How should a Christian personally respond to evil that touches his or her life?

Spiritual Fathers — Spiritual Sons

The Deepest Joy Springs from Understanding Christ's Deity.

The church in Ephesus had been unsettled by the false teaching of unbelievers in their midst. Even young pastor Timothy was anxious. Paul knew the flock at Ephesus well from teaching in their houses for over three years. His heart was that no soul would be left behind, and he wrote to settle the Ephesian believers. They needed to be encouraged and settled, so they could then learn proper structure and function in the church, then go on to make spiritual progress. Paul was an example to Timothy in discipleship and pastoral ministry.

Sound Doctrine Settles Hearts.

Paul wrote the book of 1 Timothy as a mentor to his tutor. Pastor Timothy oversaw the largest of the first-century churches. This letter was a tool in Timothy's continued discipleship by Paul. No church is strengthened without disciple-making. It is a work of the church that every member must be involved in, not just the pastors.

A Soldier's Mission.

On Memorial Day, we honor those who have brought our nation physical safety. Even greater honor is due to the one man who brought spiritual safety to many - Jesus Christ.

Acts 10 tells the special story of God's care to save a member of the Roman military. The narrative focuses on the soldier Cornelius and the apostle Peter, but God is always the hero. He uses human instruments to achieve his eternal plans.

Pastor Robert Potter - Christ's Missions Mindset.

The Christian life is a battle for the mind. Many minds in our culture seek to convince people to think like them. But there is no mind that can compare to the mind of Christ. Every Christian who has made Christ their Lord and Savior has the mind of Christ! We are commanded to let His mind continually be operational in us.

Mothers Who Prepare Their Children to Be Spiritual Leaders.

From preachers to presidents, good leaders have often praised the value of virtuous mothers. We celebrate motherhood this week because the Bible also honors women. Jewish genealogies did not include women, yet Jesus' mother is mentioned by name in Matthew 1:16. The Bible mentions Mary because she displays several virtues that should characterize all Christians. What can we learn from her godly example?

The Personal and Corporate Integrity of the Church.

Carbon fiber is ten times as strong as steel and one third the weight. Because of these properties, the airplane industry is using it to make more lightweight, durable jets. Likewise, the church is much stronger and can move forward with much less burden when it is well-taught and holds to proper doctrine. The Christian life can be hard, but it would be much more difficult if we didn't preach a proper Gospel.

The Personal and Corporate Integrity of the Church.

Personal and Ministry Integrity: The Foundation of Spiritual Boldness.

Paul had mentored Timothy for some time now. Timothy learned boldness in spite of timidity and learned to recognize and exercise his spiritual gifting. Timothy had watched Paul endure persecution and stay true to the gospel. By Acts 18, Timothy was strengthened to be an encouragement to his own teacher when Paul needed it. God has called every believer to be a spiritual encouragement to other saints. Even mature saints get tired and sometimes think about quitting, and even new believers can encourage these mature saints.

Pastor Kent Hobi: Where Do We Go from Here?

After the high excitement of Easter, a natural question arises: What now? After the resurrection, what does Jesus want His church to focus on until He comes back? He has clearly laid out our mission and given us the resources to determine the specific way to fulfill it. How does the church discern God’s personal will for a local body of believers?

Living Through His Life.

Many hymns tell how the truth of the resurrection affects our life today. "I serve a risen Savior," wrote Alfred Ackley in "He Lives!" Charles Wesley underscored the reality that because Christ has risen, we will also rise, in his hymn "Come, Let Us With Our Lord Arise." Those who know Christ live because of Him, and our glory is His.

By contrast, those who choose to live without God often describe the fleeting nature of human life. English poet Thomas Gray wrote the line, "The paths of glory lead but to the grave." Our glory is short-lived without Christ. God's glory is eternal, and He has wonderfully planned to share it through Jesus Christ.

Pastor Kent Hobi: Who Will I Believe?

On Palm Sunday, the crowd shouted "Hosanna" as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem. The word means "Save now!" They certainly wanted a conquering king to overpower Rome at that time. But this was not God's plan. His plan of salvation went beyond human wisdom.

The issue of salvation really comes down to a question of authority. Who will I believe? By what wisdom will I live my life? King David gives his recommendation in Psalm 36. This wisdom psalm reveals secrets of life to help us navigate life as God intended. David was the king over the nation of Israel, with a powerful army at his command and many wise advisors. Furthermore, he had a privileged place in salvation history – the promised Messiah would come through his line. Yet he directs the people of Israel to look to the Lord for wisdom.

Learning the Development of the Church.

We continue to follow Timothy's journey as he learns how God builds His church. The normative pattern we see in the book of Acts is not churches being grown around programs or a person. God's primary way to grow a church is through people getting saved as a result of believers interacting with the unsaved. A church grown around the Bible will have the desire to plant other churches, then network together to reach even more regions in the world.

Building Spiritual Confidence as We Watch the Lord Build His Church.

As Timothy accompanied Paul, Luke and Silas on their second missionary journey, he had a lot to learn. His role was an observer as he followed his spiritual leader. He saw what great things God can do through a few gifted people.

Learning Boldness, Part 4.

Last week we saw how Timothy learned and adopted the gospel burden of his spiritual leader and mentor, the apostle Paul. A “gospel burden” is a believer’s natural desire to share Christ with others. God’s designed this burden to be fulfilled first through personal evangelism, then through churches reaching their local community, and finally spreading the gospel message through the world.

Learning Boldness, Part 3.

A pastoral candidate was asked, “What do you have to offer our church?” His answer was only, “my weakness.” It’s an excellent answer. We only minister by God’s strength and His grace. Supernatural humility helps us overcome natural timidity. Someone once said, “Anxiety is the absence of humility, and humility is the absence of anxiety.”

Learning Boldness, Part 2.

Understanding the minutiae of Timothy’s life will help us understand the letters Paul wrote to help him oversee the pastor-shepherds of Ephesus. Timothy knew the Scriptures and came to Christ early in his life (2 Timothy 1:5, 3:15). From what we see in Scripture, Timothy was always a timid man. But his life teaches us that timidity is never an excuse not to minister. Everyone experiences a degree of fear when giving the Gospel or ministering publically. We must not let it keep us from obeying God.

Learning Boldness

Timothy’s life is instructive as we learn to live worship-filled lives in 2015. He certainly demonstrates a worship-filled life even though we have not yet seen him in a formal worship setting!

From Timidity to Boldness: The Making of a Christian Servant

We continue to study Timothy’s salvation history and character in preparation for understanding two pastoral letters written to him. Timothy’s life shows that we have no Gospel unless we have a changed lifestyle. Even when it becomes scary to serve the Lord, we step out in faith into the unfamiliar.