In 1 Timothy 5.21-25, we continue to consider how the church is called to honor the role and work of Pastors. Last week we saw that we do this by: 1) providing for them, 2) protecting them, and 3) rebuking them. In this sermon we consider one last way to honor the pastor, which is by wisely affirming them. We also consider one big motivation for all this, which is that all of this is done before the witness of heaven.

To kick off the new year, we jump back in our 1 Timothy series looking specifically at 1 Timothy 5.17-20. In this text what we find our three ways that God calls the congregation to honor the pastorate (by pastorate, we mean the office, the work, and the man). The ways we honor the pastorate is by 1) Providing for their needs, 2) Protecting them from false accusations, and 3) Rebuking them before all.

In Luke 2.8-20, we see that the good news of Jesus’ arrival is a gospel of great joy. it’s meant to lead us to rejoicing that overflows into every area of our lives, including in our relationships with unbelievers. In this sermon there are two main ideas that we highlight: 1) Good News (8-12) and 2) Great Joy (13-20).

In Luke 2.1-7, Mike Komatsu helps us to see how the Sovereignty of the Father and the Humility of the Son are put on display through the birth of Christ Jesus.

Everybody knows what exultation looks and feels like because we all exult (celebrate and rejoice) in different things. You were created to exult, but not just in good things, you were created to exult or in the best things. You were made to exult in God. And one of the primary ways we do that is by exulting in God and his faithfulness to his word. In Luke 1.39-80 we find three examples of exultation: 1) Elizabeth and her baby, 2) Mary, and 3) Zachariah. They all exult in God’s faithfulness and the church should follow their example.

In Luke 1.26-38, we find a shocking and glorious announcement. The king that has been promised (like we saw last week in Isaiah 11) has finally arrived. As the son of David he will establish the throne of David, but as the son of the Virgin Mary, he will be so much greater than David. He will be the Son of God, which is evidenced by his miraculous conception by the Spirit in the womb of Mary.

In Isaiah 11, God promises a future King and a future Kingdom that will be unlike anythign we’ve ever experienced before. As Christians we know that this promised king is Jesus and his kingdom is now here and at the same time is not yet fully here. And we must live and long for Christ’s kingdom.

If we’re going to do that we need to continue growing in our understanding of Christ as King. In this text we find 5 characteristics of the promised king. He will be: 1) Restored King, 2) Anointed King, 3) Righteous King, 4) Edenic King, and 5) Universal King.

As we take a break from our 1 Timothy series, Pastor Chris Komatsu (Lanai Baptist Church) preaches from Genesis 5. In Genesis 5, pastor Chris helps us to see that Moses wrote this genealogy with great intentionality. Within the lineage of Seth, we find four patterns of similarities and 3 irregularities. All of them in their own ways are intended to point us to Christ, the promised Savior of the world.

We spend one more week thinking about the truth we find in 1 Timothy 5.3-16. This Sunday we unpack the idea that if we’re going to be a church who faithfully cares for the needy, we must first care for the needs of our own family. This means that we cannot faithfully care for the needy in the church while at the same time neglect to care for the needs of our own households. In this sermon, we consider three motivations for why we should care for our own families: 1) Our Care Honors Our Family, 2) Our Care Honors Our Church, and 3) Our Care Honors Our King.

The church is a spiritual family committed to caring for one another. In 1 Timothy 5.3-16, we see this is especially true when it comes to widows in the church. If the church is going to be faithful to Jesus, we must discern all the various needs within in the body and prioritize caring for those who are truly needy. In these verses there are two main ideas we find:

1) Where We Should Not Prioritize Care and 2) Where We should Prioritize Care.

The ultimate reason the church cares for the needy and vulnerable is because that’s exactly who we were before Christ and God in infinite mercy demonstrated divine care for us in the gospel.

How are things with your soul? That’s the most important question you could ask yourself today. In Psalm 131 what we find are 4 marks of a content soul: 1) Humility, 2) Trust, 3) Hope, 4) Perseverance. These are characteristics that marked David’s soul and they must be cultivated in ours if we are going to experience what Jeremiah Burroughs called the rare jewel of Christian Contentment.

Josh Lockhart preaches from Ephesians 2.11-13. Here we see that Christians cannot forget where we came. We must remember our hopeless past so that we can always thankfully rejoice for what Christ has done for us. Here he shows us two ways to do that: 1) we are commanded to remember and 2) in response, we are to rejoice.

In 1 Timothy 5.1-2, Paul explains how the church is the family of the triune God. We have been brought into the family of the Father, Son, and Spirit. As the household or family of God must relate to one another. In this text we find two distinct ways: 1) We must relate to the older saints as fathers and mothers and 2) We must relate to the younger saints as brothers and sisters.

As we continue our break from 1 Timothy, Josh preaches from Titus 2.7-8. Paul instructs Titus to model Christ-like Character through two ways: 1) his good works and 2) his teaching.

We take a break from 1 Timothy to survey the book of Philippians to spend some time thinking about gospel-partnerships. In Philippians, we can find at least 5 qualities every gospel-partnership must cultivate if we are going to be healthy and faithful: 1) Gospel-Centrality, 2) Mutual-Sacrifice, 3) Intimate-Friendship, 4) Serious-Accountability, and 5) Happy-Contentment.

In 1 Timothy 4.11-16, Paul continues to highlight essential marks that Timothy must develop and culitivate in his life and ministry if he is going to be a faithful servant of Christ Jesus. But these this isn’t just true for Timothy, but every Christian must: 1) exemplify godliness, 2) devoted to the scriptures, 3) exercise spiritual gifts, 4) watch life and doctrine.

In Ephesians 1.3-14, Josh helps us to see all that the Godhead has done for us and our salvation: 1) The Father Adopts us, 2) The Son Redeems us, and 3) the Spirit Seals us. And here we find the proper response is to spend our lives praising God.

In 1 Timothy 4.6-10, Paul shows Timothy three important marks of every faithful servant: 1) Faithful Servants Instruct the Brothers, 2) Faithful Servants Train for Godliness, 3) Faithful Servants Hope in God. Next Sunday we’ll consider several others marks of faithfulness as we close out chapter four.

In Titus 2.6, Paul calls Timothy to urge the younger men in the church to practice self-control. In this sermon, Kenny Komatsu unpacks this short verse by addressing several hinderances to self-control and asking three important questions: 1) What is Self-Control? 2) How Do You Gain Self-Control? 3) How Do You Practice Self-Control?

The things that God has called his church to do in suffering is not easy. The church desperately needs God’s help as we journey through this season of suffering as a community. Psalm 121 is meant to persuade us that we cannot rely on ourselves but must put all our trust in the LORD our God. In this sermon, we consider 5 Reasons why we must do this: 1) the Lord is Creator, 2) the Lord is Covenant-Keeper, 3) The Lord is All-Powerful, 4) The Lord is Ever-Present, and 5) The Lord is Unchanging.