Brian's Sermons

Titus 2:11-15   Last week, Paul gave Titus some instructions for leading different groups of Christians on Crete. He called Titus to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine, which would enable them to stand against the prevailing culture. Remember that living a holy life, which is really counter-cultural, is not what makes God love us. It’s not what saves us. It, however, does provide us the opportunity to present Jesus Christ in the best possible light. We who are Christians already love and trust Him. That’s the context in which we surrender to Him.  But why should we expect a world that doesn’t know Him to turn over their entire lives to Him? This is why we have a duty to share Him accurately. Paul doesn’t want any of this accuracy left to chance, so he continues with a power-packed sentence. He wants to make it clear to his audience which God he is talking about, and, as has been his form in his letter to Titus, he proclaims a God who is in direct contrast to the c...

Titus 2:1-10 In 1993 I went on a mission trip to Russia. Our trip was primarily a cultural exchange; we were college students, all paired with roommates who were all English language students, and our job was to teach them about America and to share the Gospel with them. There were several students who made commitments to Jesus Christ while we were there, and the goal was then to help them get plugged in to the local college ministry. College ministries were flourishing in Russia in the early 90s, but there were some issues. One big issue was that they were all led by foreigners. There weren’t any vital, vibrant ministries led by Russians. One of our goals was to share Jesus with them, but our plan was to turn leadership over to them, but when the missionaries left, the ministries crumbled. The problem was that the Russian students didn’t trust one another. They had spent the previous fifty years in a culture of mistrust, never knowing who was a possible infiltrator or informant. Now...

Titus 1:9-16 For the last two weeks, we have focused on the introduction to Paul’s letter to Titus, including some background on Crete and on Titus and finishing up last weekend with Paul’s instructions for church leadership. The final sentence regarding church leaders changed course a little, so I decided to wait until this week to handle it. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:9) More important than the qualities, behaviors, and character of a leader is the truth of the gospel. It doesn’t matter if a leader is of impeccable credentials if he is preaching anything other than the truth of God. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes: Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Other...

Titus’ Mission Titus 1.4-9 Last week we focused on Paul’s self-introduction in his letter to Titus, in which he clarified the purpose of his calling; an apostle, one sent forth to encourage the faith of the faithful and to spread the knowledge of the Truth, the Gospel, which leads to godliness. Paul sent his friend Titus to Crete to accomplish this mission. As we read in Galatians 2, Titus was a Gentile Christian who had been with Paul as early as the time when Barnabas went to Tarsus to bring Paul back to Antioch. Paul had previously called on Titus to be his representative in Corinth, especially in the matter of the collection for poor believers in Jerusalem. It is important to note that Titus was a Gentile, because it solidifies Paul’s commitment to be the apostle to the Gentiles, the one God sent to the Gentiles, not just to “convert” them, but to fully include them in God’s people. One problem that Christian groups often have is that they want to minister to certain people, esp...

Titus 1:1-3 What happens when different ethical and moral standards collide? In college, I lived in a fraternity house. Now, most of the guys in my fraternity were good guys at heart, and many of them have gone on to be productive members of society, but there was a general ethos of fraternity life that was stuck somewhere between brotherhood and Animal House. A lot closer to Animal House than most would like to admit. The ethos that was celebrated was, to put it frankly, sinful through and through. It wasn’t always easy to live in the fraternity as a Christian. The island of Crete had its own ethos as well. Crete is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. They were a fiercely independent people, and were one of the last strongholds to resist Roman domination and occupation, finally becoming a Roman province around 70 BC. They were a sea-trading people and a famed haven of pirates. The Cretans believed their race had emerged from the earth, that they were the original Greeks. They conte...