Sermons

There are three characteristics that are consistent across every person I've ever known who was looking for a fight.
1) Some if not all of them Just liked to argue.
2) They believed at some level that they might be wrong and thus were prepared to duke it out from the start, no matter what the issue.
3) They had a much higher view of themselves than they merited. People who do not know them might well describe them as arrogant after meeting them.
Last time we talked about the identifying marks of a heretic; while this week we are going to look at a few more identification marks which pretty well double up to show us some of what motivates them. So in order to help refresh your memory: a heretic:
teaches a different doctrine,
disagrees with sound teaching,
and as a result rejects godliness which the gospel should invariably produce in the life of a true believer.
By rejecting the scriptures they embrace ignorance never examining the end result of their obstinacy. Proverbs 21:16 says, “A man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.” The end result of heresy is death. Thus it is nothing to be trifled with.
If you return to 1 Timothy 6:4 we step into their motivation.

From time to time you've seen me write that some teaching or even some teacher was particularly heretical. There should be no room for doubt in your mind that my declarations are not based upon something as ridiculous as personal dislike or even of jealousy. I reserve that judgment for someone who falls within the Biblically defined parameters of a heretic. The Bible calls them false teachers among other more derogatory names. They are individuals who through varying motivations from ignorance on one side of the spectrum to greed or worse on the other side teach with an eye on their own self promotion rather than upon Christ and the Glory of God.
I would like to have you turn back to 1 Timothy again this morning. As we enter the home stretch on this brief letter we will encounter heretics, greed, and some final exhortations.

Ok I fell behind again. I need to bring some of my sermons up to date so here's mother's day with the next few to follow soon.

What does it mean to be godly? The dictionary definition means to have qualities like God. A godly person will demonstrate Characteristics that God would demonstrate. Surely we are supposed to be godly. This morning, actually I would like to talk specifically to the ladies in church church about being a godly woman. You men are not allowed to tune out because quite frankly the same lessons can apply to you.

What does it mean to be a woman of God?

What does it mean to live in grace? Grace as I've often defined it means getting what you don't deserve. The official definition of theologians has been “unmerited favor”.

As recipients of grace you gain the benefits of Christ in you even though it is unmerited. In one portion living in grace means living eternal life now because of the grace you've been given. In another portion living in grace means dwelling restfully within the grace of God realizing that His grace is your salvation – it means getting off the treadmill and relying upon his Grace. And yet in a third portion, living in grace means letting your life be shaped by the grace that you have received.

Church 101: Slaves and masters / Workers and Employees.

Most of us have been exposed to bad workers. I could list off a number of bad work habits I've had to deal with.

First of all there is “always late Leroy” you can almost set your watch to five minutes after by the way he peals into the parking lot and runs to the time clock to punch in, only to stand around for a few minutes tucking in his shirt and putting his stuff in order so he can report to his workstation fifteen minutes after he should have. Then of course there is “Geraldine the gossip queen” you can always count on Geraldine to be neck deep in a conversation about all of the latest dirt while simultaneously managing to ignore her responsibilities. You get the feeling that if she put ½ the effort into her job as she did her jaws that she would outperform everyone else on the job. Don't forget “Long lunch Leonard”, “Early to Exit Edgar” and the closely related “Sometimes Sick Sylvia”. They've always got an excuse not to finish their task, or call off, quit early or just plain not come in. The list could go on but you get the point.

Now take any of those people – call them a Christian and call their boss an unbeliever. What happens then? A recipe for disaster, because there is more at stake than a bad performance review or a pink slip. That boss is going to look at the behavior of his “Christian” employee and have opportunity to curse God and to malign the gospel. And worse than that – a man may be kept out of the Lord's kingdom because someone calling themselves a Christian is lazy, mouthy and inconsiderate.

The New Testament reflects an elder based church government. Three interchangeable terms are used to describe the position of elder-leadership in the church. “Elder” (Presubteros πρεσβυτερος) describes spiritual maturity, “Pastor” (Poimen ποιμην) describes shepherding, feeding, guardianship and protection, while “Overseer” (Episkopos επισκοπος) describes authority, oversight and leadership. The general title of the leadership appears to be the elder and the general picture of leadership in the church is that of a plurality of elders who are responsible to guide and care for the church.

On the flip side, the church also has responsibilities to her elders. The church must properly provide for, protect the reputation and holiness of elders and select her elders properly.

How Should The Church Choose Her Elders?

Instantly we have to ask the question, “How should the church choose her Elders?” The answer to that question is the purpose of our text today. Please turn to 1 Timothy 5:22-25. While you're turning there I'll remind you of some of the background.

Early on in the church the Apostles (Acts 14:23) then the apostolic delegates (Titus 1:5) and finally the elders in the churches (1 Tim 4:14) were responsible for the actual ordination of elders in the church. The selection of Deacons, we can see in Acts 6 was done by the entire body of believers and their acceptance and subsequent ordination was performed by the Apostles.