In contrast to the celebrated scribes, Jesus draws his disciple's attention to the place where people brought their temple offerings. Their attention was naturally drawn to those making large gifts, but Jesus wanted them to witness something greater.

Jesus pointed to the poor widow's offering as a greater offering in the sight of God, not because of worldly value but because of the heart of worship. From the widow's offering and Jesus' teaching, we find the principles that giving is good, must be sacrificial, and is an act of worship.

The testimony of Achan's sin testifies to the danger of greed and the importance of being thankful for God's provisions. Gratitude and thanksgiving are the responses to God's provision and grace. Greed is the sin of being ungrateful and taking what has not been provided.

This passage teaches us to be thankful for God's provision and honor him with what He provides.

We generally have a love-hate relationship with qualifications. We rightly desire that those who provide services, like doctors and airline pilots, be well-qualified. And yet, when faced with requirements that restrict something you want to do, your appreciation for the goodness of qualifications drastically wanes. In the current cultural context, where personal autonomy is seen as supremely important, any discussion of disqualifying qualifications is not well received.

The church's well-being, health, and effectiveness are greatly affected by and dependant on the leadership of the church. If the church fails to choose qualified men to serve as overseers, it will soon reap disastrous results

No church is perfectly rightly ordered; however, every church must have a heart to be as rightly ordered and faithful to scripture as possible. 1 Timothy 3 continues the teaching on the proper order of the church and the offices of overseer/ elder/ pastor and deacon. To introduce a biblical understanding of the office of overseer/ elder/ pastor, I will discuss these three areas: the problem (Where we are and how we got here), the terms (rediscovering the terms the Bible uses for those who lead the church), and the office (from 3: 1).

Few subjects are more fraught with difficulty than the issue this text addresses. In our cultural context, it feels awkward at best and dangerous at worst to declare what women should and should not wear, how women should fix their hair, remain quiet in church, and be submissive. The awkwardness of the cultural context does not release the church from preaching such passages and certainly not Christians from obeying what this passage teaches. To faithfully preach the Bible, a pastor must proclaim what the Bible teaches regardless of how well it is received by the culture of the day.

In the second half of 1 Timothy 2, Paul turns his attention to the proper order of the church. In this text, he addresses women's role in the church, particularly in public worship. This text addresses three areas for Christian women: how you present yourself in worship, participate in worship, and honor God's design for women.

When lives are in danger, the first impulse is to think about how they can be rescued. The most horrifying situations are when there is no hope of saving those in danger. The gospel's good news is that God desires to rescue you and has provided a way for your salvation in Jesus.

Chapter two begins Paul's instructions to Timothy on the proper order of the church. Before addressing these issues, he lays the foundational truths of the church's call to prayer and the forgiveness of sin only in Jesus. In this sermon, I show the good gift of redemption, the desire of God to save, and man's only hope is in Jesus.

Chapter two begins Paul’s instructions to Timothy on the proper order of the church. However, before addressing these issues, he first lays the foundational truths of the church’s call to prayer and the forgiveness of sin that is only in Jesus.

You learned in elementary English class to look for the what, who, how, and why. Likewise, this sermon will focus on the what, who, how, and why of prayer.

When you travel by ship, there is a moment when you realize that your safety is totally dependent on the integrity of the ship. When the ship leaves the dock, it does so slowly enough that the safety of the land seems to linger and remain within reach. However, as the ship sails further to sea, your sight of land grows smaller and more distant. At the distance of 2.9 miles, any sight of land finally slips beyond your site as the curvature of the earth limits your vision. When any sight of land is lost, and all you can see is water in every direction, is the moment that you realize that your life rests entirely in the ship's ability to reach the next port. As the sun sets and darkness cloaks all but what the ship's lights can illuminate, the feeling of dependency on the ship for safety is made all the more profound.

Paul knew something about shipwrecks. He had experienced near-death experiences in multiple shipwrecks. With these memories in mind, he writes to Timothy a charge to fight the good fight for the gospel and a warning of the grave consequences that come from rejecting the gospel.

For all the advancements in modern media, the most effective marketing approach has remained unchanged since the creation of time. The most effective and powerful persuasive tactic is personal testimony. It is helpful to hear about all the features of a product and how it could improve your life. However, what will draw your attention and acceptance toward purchasing something is when someone you know says, I use it; it helped me; you should use it too.

In this passage, Paul declares that the primary purpose of Jesus coming in the flesh to earth was to save sinners. In making this point, he shares his personal testimony of salvation, his sin before Christ, and the grace that he has now received. Through his testimony, we see the common depravity all experience, the hope of salvation through Jesus, and the testimony and worship that follows.

Every profession has those who are incompetent, malevolent, or abusive. When you experience unlawful use of authority, a common reaction is to reject the whole. As a result, the reflective response of many today is to tear down institutions rather than work to repair them. A biblical worldview recognizes the sin of the individual while maintaining the goodness of the institution or position.

Paul is responding to the false teachers who were perverting the law of God. They were using the law unlawfully and thus destructively. Paul does not reject the law but affirms it as good when lawfully used for the purposes and glory of God.

No church is perfectly rightly ordered. However, every church must have a heart to be as rightly ordered and faithful to scripture as possible. The church must regularly examine how it is organized and functions and determine if it is most faithful to scripture. Paul's letters to Timothy deal with many of these issues, which is why it is helpful for Christians and churches to return often to these instructive letters.

These letters to the young pastor are Paul's counsel on leading the church in proper worship and establishing proper church leadership. He instructs Timothy on the required qualifications for elders/pastors/overseers and deacons and gives counsel on confronting false teachers and other congregation members.

In these opening words of Paul's first letter to Timothy, he first warns of what threatens the church and recognizes the gift of elders to the church.

As children leave the house, parents often give short final instructions. These departing words are not new information but reminders of important things. A mom might remind her children of something they need to do while away. A father might remind his children of his expectations of how they should behave while away. And often, parents tell their children one more time that they love them.

These closing words of Paul’s letter are similar words of instructions. These are not new teachings but reminders of important truths.

In these closing words of his letter, Paul gives his final words to the church, hoping that the next time they will hear from him will be in person. In the first four verses, Paul encouraged the wayward brothers and sisters to repent of their sin and promised to deal sternly with those who would not. Secondly, in verses 5-10, he pleads with the brothers and sisters to give serious attention to the nature of their relationship with Jesus and the genuineness of their salvation so that they might be sure of their salvation.

As Paul concludes his letter, he gives some final warnings and instructions. His final warning can be broken into two parts, confrontation of sin and examining your faith to test if it is genuine. In this sermon, I preach on the first part concerning the confrontation of sin.

Confronting sin and church discipline is something that most Christians know should be happening, but they have not seen a healthy or consistent model of how it happens. And a more honest assessment may be that many Christians have no motivation to faithfully participate in church discipline because they enjoy the lack of accountability in their church.

Understanding this passage and how to confront sin requires understanding three principles of healthy, godly discipline:

1. Discipline is motivated by love.

2. Discipline is connected to worth.

3. Discipline is connected to church fellowship.

The relationship of parent to child is one that Paul uses in this passage and is helpful in understanding the relationship between those who proclaim the gospel and those who receive it. Children do not always appreciate their parents' sacrifices and sometimes even rebel against their parents. What motivates all that parents do for their children is love.

In this passage, the Bible teaches how believers should respond to the gospel, the cost of ministry, and what motivates the preaching of the gospel.

Our sinful nature is quick to take the glory from the blessings and gifts of God for ourselves. We often even claim that they come from us rather than God. Yet, when confronted with our true weakness, we come to know through experience the sufficiency of God’s grace - that His grace is enough.

Paul had seen God move in mighty ways. Often when many were coming to salvation, it also was a time when persecution and hardships were the greatest. Fourteen years earlier, while he and Barnabas were preaching in Lystra, Paul noticed a crippled man listening who had believing faith. He healed the man, and he immediately stood up and walked. When the crowds witnessed this miracle, they did not praise God but began to worship Paul and Barnabas as pagan gods. Both Paul and Barnabas pleaded with the people not to believe such lies, but scripture says that “they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.” (Acts 14:18)

Jews from Antioch and Iconium convinced the people to turn on Paul and Barnabas. They stoned Paul until they were convinced he was dead, then drug his lifeless body through the streets and out of the city. Other believers gathered around his body, grieving and likely making plans for his burial. But while they were gathered around what they thought was the corpse of Paul, he rose up and returned to the work of the gospel. This event may be what Paul is referencing in 2 Corinthians 12:1-6. 

In recounting this amazing experience, we learn three characteristics of a true disciple:

• The mark of a true disciple

• The hope of a true disciple

• The desire of a true disciple

In these final verses of chapter 11, Paul continues his defense of his apostleship and denouncement of those preaching a gospel contrary to the true gospel.

Generally, it is good advice not to “toot your own horn.” However, sometimes, you must “toot your own horn” when defending against arrogant braggarts leading others astray. This is the case in this passage. To that end, Paul allows himself some room to brag. However, his boasting is not to take any pride in his accomplishments but to show the foolishness of all such boasts. Ultimately, Paul draws your attention to the glory and power of God.

Without a biblical worldview, there is no understanding of evil's real and present danger and the need to restrain it. When faced with evil, political leaders often prescribe legislative, regulatory, economic, or education remedies, believing that the undesired behavior can be overcome with better programs and laws. Or individuals speak of their own difficult situations and ascribe the blame or the responsibility to God when the cure is God, but the cause is not.

God has provided a way to be saved from this broken world. He desires your salvation and not your destruction. God has no part in sin.

From this passage, the Bible declares two fundamental truths that God does not tempt toward sin and that all that is good is from God.

No matter how far a child has wandered or how great a child has rebelled, godly parents do not give up hope that God will draw them back. No matter how long it has been, godly parents continue to call on the Lord to rescue their child and take every opportunity to speak the truth to their child.

This is the heartbreaking intensity with which Paul writes this passage. He loved the church at Corinth. He considered them his children in the faith. And he is brokenhearted that they may be led astray by wicked men. And so, he contends for them by preaching the truth in love.