Taught by Grace

How often do you hear about what Jesus is up to right now?  How many sermons have you heard on the present intercession of Christ? How many books have you seen on the intercession of Christ?  How many podcasts have you listened to on what He’s doing right now? Jesus is living, reigning, interceding, and building in heaven, but we don’t hear much of anything about it. Christ’s person and work are o...

The book of Haggai ends, not with a word to the nation, leaders, or group as a whole, but with a message to one man - Zerubbabel.  This message is about future triumph and future enthronement. God looks beyond the current temple construction project to the day when He will establish His throne and kingdom on the earth. To the day when He will rule and reign forever.

Sin contaminates everything we do. When we are not right with God, everything we do becomes contaminated and tinged by sin. There are consequences to our sin. The people were still working and sacrificing, but God couldn’t receive any of it because of their sins. If we live in known sin, the Lord cannot honor and bless even our acts of devotion. It does not matter how outwardly holy we appear if w...

About a month in rebuilding the temple, the people began comparing this new temple to Solomon’s temple. This new temple was not full of the beauty and splendor of Solomon’s temple. Their materials were less expensive. Their work was less glorious. They looked at the work of their hands and thought “What is the point? We cannot capture the glory of the past so why should we continue building this d...

There are two ways we can live - in disobedience or in obedience. Haggai 1 shows how Israel was living in disobedience by not rebuilding the temple. By living this way, they discovered that life wasn't really satisfying. We will see in chapter one that to live in disobedience to God's Word is the most unsatisfying way to live and that to live in obedience to God's Word is most satisfyi...

Haggai is a little book tucked away toward the end of the Old Testament. If the pages are stuck together in your Bible, you may unknowingly skip right on by this book. Yet, this book has much to teach us about the glory of God and how His saints glorify Him. Over the next five weeks, we are going to walk through this book and see how God used Haggai to call Israel to consider their ways, rebuild t...

Titus is like a three chapter IV pumping what it means to live by the grace of God for the glory of God into our spiritual veins.  And now we come to these concluding verses and think, “Okay, everything else makes sense why I should care, but what impact can these four salutary verses teach me?” On the surface, these verses are very much Paul’s concluding remarks to Titus. He’s finishing this lett...

We are marching toward the end of Paul’s letter to Titus and in the second to last section, Paul presses deeper into Titus' role as pastor. These four verses have a twofold purpose:  Titus was to challenge God’s people to maintain good works and do everything necessary to guard against those things that would prevent them from doing good works. this ministry: 1. Emphasize maintaining good work...

Titus 3:1-7 describes how believers at to glorify God in an ungodly world. We are to be submissive to the government and kind to all men (1-2). Verses 3-7 answer the question of why? Titus 3:3-7 answers this question - Why should I treat unbelievers in the way verses 1-2 describe? Paul gives us two Gospel realities to remember:  Remember that you were just like them (3) - They are sinners  Remembe...

Whenever someone talks about the assurance of salvation, it’s like having a blank final exam placed in front of us. If we get the true/false questions right and maybe hit the multiple choice ones, we can really know that we’re saved.  If we look at ourselves, we will never be truly assured.  We can always see faults, insufficiencies, and failures in us, therefore, we must look to someone far bette...

We often learn how to navigate this journey by hearing from those who are a few steps further on the journey than we are. In this week's conversation episode, I interview my grandpa to discuss how he has learned the faithfulness of God through his life. We take a journey through his life. From salvation and rededication to church to work and family to finishing well. I also ask him about what...

How do we live like Christians in an ungodly society? Titus 3:1-2 is here to give us a pesky reminder of what it looks like. It looks like submission to the government, refusing to be furious, and showing gentleness to all men. It is living towards others knowing that you have tasted the kindness of God in the Gospel.

The grace-taught life sputters to a stop unless it is centered on the finished and continued work of Christ.  Do you want to stop being offended when someone looks at you the wrong way? Do you want to meditate on God’s Word day and night?  Do you want to live in earnest hope for Christ’s return? Titus 2:14-15 shows how Christ's person and work connects to the rest of our lives as believers. In...

Sin, curse, and death. This was Adam’s problem and it’s our problem as well. Everything bad we see in the world is because of the curse because of sin. Because of sin, we are condemned before God and destined to eternity apart from Him in Hell. It’s bad here and it just gets worse. If the Bible stopped in Genesis 3, we would be ruined.  Yet, the Bible doesn't stop there. God promises a redeemer in...

God's grace in Jesus teaches us to be healthy Christians in how we think, what we do, and who we are. To live this way, we must embrace the two-sided coin of Titus 2:11-15 - denying ungodliness and looking for Christ's return. We examined the first side last week. This week, we see how eagerly anticipating Christ's return is necessary for every believer in Titus 2:13. I address the way...

Titus 2:11-15 is the grounds and motivation of everything Paul has commanded and will command Titus to do in this letter. This is the high point of the letter. It is the center of it. It is what drives the entire letter. Grace has appeared to us in Jesus and because He has come to save us and change, there is a way we are now to live. 

The beauty of the church is expressed by who God's people are and how they live. Titus 2:1-10 details how Christians can live counter-cultural lives that put God's beauty on display. This week, we finish our study of this text. We will see how young women, young men, pastors, and servants represent Christ in an ungodly world. Paul details a life that is culturally-shocking, but God-honorin...

Even more than the composition of the church, the church is beautiful because of the way those in the church are to live. This week, we come to part one of our study in Titus 2:1-10. These verses are all about how every individual in the church is to live in accordance with God’s Word to show off the beauty of God’s work and word. This week we will see: How older saints reflect the beauty of God T...

(We will back in Titus next week, but this week, I wanted to remind you of God's amazing grace as seen in Ephesians 2:1-10). Every believer’s testimony of salvation is different. If you add names and faces to the story of God’s grace, the testimonies may be slightly or drastically different. grace We’re going to see this story of resurrection in three parts: Who we were (1-3) - We were dead an...

False teachers have existed in every age of the church. From those who deny the deity of Christ to those who deny the humanity of Christ. From those who add works to salvation and those who say the saved aren’t to do any work after salvation. From the first century to the middle ages to the 21st century, false teachers have always abounded.  This was true in Crete, which is one of the reasons Paul...

We do similar things with the men we think should be pastoring and shepherding our churches. What makes someone “pastor-material?” When Paul told Titus to ordain certain men to be pastors, he didn’t give him a list of leadership skills or speaking qualifications. He didn’t emphasize eloquence or appearance. Paul describes pastor-material by telling us what he must be and what he must do.  What He...

Dear (insert whoever’s name here).... If we write a letter, that’s how we will begin our letters. Our greetings are not that extravagant. Even in emails, our greetings consist of - Good afternoon, hope you’re doing well or something of that nature. Our greetings are drastically different from the way they would have written letters in the first century - especially the apostle Paul.  Titus 1:1-4 i...

The book of Titus functions as a health report for pastors, Christians, and churches. Paul wrote this pastoral epistle to show Titus how to bring the churches in Crete from sickness to health. He showed him the kind of pastors that healthy churches have and the way that healthy churches live. The word sound is used for times in the letter and literally speaks of health and vitality. This book is a...

What if I told you that you don’t have to put the weight of the world on your shoulders? You don't have to live each day under the burden of hyper-productivity. You don't have to carry the weight of failing again, sinning again, and falling again. Instead, you can live each day resting in Jesus.  All we must do is hear and respond to the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30.  Learning

At the heart of celebrating Christmas, we must celebrate Jesus. What does that look like? Forget all of the other ways that you will celebrate Christmas over the next few days for a moment and ask - will I celebrate Christ?  This text shows four ways that we should respond to the birth of Jesus.  Obey - Pursue after Jesus Christ. Declare - Proclaim the good news of Christ's birth. Think - Ponder t...