***e kala mai the first third of this sermon was erased ***

Distinctions between men and women are inconceivable for many within our culture. Yet, God created men and women differently to fulfill complementary roles in society, in our families, and in the church. Over the next several weeks, we'll consider how all this works itself out in the context of the local church. 1 Timothy 2.8 focuses on God's call for the men to lead spiritually. And there are two characteristics that must be formed in men, if they're going to accomplish this: 1) we must be praying men, and 2) we must be holy men.

We live in a pluralistic society where most believe that all spiritual paths essentially lead to the same destination. But in 1 Timothy 2.5-7 we are taught that there is only one God, one mediator, one ransom, one testimony, and one hope for all people. And this is the one hope that every Christian must hold fast to and proclaim to the world.

We can often view prayer as ineffective, unproductive, and burdensome. But in 1 Timothy 2.1-4 we find that God uses the prayers of the church to accomplish his purposes for salvation in the world. In this text, the church is called to prayer. And there are three aspects of this call: 1) its priority, 2) its results, and 3) its motivation.

Paul once again charges Timothy with gospel-stewardship in Ephesus. Like Timothy, every Christian has been entrusted by God as a steward of the gospel. And if we are going to be faithful stewards there are two things from our text that we must do: 1) we must wage spiritual warfare and 2) we must avoid spiritual wreckage.

Paul shares his story about how Jesus radically reoriented his life and called him into gospel-ministry. In this text, we find 3 encouragements to keep telling the world about Jesus: 1) Jesus provides mercy for sinners, 2) Jesus displays patience towards sinners, and 3) Jesus creates worship in sinners. Then we close by considering two reflections: 1) No sinner is too sinful for Jesus, 2) Every Chrsitian has a story that must be told.

God's law is good because it points you to God's gospel. And if we're going to be faithful in gospel-ministry, we need both the law and the gospel. So, in this sermon we consider 1) the goodness of God's law and 2) the glory of God's gospel.

Does doctrine really matter? The answer according to God's word is absolutely yes. Doctrine is a means that God uses to grow us in love for Christ and for others. The goal of sound doctrine is love. Because of this, the church must value sound doctrine. We should grow in it, guard it, cherish it, and live it out. And when there is straying among us, we should be willing to both confront and be confronted. And through it all, we must make sure our aim is always love.

There are many bad ideas on what success means for Christian life and Christian ministry. In 1 Timothy we see that success for the church and for the Chrsitian is the pursuit of faithfulness in all that we believe and practice. In other words, the way we achieve success is through the pursuit of Chrsitian-faithfulness.