4.16.23 Sermon Afterthoughts
Greetings Church Family,
This past Sunday we began our study through the book of 1 Timothy. In order to set the stage, we spent most of our time studying the background of the author and recipient of the letter. The book of Acts describes, not only the conversion of Paul, but his ministry in the regions of Derbe and Lystra, the hometown of Timothy. Through that story, as well as the two letters to Timothy, we see the discipleship that took place between these two saints.
This type of ministry seems to be a lost art among the modern church. We have replaced discipleship between brothers and sisters, namely with programs. While there is clearly great benefit from Sunday school classes and small groups, we rarely see older believers and younger believers meeting together for the purpose of talking about God's word and work in their lives. What do you believe would change in this church if we saw a revival of this type of relationship? After the sermon on Sunday, I knew I needed to take my own medicine so I sought out an older pastor and asked him to start meeting with me regularly. Yesterday, we had the first of what I pray is years of meeting and discipleship. What about you? What does discipleship look like in your life? Do you have a Paul in your life, an older believer who pours into you? To whom are you a Paul? The Lord has blessed First Baptist with a large group of both younger and older believers. Let's not waste that blessing by ignoring the call to make disciples within His church.
I also challenged our parents in how they see the Sunday morning service for their children. I made the statement that, if your child is old enough to sit under the Word, they should. To be of assistance, this coming Sunday, we will begin having special bulletins for the children who remain in the service. They will go along with the text we are studying and, from week to week, will have some variety of bible crosswords, coloring pictures, word search, etc. We will also provide crayons or colored pencils. The goal for these is to teach our children, not simply to sit through a sermon, but to begin learning how to work through the Bible with us.
I know the Lord will bless us as we continue to seek to be faithful. May He make disciples here, not only among us, but through us in the community. Below are some questions for you to consider:
1. Who in the church would you be willing to come alongside in Discipleship? To whom could you be a Paul? A Timothy?
2. What role might you play in the discipleship of the coming generations?
3. What door is God opening for you to minister in this community?
- Pastor Kevin Cuthbertson
REMINDERS
Jordan Missionary, Don King will speak this Wednesday night
