St Petersburg Presbyterian Church

Our text calls us to a life of grace-fueled labor. We see that grace through Christ not only saves, but it empowers his church for the work to which he has called her. And because Christ supplies our strength, we must carry out his work. We do so by laboring with single-minded devotion, faithful obedience, and patient endurance.

Having taken our flesh and blood, Jesus understands everything about us. Having died that we might be brought back to the Father, he calls us to embrace him as our brother, forging a relationship with him and with each other, unlike anything else that exists in the human family.

Scripture warns that in this life we should expect shame and suffering. However, it also comforts us that God does not leave us alone to endure such things. As Christians, we must endure hardship, and we can do so by resting in Christ, submitting to the Spirit, and persisting in fellowship.

God calls us to fan into flame the gift of his Spirit within us by remembering the gospel we have received, remembering the heritage of faith passed on to us, and rekindling the courage to speak and suffer for Christ.

We conclude our study of 1 Timothy with Paul’s final charge to Timothy. Through this letter, Paul has stressed the importance of the church as the pillar and buttress of truth (3:15). He concludes with a similar theme, showing us that to fulfill this role the church must guard the truth, reject what is false, and labor with grace.

In previous verses, Paul addressed those who desired to be rich, whereas now he addresses those who are rich. Here Paul challenges the rich, and really all in the church, to live a rich life, that is, a life richly influenced by the gospel. He then shows us that in order to live this sort of life, we must trust the right treasure, spend ourselves for others, and pursue true life.

In this passage, Paul calls every believer to “fight the good fight of the faith.” The Christian life is warfare, but Christ our King has already secured the victory and now supplies everything we need to fight faithfully until He returns.

Paul again warns Timothy against the dangers of false teachers seeking to infiltrate the church at Ephesus. In our passage, Paul urges Timothy to teach “the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, the gospel. He then goes on to list sins that manifest themselvesin the lives of false teachers. In doing so, Paul gives us something of a checklist by which to examine our own hearts and ask, “W...

The Pastoral Epistles are unique in the amount of space they dedicate to the workings of the church. As we begin chapter 6, though, we see clearly that this letter is not just for church leaders. Paul here addresses slaves by teaching that because every part of life reflects on God, Christians must work in ways that bring honor to God. We can do this with (i) A Higher Purpose, (ii) A Higher Standa...

In this passage, Paul continues his theme of honoring those among us in the household of God, the church. Here we are called to honor the leaders God has placed over us in the church, our elders. And the way the church honors its elders best is by supporting them generously, protecting them wisely, and taking their holiness seriously.

In our text today, Paul gives Timothy specific examples of what a church family that loves well looks like. A church that loves well corrects gently, cultivates godliness and cares compassionately.

Our text today gives us God’s instruction on what makes for faithful ministry. As we look to our text, we see that ministry that the Lord deems faithful (1) pursues godliness, (2) points the way, and (3) practices the means.

Throughout the scriptures we see that truth is something that must be treasured and fought for. This is not an easy task, as we have a powerful enemy who is hell-bent on perverting the truth. Our scripture today warns us of our enemy’s ways, and calls us to reject his lies and embrace the truth of God.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not merely a historical event to be believed, but a supernatural power to be experienced — reordering what you value, renewing you from within, and redefining your suffering and your future.

We encounter Jesus as he makes his way up to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. And as he approaches, we encounter a major divide between who the Jews expect Jesus to be and who he actually is as the Messiah. As we study our text, we see that Palm Sunday instructs us on the age-old tension between our plans for God, and God’s plans for us.

In our passage, Paul tells Timothy his reason for writing this letter. He wants Timothy, the church in Ephesus, and us, to live God-pleasing lives. In order to do that, we need to grasp the mystery God has revealed and entrusted to the church.

Paul writes this letter so that the church might know how to conduct and order itself (1 Tim 3:15). As he continues to instruct Timothy about leadership in the local church, Paul describes the qualifications for men who will serve in the ordained office of deacon. While elders are called primarily to the ministry of Word and prayer, deacons are called to serve and care for the physical needs of Go...

Acts 8:26-40

God calls Christians into the institution of the church. In this institution, God raises up men to lead and shepherd his people. As we look at our text, we see that such men are called to care, possess character, display competency, and have credibility.

When God’s household embraces His good and gracious design with persevering faith, we display His glory to the world.

God delights in worship that is shaped by the gospel, where self-assertion gives way to humble, Christ-centered devotion.

In this chapter, Paul begins to direct the church on worship that pleases God. As we look at our text, we see that such worship is filled with prayer, full of truth, focuses on Christ, and naturally flows outward.

Because God has called us into a real spiritual battle, we must fight the good fight in the way He commands. In our text, Paul shows us that we do so by fighting with the right company, fighting in the right manner, and fighting for the right purpose.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, so that his perfect patience and overflowing grace might be displayed through our lives and lead us to worship him, the King eternal.

God’s law is good and was given by him to expose our sin, not save us—and when it does its work properly, it drives us to the gospel of the glory of Christ.