love

on

Pastor Ryan’s sermon series “The Flawed Yet Faithful” looks at a few of the people on the list of the “faithful” in chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews. Sometimes this list is called “The Heroes of the Faith”. Each of them was flawed but used by God in mighty ways. What can we learn from them so that God can also use us in spite of our flaws?  

  1. Flawed, but NOT Faithful (Rehoboam)
  2. Abraham
  3. Moses
  4. Rahab
  5. Samson

Photo by Danny Nee on Unsplash

on

The book of 1 Timothy is a letter from the Apostle Paul to a young man named Timothy. It gives Timothy instructions for instructing the leadership of the local church in Ephesus. But church leadership is not just for the pastor. Deacons and other ministry leaders are chosen from within the church body. Timothy’s instructions apply to everyone in the church who might ever be a leader, or worshiper, of any sort — which is all of us.

Pastor Ryan walks us through the book of 1 Timothy, including the controversial parts. What can we learn from Paul’s letter for our church today?

  1. Resolve for Truth – 1 Timothy 1:1-11
  2. God’s Generous Grace – 1 Timothy 1:12-20
  3. Prayer in Worship – 1 Timothy 2:1-8
  4. Learning in Worship – 1 Timothy 2:9-15
  5. Leadership is Serious Business – 1 Timothy 3:1-13
  6. The Mysterious Pillar of Faith – 1 Timothy 3:14-16
  7. Stay Focused – 1 Timothy 4
  8. More than Just a Word About Widows – 1 Timothy 5:1-16
  9. Not So Easy – 1 Timothy 5:17 – 6:2a
  10. Let’s Not Quibble About Being Content – 1 Timothy 6:2b-10
  11. Run Away! – 1 Timothy 6:11-21

Photo by Wylly Suhendra on Unsplash

on

This sermon series looks at several (but not all!) of the many “one another” passages in the New Testament. How can we effectively care for one another and so show the world that we are truly disciples of Jesus?

There is also a practical component to this sermon series. Here is a description from Pastor Ryan:

Adele Calhoun, in her book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us, offers several suggestions to help put living the “one another’s” into practice. I’d like to suggest this one to you:

“Choose a “one another” that you want to become a hallmark of your life. Consider why this “one another” is important to you. Picture what practising the “one another” will cost you. It could cost you time, money and a variety of self-indulgent moods and behaviors. Commit yourself to practising the “one another” every day for two weeks. At the end of each day, notice where you lived your “one another.” Where did you not live your “one another”? Seek grace to continue to incarnate Christ’s self-donating love. At the end of two weeks, consider whether or not you should dedicate two more weeks to intentionally living your “one another”. Do you feel called to move on to a different one?”

Calhoun, Adele Ahlberg. Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2005

Pastor Ryan covered nine “one anothers” in this series. There are many more in the New Testament Epistles (letters)! Try a search for “one another” in Bible Gateway to find more of them. Use the links to the books of the Bible in the right sidebar to narrow your search to the Epistles.

Photo by Jess Zoerb on Unsplash