Episodes
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Choosing elders is a serious business. Paul charges us to do so knowing we are in the presence of God, Jesus Christ, and the elect angels.
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When accusations arise, Paul would have churches refuse to let elders be destroyed by liars — and refuse to let lying elders destroy sheep.
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Missing episodes?
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Paul sees a connection between hardworking pastors and oxen laboring in the field. Both deserve to be rewarded for their work.
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Pastors deserve to be paid for their labor. They spend themselves to edify the flock, so the flock should spend to provide for them.
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The grace of God is not an excuse for laziness. It gives not only pardon for sin but power for Christ-honoring work.
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When Paul instructs Timothy to care for widows in the church, he tells him not to enroll younger widows in the support network. Why?
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Older women who are seasoned in service, devoted to good works, chaste, courageous, and humble deserve special honor in the church.
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When Paul says that professing believers who do not provide for their relatives deny the faith, what does he mean?
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God shows special care for the most destitute among his people, such as widows without living relatives. How might local churches follow his example?
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Paul had no notion of godliness without fruit. Real godliness shows itself in the overflow of good works, especially to the neediest.
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God gives children as a reward to parents. In both the joy they bring and the long-term provision they give, godly children bless their father and mother.
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Men and women, old and young are not the same — nor do they call for the same kind of pastoral care. Mature pastors exhort each one appropriately.
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We ought to honor the elderly; the Bible makes that clear. But why? Do we honor the aged because they are often wiser, or does the reason go deeper?
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Why is it so important for elders to attend to their own souls? Because as the elders go, so goes the church.
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If salvation is a gift, why does Paul place such emphasis on pursuing godliness? Because godliness confirms that faith is real.
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Keeping your body fit provides some benefits. But training yourself to be godly is immeasurably better — better now and better in the life to come.
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Many of us say that we want to be more godly. But what is godliness in the first place?
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Healthy pastors not only communicate the word of God — they love it. They both serve the meal and eat it. They are coworkers in joy.
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The alternative to demonic asceticism is to receive God’s good gifts in ways that show his worth and lead us into deeper enjoyment of him.
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False teachers forsake godliness as the goal of knowledge. And when that happens, consciences are seared and people swerve from the truth.
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