephesus, Paul was right back at talking these same things over. The reason that is given to approach all people with these attitudes in place, is because we were once the type of people that would provoke a reaction that is opposite these things. Again, as Pastor Pat taught about on Sunday, it was the grace of God that has changed us only. For Paul, the formula seems to be obvious: lost, hurting people treat people out of lost, hurting ways. Saved, changed people treat others out of that reality. Maybe it is not that much different but it is like saying “I treat people like I do because of who I am.” Not “I treat people like I do because they are who they are.”
Many times, the values of Ephesians 4:29-32 seem to be the things that are not really elevated as a higher way of living in the world today. But for us to understand what it means to follow Jesus, in part takes a mind that also realizes how Jesus saw other people and ministered to them. He was certainly careful in his speech and kind in His approach. The arguments that we make against that truth feel more like us trying to justify what we want to do, rather than how we are supposed to be.
Which thing called out in these verses could use some attention in your life this week?
Why does the gospel change the way you treat people that annoy, frustrate, or anger you?
How far should you take Ephesians 4:29 in what you are facing today?
How does this become your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Titus 3:1-9
The Gospel message is vital for the local church. I don’t want you to take that statement lightly. I want you to understand that I mean it in the fullest and most obvious way that it could be meant. The very idea that God loved us so much that He sent our Savior, out of mercy, and for the purpose and goal of saving us from our sins, is the centerpiece of why we gather week after week. If we do not have that, we lose the very reason to show up each week. We lose the very reason to worship like we do. We lose the very reason to go out and spread the message to the world. How foolish would it be to present to the world a solution to its problems that we only kind of think could work? This is the very argument that Paul is making to Titus. He is encouraging this pastor to hang on to the very pieces of the Gospel and put them before the people all of the time. Why? Because it is excellent…or of high value. It is excellent because it is profitable for all of the people. The reason we proclaim it to all people is because all people need to hear it.
Therefore, today, devote yourself to good works. The “good” is those things of the Gospel. There is no other thing that is considered good. Some things have an appearance of good or even a flavor of a bit of good, but it is the Gospel that is good! It is work because it is undoing something that needs undone. It is bringing back to life that which has died. It is reviving that which is not moving and therefore it is a work. So find a good work to devote yourself to today, because a good work has been done in you!
What is a good work you should devote yourself to today?
What do you think Paul was specifically referring to in verse 9?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
The Gospel message is vital for the local church. I don’t want you to take that statement lightly. I want you to understand that I mean it in the fullest and most obvious way that it could be meant. The very idea that God loved us so much that He sent our Savior, out of mercy, and for the purpose and goal of saving us from our sins, is the centerpiece of why we gather week after week. If we do not have that, we lose the very reason to show up each week. We lose the very reason to worship like we do. We lose the very reason to go out and spread the message to the world. How foolish would it be to present to the world a solution to its problems that we only kind of think could work? This is the very argument that Paul is making to Titus. He is encouraging this pastor to hang on to the very pieces of the Gospel and put them before the people all of the time. Why? Because it is excellent…or of high value. It is excellent because it is profitable for all of the people. The reason we proclaim it to all people is because all people need to hear it.
Therefore, today, devote yourself to good works. The “good” is those things of the Gospel. There is no other thing that is considered good. Some things have an appearance of good or even a flavor of a bit of good, but it is the Gospel that is good! It is work because it is undoing something that needs undone. It is bringing back to life that which has died. It is reviving that which is not moving and therefore it is a work. So find a good work to devote yourself to today, because a good work has been done in you!
What is a good work you should devote yourself to today?
What do you think Paul was specifically referring to in verse 9?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Acts 4:23-31
The story that has happened before this section is where Peter and John found themselves in trouble with the law for preaching the Gospel of Jesus. Well, it was the religious leaders that actually came after them, but they were interested in invoking the laws to punish them. While in the trial, they preached the Gospel to the courts. So they were arrested for preaching the Gospel, then they took the opportunity to preach the Gospel while they were on trial. It would be like being in court for a trial about stealing something from a store and then while the trial is going on, sticking things in your pocket to steal! It was a pretty open and shut case, but they had trouble applying a punishment for the crime they made up and so they were sent away with a reprimand. They did not take that too well either and left declaring they would be listening to God.
This is where we picked up the story. It is here that they make a decision about what just happened to them. They could lay low and take it easy, let the fires burn out and then try a relaunch later. But that is not what they decided. It was taken to God in prayer and found in that moment that this declaring the Gospel was not just a small thing or a sometimes thing, but it was THE THING! So they doubled down on their mission and calling and stepped out to get to work….the same work they had just been tried for.
I really like that image for the work of the followers of Jesus. May we do that.
How does this become your prayer today?
The story that has happened before this section is where Peter and John found themselves in trouble with the law for preaching the Gospel of Jesus. Well, it was the religious leaders that actually came after them, but they were interested in invoking the laws to punish them. While in the trial, they preached the Gospel to the courts. So they were arrested for preaching the Gospel, then they took the opportunity to preach the Gospel while they were on trial. It would be like being in court for a trial about stealing something from a store and then while the trial is going on, sticking things in your pocket to steal! It was a pretty open and shut case, but they had trouble applying a punishment for the crime they made up and so they were sent away with a reprimand. They did not take that too well either and left declaring they would be listening to God.
This is where we picked up the story. It is here that they make a decision about what just happened to them. They could lay low and take it easy, let the fires burn out and then try a relaunch later. But that is not what they decided. It was taken to God in prayer and found in that moment that this declaring the Gospel was not just a small thing or a sometimes thing, but it was THE THING! So they doubled down on their mission and calling and stepped out to get to work….the same work they had just been tried for.
I really like that image for the work of the followers of Jesus. May we do that.
How does this become your prayer today?
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