Shepherds and Angels, ordinary men among magnificent heavenly hosts. This story is remarkable, the characters are unexpected, God’s plan of salvation and the way it is carried out by the creating and sustaining God is challenging for us to fully grasp. Still, we don’t have to grasp it completely in order to join with the shepherds and angels in singing praises to our worthy and mighty Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Luke 2:8-20 with 1 Peter 1:3-12

For your continued pursuit, utilize our Advent Reflections each week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told her she would give birth to the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus. Mary's response to being chosen for this special role was to praise God for His faithfulness.

Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Luke 1:26-56

For your continued pursuit, utilize our Advent Reflections each week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Every Advent we seek to spend time focusing in on the story of Jesus’ coming to help instill in us a heart postured towards Christ during the Christmas season. We’ve chosen the hymn ‘Joy to the World’ and pray that these well known verses will be our daily anthem.

The prophets in the Old Testament often wrote of the coming Messiah and the salvation He would bring. In our first week of Advent we will study Isaiah’s plea and prayer for God to ‘come down’. In his prayer he remembers all the amazing things God has done for His people. As a child coming before a father, Isaiah shares this heart cry confident in God’s character and love.

Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Isaiah 64:1-9, 9:6-7; Matthew 1:18-25, Romans 15:13

For your continued pursuit, utilize our Advent Reflections each week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

There is a difference between arguments that feed vanity and self-importance and arguments intended to edify and benefit the other. The former is what Paul refers to as foolish, unprofitable and useless. These we are to avoid and instead engage with those prone to divisiveness in such a way that these things stop. While we often mistake kindness to mean being non-confrontational, it is actually better understood as being *wisely* confrontational, that is confronting when necessary for the benefit of others and the in service of repentance, growth and freedom.  

As we conclude our study of Titus, remember Paul's main takeaway is to keep the Gospel always at the center and keep on course with conduct that reflects gospel transformation. 

During our sermon series we have encouraged you to memorize Titus 2:11-14 to this end. We pray that tucking this verse into your heart will serve as a regular reminder of the Grace of the Lord that is with you!

For this week **practice reciting the full passage from memory!**

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 

12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 

13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 

14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

 ---Titus 2:11-14

Great Job!!

Here we have the crux of our do good letter! Paul wants Titus to stress the reality of the gospel; that all of us were once far from God, foolish and enslaved. But by the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared – He saved us!! We too are challenged to devote ourselves to lives that reflect the power and beauty of this rescue – for we no longer need to live enslaved, deceived, or with malice or envy. We now have the power and motivation to live differently resulting in God’s glory and our good!

During our sermon series studying Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14. 

For this week **work on memorizing Titus 2:14**:

"who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." ---Titus 2:14

The reason for all that Paul has instructed thus far in his letter is found in this section. God’s grace and the gospel is the foundation upon which everything else stands. Memorizing these words allows us to keep them as our focus as we study Paul’s instructions for this Cretan church and the church today. All teaching, doctrine, and patterns of relating with one another must be built upon the good news of Jesus’ redemption.  

For this week continue to **work on memorizing Titus 2:13** stacking it onto vs 11-12

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 

It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ---Titus 2:11-13

In the context of this chapter, Paul is instructing the Christians in Crete on behavior that reflects Christ, not speaking into the right or wrongness of cultural or social practices. It’s not just what we know or what we say that helps others to know Christ, but how we live. Whatever circumstances we find ourselves in – by the power of the Holy Spirit – we can conduct ourselves with faithfulness and integrity.  

During our sermon series studying Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14. 

For this week **work on memorizing Titus 2:13**:

while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

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Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Titus 2:9-10

Jesus’ last words to the 11 remaining disciples was to “go and make disciples…baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded.” (Matt 28:18-20)

Chapter 2 of Paul’s letter reiterates this in his instructions that Titus teach sound doctrine within the context of relationships. Sound doctrine simply means teaching that aligns with all that Jesus taught and that promotes Christlikeness. Making disciples happens within relationships just as Jesus modeled with his own disciples. Here Paul expounds on this truth instructing men and women to encourage one another in behavior that honors God. As we study these passages on right living, it’s vital we remember the foundational truth highlighted in our memory verse. It is by Grace alone that our lives are transformed and our ability to obey Jesus comes thru His power and not our own efforts.  

During our sermon series studying Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14. 

For this week continue to **work on memorizing Titus 2:12**, stacking it on 2:11

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ---Titus 2:11-12

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Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Titus 2:1-8

For the early church, a lot of attention is given related to whether a believer in Christ needed to follow the laws given by Moses, including the law of circumcision. Acts 15, 1 Corinthians 7, Galatians 3, 5-6, Ephesians 2, Philippians 3, and Colossians 2 all address this subject.  While we may not find ourselves tempted to follow the laws of Moses, legalism can be a real struggle in the church today, causing harm to whole families and individual believers. Additionally, our current celebrity culture fuels temptation to combine sharing the gospel with dishonest gain, corrupting the message and harming the body of Christ. 

In our study of Titus, it is vital that we grasp the solid truth that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. While Paul’s letter will speak into Christlike character, sound doctrine, and righteous living – we must be careful we don’t find ourselves falling into the trap of thinking right standing with God is based on the things we do or the popularity we have. 

Let us seek to be discerning people, willing to receive correction if our own ways of thinking have gone astray. 

During our study of Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14.

For this week work on memorizing Titus 2:12

“ It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”

Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Titus 1:10-16

The point Paul makes is that to be a leader and shepherd over the church of God, one’s character and lifestyle must reflect Christ. This goes beyond a leader’s skillset, ability to teach, preach, serve or give. Paul talks about demonstrating Christlike character related to finances, family, physical health and spiritual maturity. These godly leaders are to build their lives on the solid foundation of the Word of God and the Grace found in Jesus. They are to encourage those who are keeping step with the Holy Spirit to persevere and those who are heading the wrong way to turn back to Jesus and live. 

During our study of Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14.

For this week continue to work on memorizing Titus 2:11:

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people."

Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Titus 1:5-9

Titus was a Greek who had become a Christian through Paul’s teaching. He was left on the island of Crete to tend to the ministry there and establish the church with sound doctrine leading to transformed lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Crete at that time, on the one hand they have false teachers deceiving the new Christians, on the other hand a cultural tendency toward moral laxity regarding sin – making this new church susceptible to the danger of both belief and behavior that is contrary to the teachings of Jesus.  

This letter from Paul is meant to strengthen and exhort Titus to exercise his authority as a representative of the Apostles. Paul stresses that proper belief is the basis for proper behavior, and weaves in the reality of our salvation being by faith alone, through grace alone, resulting in lives that change. 

Prepare for this week's teaching by reading Titus 1:1-4

Additionally, as we embark on our study of Paul’s letter to Titus we encourage you to memorize Titus 2:11-14. 

We have found that memorizing one verse at a time and then stacking a new verse onto the old one to be a helpful way to memorize a larger portion of Scripture. 

For this week focus on memorizing Titus 2:11:

" For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people."