Titus 3:1-15 Titus 3 begins with a bad word. It calls for us to submit. Depending on your translation it may read: to be subject to, to put yourself under, or to yield. How do you feel about this word? How do you feel about living this out?One of the unique teachings of Christianity is a willingness to submit. The world tells us to assert our rights and make life about us, while Titus is told to t...

Titus 2:1-15 I am so thankful for teachers. I send my kids to school every day and am grateful that there are a multitude of people who daily teach my kids. I often look at their work and proclaim I could never do what they do. And that is true, but the challenge of Titus 2 is every leader is meant to be a teacher, and every believer is a leader, so we are all called to be teachers.As you read thr...

Titus 1:1-16 We begin the third pastoral or leadership epistle of Paul today. We move from letters written to Timothy to a letter written to Titus. A man strategically placed on an island to impact it with the gospel. The primary way he was to do this was by raising up more leaders. Paul’s desire was for Titus to multiply himself into the lives of others. He was called to be a leader who made lead...

2 Timothy 4:1-22 Flip through a handful of news channels and you will see talking heads spinning the day’s events in a dozen different ways. People tend to zero in on the voices with which they agree and tune out or disparage the rest. In many cases, this allows them to stray from the truth. We only hear what we want and resist the hard truths that we need to hear.Paul’s warning to Timothy in vers...

2 Timothy 2:22-3:17 Someone recently described themselves as being on the struggle bus as they attempt to follow Jesus. Though it is hard, it is worth it. In fact, everything in life that is valuable takes effort, intentionality, and work. We need to commit each day to becoming more conformed to the likeness of Christ. To conform to Christ is to see every area of our lives transformed. We must see...

2 Timothy 2:1-21 My kids used to love playing dress up. They would put together costumes and walk around the house pretending they were superheroes and princesses. Costumes may feel like a thing of our past, but Paul essentially challenges Timothy to live in permanent dress-up mode.Timothy is called to see himself as a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. As a soldier he is to stay focused on the ma...

2 Timothy 1:1-18 2 Timothy is our second pastoral epistle/leadership book. It continues the theme of 1 Timothy concerning the qualifications and actions of a leader. If you were to write down all the qualifications you think are important for leadership, what would they be? Do they match Paul’s list?Paul begins his letter to Timothy by describing the importance of faith. Our relationship with God ...

1 Timothy 6:1-21 What are you running to? All of us live with a goal and a finish line; the only question is what they are. What is your life's purpose, what are you pursuing, and what is the goal of your life? Leadership demands that we chase after the right things and climb the right ladders.Paul challenges Timothy to, "Flee from all this (pursuit of wealth), and pursue righteousness, godliness,...

1 Timothy 5:1-25 Everyone needs a rocking chair in the kitchen. When my mother was elderly, dealing with cancer, and sitting in a rocker in my kitchen area, she quoted my grandmother who said, “A rocking chair always needed to be in the kitchen.” When I inquired more about the statement, she explained that as a woman aged, she could live with the family, sit in a rocker in the kitchen and still be...

1 Timothy 4:1-16 We are in a war for truth. Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been spreading lies and enticing people away from the truth of God. His work has never stopped and continues in our lives and those around us. The question is: how are you going to fight amid this battle?The way we fight in this spiritual war is to walk in and communicate the truth. We need to stand firm on the truth a...

1 Timothy 3:1-16 What are the most critical qualities of leadership? What characteristics should we seek in prospective church leadership? Is it the successful businessman? Is it a wealthy individual or a charismatic person with lots of friends? Paul wants us to understand the necessary qualifications for a person in leadership according to 1 Timothy 3.So often modern leadership is focused on comp...

1 Timothy 2:1-15 If you were to take over a company, what is the first thing you should do? If you were promoted to boss, what should your first act be? If you are a new parent or entering into a marriage, what is the best first step you should take as a leader? Paul in 2 Timothy 2 is going to help us answer these questions.We might think leadership starts with casting vision or making a loud, ene...

1 Timothy 1:1-20 Our reading of 1 Timothy begins what are called the Pastoral Epistles. The letters of 1&2 Timothy and Titus provide critical instructions for leadership. Since every one of us is called to make disciples and thereby function as leaders, these letters are critical for our understanding and our lives. So, as you begin reading, consider the people and areas of life which God has plac...

2 Thessalonians 3:1-18 “The Lord is faithful.” Do you believe this statement to be true? Through the ups and downs of life, have you experienced God’s faithfulness? What did this look like?Understanding God’s faithfulness is one of the key truths for us to embrace about God. Even if everyone else abandons us, God never will. In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul mentions the wicked and evil, the idle, busybo...

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 Are you able to survey the brokenness of our world and still have a sense of peace, hope, and joy? Paul was concerned the Thessalonians were becoming “unsettled or alarmed,” so he wrote about their ultimate source of peace —Jesus. The truth which should bring hope into our lives is Christ’s return and his making all things right. Regardless of life's challenges, Christ's tri...

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 How do you feel about God being a judge and Christ returning to judge the world? Podcast interviewees recently claimed if we got rid of the doctrine of hell and God’s judgment, then it would make Christianity a lot more palatable to our culture. Though easier for people to swallow, they would be embracing a lie. The doctrine of hell and God’s judgment is true and brings hope...

1 Thessalonians 5:4-28 Are you the same person during the day as you are at night? Most of us are probably the worst version of ourselves at night. We get tired, grumpy, angry, and just want to be left alone. This is even more true as we consider crime rates, DUIs, and other illegal activity during the day versus at night. Darkness brings out the worst in everyone, which is why, as believers, we a...

1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3 Our culture and even Christians view many sins as okay if they do not seem to hurt anyone. This is especially true around sex. Behaviors such as pornography, sex outside of marriage, and homosexual sex are viewed as normal, ordinary, and justified behaviors. Yet Paul points out a myriad of problems with this perspective in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8.To walk in any sexual sin is ...

1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13 We can all confuse pleasure and contentment with joy. We can become pleasure addicts seeking the next fix or feeling a loss of pleasure when things don’t go according to plan.There is an experience that is more satisfying than momentary happiness and it is joy. It is not fleeting but a deep state of mind that is obtainable by all believers. Joy is ultimately not to be foun...

1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8 When you think of a model you might think of a person walking along a runway wearing unrealistic, extravagant, costly clothing. Someone who is attempting to draw attention to themselves. Paul called the church of Thessalonica models but a completely different type. They were models that embodied a life of following Jesus and, in doing so, showed how life should be lived. So...