March 2020 Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church Newsletter

The Ledger   

monthly newsletter of Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

March   2020

The Godliness of Generosity The Season of Lent contains the 40-days from Ash Wednesday (02/26) to Christ’s Resurrection Sunday (03/12, Sundays are not included). This is not a biblical season, but an ecclesial one meant to help us in our faith by reminding us of how much we have to repent of, and how much God offers to give us. It is called “Lent” because of an Old English form of the word “lengthen” (this is the calendar season when days in the northern hemisphere get longer). This year our worship and devotional study will concentrate on God’s generosity to us – and our reflection of His liberality with our own generosity. In addition to Sunday worship we offer you family-friendly devotionals with take home activities to enhance and complement what we do in worship. Pick up a devotional at the church or ask for an emailed copy or an electronic link to get your own. As we journey through this season together, we invite each of us to focus intentionally on the spiritual practice of giving. On Sundays and in our devotionals we will explore a Gospel passage and a

 

form of giving that will help us examine why we give, what we give, the power of our gifts, and the impact our giving has on others around us. And we have a special gift from our denomination’s  Foundation, Ministry Relations Officer. He will lead our Deacons and Elders (and anyone else who would like to participate) on a Saturday Retreat (at the church) on March 7, 8:30am-12:30pm (lunch included). And on Sunday, March 8, the Rev. Dr. Rob Hagan will preach and then guide our whole church on a venture into understanding Legacy Giving. I truly hope everyone will stay – you will be blessed and we will grow in faith and understanding. Our expectation is that we will discover something new of how we view God, our faith, and the world around us. May God bless you this Lenten Season. Mark

 Legacy Giving Seminar

Legacy Giving is defined as “making and impact and doing Christ’s work, even after our lifetimes!”

Sunday, March 8, the Rev. Dr. Rob Hagan, Presbyterian Foundation’s Ministry Relations Officer, will preach during worship and then invite us all to lunch and guide us in a seminar on:

• The theology of Legacy Giving
• The joy of giving
• Giving Now and Later
  • Later
• Wills
• IRA
• Insurance

• Now
  • DAF
  • Trusts
  • Endowments

 

Culture of Generosity March 7, 8:30am-12:30pm, lunch included, Pastor Rob Hagan, from the Presbyterian Foundation, will lead a workshop building a culture of generosity.

 Reading through the Bible

Several of us committed ourselves to read through the Bible last year. Each person was blessed, surprised, by how much this simple practice enhanced our faith!

The Church Office has pre-printed schedules you may follow for 2020, or just plan to read 3-4 chapters per day (approximately 100 chapters each month). We will plan occasional gatherings to talk about what we’ve read, questions that have arisen, and insights we have gained.

By March 1, you should be at Joshua 13.

LPC’s Day-2-Pray – March 2

On the 2^nd of each month we join forces with others across our region to pray through the seven spheres of influence in our city and county.

This month we pray for EDUCATION:

• For wisdom for teachers and coaches, bringing encouragement and God’s will for each student.
• For Project six19, that God will open doors in every school for the message of sexual integrity and God’s grand design for sex, and healing around extramarital sex and the use of pornography.
• That participation in “Churches Loving Schools” mentoring increases by 10 churches and 100 mentors, resulting in relationships that earn the privilege to preach Christ.
• That Spokane School District will adopt curriculum in Human Growth and Development which promote healthy and biblical values and strengthen marriage in our society.

Invest 5 minutes on Monday, March 2, praying for the greater Spokane region. Pray from your home, your office, your car, your bed.

Trivia Question

What was the pastor’s salary in 1907, and how did that compare with others?

Just-for-Fun Keeps on Singing!

Enjoy J4F’s music and fun entertainment on Mon, March 16, 6pm at Maplewood Gardens.

 Children’s Church

We have the volunteers! If you are one of them, please talk to Mark ASAP to get the background checks started! We hope to get this rolling by April 5! And it’s not too late to sign-up! Talk to Mark ASAP.

 Adult Faith Class on Sundays

The fourth Sunday of every month, 9-10:15am, we hold a Faith Class for all adults (choir members, it’s harder for you, but you can come late after rehearsal). Right now we are using a video curriculum from Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ book and movie. It’s never too late to join us! (And we also do a Potluck Continental Breakfast! Come in for the goodies, too.)

Sign-up in the main hallway!

Congratulations

Andrew Wheeler and Gulaida Tursunbekov were married on February 20, 2020, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

 Condolences

At the end of January we lost a saint to glory, our deepest sympathies to the Roloff family as we celebrated Lolabelle Roloff’s resurrection on February 8, one week before her 95^th birthday.

CEO:Mission

Pastor Mark is planning a trip to Kenya in late July 2020 – that’s just FOUR MONTHS away!  He would LOVE to have more folks from LPC join this faith adventure. But the time to act is NOW!

On this trip we will meet the CEO leaders, the children in Kiminini and Mumias, and we will bless and pray over the groundbreaking of the not-yet built orphan facilities.

Supporting this mission by regular or occasional donations is also deeply needed and appreciated! And more and more orphans could use a sponsor! Talk to Mark about any of these options.

Future Church Learning

• When we go out to eat, tell our server we are about to say grace, and ask if there’s something they would like us to pray for them. Simple, right? Courageously show our faith by engaging with a server and offering Jesus’ love by praying. Then reflect on how this changes us as well.
• Pray for our neighborhood communities – what we notice, what we hear about, what we see in the news; and then act on those prayers – invite a neighbor over for coffee, send a card, offer a service, etc.

 

Finance Update

	Income	Expenses	Difference	Year-to-Date
Jan.	$8,005.00	$9,303.36	-$1,298.36	-$1,298.36
Feb.*	$8,468.46	$9,072.06	-$603.60	-$1,901.96
YTD	$16,473.46	$18,375.42	-$1,901.96	*as of 02/19

Great job in February almost catching up to our budget! This was helped by an anonymous donation of $1,500 – and we are grateful for such blessings as that as well.  Please consider how you will bless LPC this year, and how we will serve God together with you!

Also, please remember our Special Fund Drives for our Child Empowerment Outreach mission:

• Ongoing ministry support for the orphans. “Kenya Children” on memo-line.
• Sponsoring a child through CEO:Mission.

There’s a Ground-breaking trip planned in July. Is this something you might consider?

Up: Our relationship with God – worship, Bible study, Sunday School

In: Our relationship with one another – fellowship, games, food, support, Deacons

Out: Our relationship with our community – food pantry, Pastor’s fund, dinners, etc

Further Out: Our relationship beyond Spokane – CEO, Kenya, audio Bibles, etc

Administration & Communication: Monthly newsletter, weekly bulletins, copier, etc

Facility maintenance, etc.: Our facilities, buildings, van, parking area, equipment, are tools for furthering the work of ministry.

Let’s see if we can faithfully meet this challenge. Thank you for your generosity!

Trivia Answer

We paid our first pastor $1,200/year (this was double the average clergy salary of $600), about the same as a teacher, $675; minimum wage workers made $475, accountants earned $2,000, dentists made $2,500, mechanical engineers earned $5,000!

In 2020 we pay our pastor $42,009/year (45% of the average clergy salary of $94,000), average teacher salary across the country is about $60,000; fulltime minimum wage workers make about $28,000; accountants earn $59,000, dentists make $219,000, mechanical engineers earn $82,000.

02/23/2020 = Titus 3:12-15 = “Why This Is Important!”

(Click HERE for an audio version of this message.)

Mark Wheeler

Titus 3:12-15

“Why This Is Important!”

02/23/2020

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

 

Through the Written Word,           

And the spoken word,

          May we know Your Living Word,          

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Last Thursday while eating lunch with my colleague and “accountability partner”, I shared with him where we were in our sermon series in Titus. He preached a series like this at his church last Fall. I told him how much I have enjoyed this Book – one that is seldom preached from, for a whole host of reasons – because I keep finding every paragraph so very relevant to today’s America, and to me personally.

One thing we both noticed is that most English translations title this closing paragraph that we are looking at today something like “Final Remarks”. That’s a real shame because these last few lines go so much deeper than merely giving Paul’s sign-off, “Love and kisses, St. Paul”. The NASB titles it, “Personal Concerns”, which is a little better.

 

During this season between Christmas and Lent, January and February, we have been looking at Paul’s letter to Titus, the Church Pastor on the Island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.

Titus is Paul’s spiritual son whom Paul assigned there to encourage these church members who were better at professing the Christian faith than they were at practicing it. They said they believed it, but they did not live like they believed it! I would say that the key verse in the letter is 1:16, “They (the Christian Church members on Crete) claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” And then every passage after that is about how to fix that problem, to remedy this dilemma, to right the wrong.

 

After this letter’s greeting, we learned that God expects/demands blamelessness and living in congruity with our words and with God’s Word. And then we see that every generation of Christian has the responsibility of teaching “sound doctrine” to the next generation.  So that in every way we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive … to all people everywhere!  And we listen to Paul instruct us that as followers of Christ, we owe it to God Himself to do our darned best to listen for His Word to guide our voting and our conscience, and to reflect His love and mercy by being loving and merciful in our political debates.

 

To start today’s reading allow me to read the opening words, the greetings (chapter 1), and then straight to today’s “closing words”, the salutation. Listen for how they connect:

 

Hear the Word of God,

¹  Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, ³ and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

⁴ To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

 

Titus 3:12-15 …. —-

¹² As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. ¹³ Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. ¹⁴ Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.

¹⁵ Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.

 

In chapter 1 Paul described his ministry as  furthering the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness  – how Titus was to encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

 

And then in these “Closing Messages” Paul says, “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.” When Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 to summarize the Ten Commandments as “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your migh; and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22, Mark 12, Luke 10), He summarizes Paul’s “sound doctrine” of “knowing God, and [not] denying Him with their actions”.

“Devoting ourselves to doing what is good” demonstrates who we are, our identity as God’s people – not simply our behavior, not just our actions, but our very selves, as those who love the Lord our God with everything we’ve got!

 

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the liturgical Season of Lent.  By next Sunday we will have finished this study of Titus and entered the Season of Lent and our new series on God’s Generosity to us and how what Titus tells us becomes real in our lives as our identity is rooted in knowing Jesus and having our lives endorse Him  (not deny Him).

In two Saturdays our Deacons and Elders will invest a half-day in devoting to grow in understanding a culture of generosity – God is generous, God’s people reflect God’s generosity; and the following Sunday, the Rev. Dr. Rob Hagan leads us all in learning to provide for urgent needs even after our lives have ended – so that our lives can remain productive even after we are gone.

 

Why do we give? Why do we give to the Church? Why do we give to charities? Why do we give to help those who have less?

Those are all questions we need to consider – why and how much and to whom? And I think we need to approach those questions in that order.

Our most recent former called and installed pastor, the Rev. Dr. Lloyd Thompson – a man who had become a self-made millionaire in his previous career – could turn a dime into a dollar. Lloyd’s personal rule of financial faithfulness, fiduciary fidelity, was if the church or charity promoted God’s Word and work, then give to your heart’s content.

Why give? Out of obedience to God’s Word – we are told in Scripture that giving a tithe is what God expects, 10% of our income to God’s church. But … obedience is not a big sell-factor. So,

Why give? Because we want to reflect God’s glory. God gives, and so we give. Giving helps demonstrate God’s presence and power in our lives.

Why give? Because giving shows our love for our neighbor. Urgent needs arise, and God provides the means to meet them by way of His people!

 

How much do we give? That’s a much more personal question – but the general rule most financial advisors offer is, budget your income to include 10% for savings and 10% for some kind of charity. That’s much easier to do if your annual income is $100,000 than if your income is $10,000; so, start there as a guide, but in prayer and with wise counsel, find your sweet-spot for generous giving. (If you’re a millionaire, give a way bigger percentage, and watch your generosity bless God’s purposes and your neighbors, and watch how God blesses you in and with your generosity.

 

To whom do we give? The Scriptures’ general guidance is to tithe to your local place of worship, but only start there. After church, to follow Pastor Lloyd’s advice, ask if it furthers God’s Kingdom. That’s a super-general rule. Right? How do you determine that? Does the UGM further God’s Kingdom purpose? Do those tear-producing ads on TV for the abused pets further God’s Kingdom? The Girl Scouts? The local public school? Medical-based charities? We all have our own priorities and heart strings and personal attachments, so ask the question and discern your answer through their stated missions and God’s Word and your understanding of what it means to fully love God, and to love your neighbor.

If the local homeless shelter shows God’s love to our neighbor, then sure! If protecting God’s created creatures seems like it is part of God’s call for you, then yes. If helping to grow young women into productive members of society, then absolutely.

This is why LPC supports things like If You Could Save Just One, CEO:Mission in Kenya, and others. This is why we receive special offerings to these organizations, to Presbyterian Disaster Funds, to One Great Hour of Sharing and Christmas Joy. These are all things we believe further God’s work in God’s name.

 

But Paul gives Titus one more rule here. He says to “not live unproductive lives”. Do not just expect others to take care of you. Get off your own back side and do what you can to be productive. The back side of this directive is to not make others dependent on you – give when needed, help in ways that assist their living, and then give them independence.

An example of this is our Kenya Mission. It is an on-going need – new children needing sponsors are born every day. But our goal is to help them become more and more self-sufficient. We bought them some property – so that they can plant corn and grow their own food, and produce enough to sell for living money. When the few of us who go back this summer, we will not be building their orphanage, we are going to bless their groundbreaking, to be with them as they ordain new leadership, and to grab a shovel and do what they tell us to give another hand. Our aim is that the CEO:Mission children and leaders will require less and less and be able to provide more and more.

 

This is why this Book is important. Through these few chapters, two pages, we hear God’s Word declare His generous grace and we learn to further the faith of God’s elect and our knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Yesterday at the Presbytery Summit, Rev Eric Peterson preached about being a people who welcome outsiders, and he told a story about how last Fall he and a dozen others went to San Diego and Tijuana to see firsthand the effect of the border wall on those directly addressed by it. He said that they met a small family, a mom and her two young children, from Venezuela, and he gave them three bottles of water and some granola bars – a relatively easy and inexpensive little donation that meant  to world to that family! The next day, as they were going through security at the San Diego Airport, the TSA Agent  found two bottles of water in his carry-on that he had completely forgotten about – the TSA Agent poured the water out! And Eric realized how easy it is to take our advantages for granted, to forget what God has given us, to forget who we are in God’s Kingdom. Our identity as God’s people gains ground as we grow in grace and godliness. Let’s do that with integrity together. Amen.

 

Resources:

Johnson, Luke Timothy; 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus; John Knox Press; Atlanta, GA; 1987; Pp. 1-10, 136-139.

 

NIV Study Bible; www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-titus/.

 

02/16/2020 = Titus 3:9-11 = “Be a Polite Young Man”

(Click HERE to listen to this message.)

Mark Wheeler

Titus 3:9-11

“Be a Polite Young Man”

02/16/2020

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

 

Through the Written Word,           

And the spoken word,

          May we know Your Living Word,          

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

It was exactly 42-1/2 years ago today, August 16, 1977 – who here remembers what happened that day? I was 16-years old, and had a one-day job to help Mrs. Morrison pack up her house and move her to an apartment. She had a truck waiting for me, so I rode my bicycle the 5 or 6 miles to her house – but what I encountered was this elderly (probably less than my current 59 years), very heavy-set woman collapsing onto my 125-pound frame completely drenching me in tears.

I had not heard, but even if  had heard I wouldn’t have been destroyed like Mrs. Morrison was – but her day was utterly demolished the day Elvis Presley died.

Before I left my house that Tuesday morning, my father reminded me to “be a polite young man”. I never asked what that meant, but now with 250 pounds of Mrs. Morrison enveloping me with her grief – I knew it meant I would not be loading up her rented U-Haul for a long while – and that I would be more than earning my day’s wage!

 

During this season between Christmas and Lent, January and February, we are looking at Paul’s letter to Titus, the Church Pastor on the Island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.

Titus is Paul’s spiritual son whom Paul assigned there to encourage these church members who were better at professing the Christian faith than they were at practicing it. They said they believed it, but they did not live like they believed it!

 

After this letter’s greeting, we learned that God expects/demands blamelessness and living in congruity with our words and with God’s Word. And then we saw that every generation of Christian has the responsibility of teaching “sound doctrine” to the next generation.  So that in every way we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive … to all people everywhere!  And last week we listened to Paul instruct us that as followers of Christ, we owe it to God Himself to do our darned best to listen for His Word to guide our voting and our conscience, and to reflect His love and mercy by being loving and merciful in our political debates.

 

Today’s passage follows that instruction with a simple edict.

 

Hear the Word of God, Titus 3:9-11 …. —-

⁸ … These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

⁹ But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. ¹¹ You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

 

In chapter 1 we read two main activities for the soon-to-be ordained leaders in the churches on Crete: 1) encourage others by sound doctrine and 2) refute those who oppose it. The beginning of chapter 2 instructs the family leaders to teach this same sound doctrine in their households. And we saw that every Christian leads someone somewhere  and that this book is therefore meant for all of us. And chapter 3 suggests that we are not only members of our households but also citizens of communities in this world.

As members of his  kind of civil arrangement, as mothers and fathers, as children, as brothers and sisters, we are given counsel about how to live together in these excellent and profitable ways.

 

Be a polite young man. My dad simply wanted me to be respectful, to say “please” and “thank you”. But, on that August day politeness also included patience practiced under pressure, grace given in her grief, mercy made more real than Mrs. Morrison’s mourning.

 

In our world of offense over difference, we find ourselves fighting anger against TV newscasters, sports commentators, and friends whose political opinions are not our own. You know what I’m saying, right? We all have friends who, it seems, cannot be happy if they are not offended by something, anything! They’re not happy if they’re not angry! (If you don’t have such a friend, that probably means you are that friend…)

I listened to a story on Friday about a small group of people with very different perspectives on the efficacy and success of our nation’s current presidential administration. But their conversation did not consist of any name-calling, there was no foolish controversy – they didn’t even really debate or argue. Their conversation consisted of asking questions and listening to answers.

What did they come away with? They realized that the others’ perspectives had value. No one changed their minds about anything – except that it was good to listen, without anger and without offense. That doesn’t mean they were being stupid or without strength of integrity or evidenced opinion or facts and figures to back their beliefs. It simply means they came to the table with respect for the other.

 

Paul says to warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time, but if mean-spirited divisive-offense is all he will offer, for your own sake, just let him be. That does not mean to “excommunicate” him, to shun him, to hate him. But, like the Father in Luke 15’s parable of the Prodigal Son, let him go – if he returns, that means peaceably – not necessarily in agreement with you – welcome him back.

Be a polite young man – a polite old coot – a polite young lady – a polite old biddy.  Be polite!

 

The trouble for Crete was in their self-centered unwillingness to give others the respect they were due simply because they were humans – and the grace fills the instructions for how they were to  live counter-culturally, demonstrating God’s grace which, Paul says in Romans 5:8, is given for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

In 2020, over Presidents’ Day weekend, in Spokane, WA, USA, our talk-shows and radio broadcasts and Twitter feeds demonstrate that we are no different than those Cretans were nearly 2000 years ago. But the Good News for them is also the Good News for us! The Father waits, patiently and gracefully and mercifully for us to come back to Him where He welcomes us into His arms with a party-at-the-ready.

 

The only reason I remember Elvis Presley’s death is that it was such a big day for Mrs. Morrison, it seemed as much as JFK’s death or MLK’s. The King of Rock and Roll had died – and I learned how to care for Mrs. Morrison the way Paul tells Titus to care for his Cretan church members.

Being Polite is more than merely showing respect, it includes reflecting God’s grace to the other, because God gives His grace to us. Amen.

 

Resources:

Johnson, Luke Timothy; 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus; John Knox Press; Atlanta, GA; 1987; Pp. 1-10, 136-139.

 

 

 

 

 

NIV Study Bible; www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-titus/.

 

02/09/2020 = Titus 3:1-8 = “How to Talk Politics – and Why”

(Click HERE for an audio of this message.)

Mark Wheeler

Titus 3:1-8

“How to Talk Politics – and Why”

02/09/2020

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

 

Through the Written Word,           

And the spoken word,

          May we know Your Living Word,           

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

As we start today, Ima promising that this is not a politically motivated sermon – but with that said:

Who here watched the State of the Union Address last Monday? Not really surprising at all – the usual exaggerated claims of self-aggrandizement that every president does during a SotU speech – maybe a little more, because, you know, President Trump.

Followed quickly by the Speaker of the House literally ripping that speech up, page by page, in front of the Nation!

Half the attendees standing and applauding at every pause – half the attendees staying seated and scowling throughout the whole 78-minutes!

 

The next day, facing two charges of criminal activity leading to impeachment, with every Democrat’s verdict coming in as guilty on both charges – and every Republican’s verdict (save one)  as not guilty!

 

Social Media and TV and newspaper reports giving only their own side of the stories. We are so divided as a nation! Thanksgiving Dinner tables this last year were more fierce than ever before. I am not looking forward to the 2020 dirty, mean-spirited campaigning that’s already begun!

 

During this season between Christmas and Lent, January and February, we are looking at Paul’s letter to Titus, the Church Pastor on the Island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.

Titus is Paul’s spiritual son whom Paul assigned there to encourage these church members who were better at professing the Christian faith than they were at practicing it. They said they believed it, but they did not live like they believed it!

 

After this letter’s greeting, we learned that God expects/demands blamelessness and living in congruity with our words and with God’s Word. And then we saw that every generation of Christian has the responsibility of teaching “sound doctrine” to the next generation.  So that in every way we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive … to all people everywhere!

 

Today’s passage is takes a turn toward how Christians are to live in a world that may not be Christ-led. Listen for Paul’s instructions on both following our leaders, and influencing them.

 

Hear the Word of God, Titus 3:1-8 …. —-

¹ Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, ² to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

 

In chapter 1 we read two main activities for the soon-to-be ordained leaders in the churches on Crete: 1) encourage others by sound doctrine and 2) refute those who oppose it. The beginning of chapter 2 instructs the family leaders to teach this same sound doctrine in their households. And we saw that every Christian leads someone somewhere  and that this book is therefore meant for all of us. And chapter 3 suggests that we are not only members of our households but also citizens of communities in this world.

 

Verse 1 clearly states that citizens of our political systems have two responsibilities: obediently submit to our authorities – but not in a simple-minded kowtowing to presidents, kings, or dictators kind of way – because the second responsibility is to do what is good! When our leaders are “bad” we are to submit to our more ultimate Authority – the King of kings and Lord of lords – and then be ready to do what is good!

This gives us permission, godly responsibility even, to reject political leaders’ words in order to honor and follow God’s Word! I believe this teaches that Christians are not simply to be “ruled” but are to be eager, active, even creative participants in the political order.

 

Part of “doing good” involves how we treat our fellow travelers in this life. The Ten Commandments include 6 which tell us how to love others as we love ourselves. Paul, in this letter, says that that means never “bad mouthing” each other – no slandering others, being peaceable and considerate, and, what the NIV translates as, being gentle toward everyone! To whom are we to be gentle, kind, and well-speaking? All people – these are the same “all people” that chapter 2 tells us to whom God offers salvation.

In the same way that God’s love wants all people to be saved, so is the community of faith to exemplify “for all people” the qualities of character consistent with that salvation.

 

Paul is quick to add that these are things we cannot do on our own. Verse 3 lists a litany of loser qualities we all live under: we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. Paul includes himself in this category. The implication is that everyone is in this category.

But verses 4-8 tell us that when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,  so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  … so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Clearly, when Christ calls us as His own, not because we are good enough and deserving, but as we remember each month at Communion, out of His grace and mercy He saves us. And in our “washing of rebirth” – our baptism – and “renewal by His Holy Spirit”, when He does that for us, He expects our lives to reflect His gift of salvation!

These Cretan Christians claimed to know God, but by their actions they deny Him (1:16). Our lives reflect our faith. If we believe, our lives reflect His love and mercy.

In Matthew 18:33 Jesus tells a parable about a servant whose giant debt to his master was cancelled, but when a fellow servant owed that first servant a miniscule debt, he refused to cancel that tiny debt! The master says, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?!”

Our doing what is good demonstrates that we know what God has done for us!

 

In a minute we install our new Deacons and Elders – this is a commemoration of these people’s baptisms. Listen to the vows they take because they include the doing of good things, fulfilling what Christ does in us!

The words “the kindness and love of God our Savior” is literally the “philanthropia”, the philanthropy, the “love for humankind” that God offers is now also ours to offer others. Rather than to hate and be hated we too can show love to all people!

 

Some Christians and Christian traditions want to protect their members by creating and then only giving patronage within Christian circles. Monasteries and Christian schools, Christian medicine, Christian jewelry, Christian rock music – and nothing else. Remain separate from everything not-Christian, they say.

Paul’s teaching, here and throughout his letters, is the opposite! “Be in the world, but not of it!” is how Jesus talks about it in John 17. In Romans 12:2 Paul says to not conform to the ways of this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds through Christ Jesus our Lord! In Titus, Paul says that God gives us what we need by faith in Christ Jesus to do good as a reflection of His loving kindness to us!

He wants these Cretan Christians to learn authentically human behavior – Christ-like behavior – from the gift of God itself!

We are called to live and work within the real, messy, complex structures of the political process as those who actually can “do good deeds”, because we are shaped by the gift of God!

 

The Holy Spirit really does transform our consciousness, really does give us capacities we did not have before!

 

Have you heard the story about the new widower who is caught by his daughter weeding the garden?

Turns out, his wife had had a garden – her garden, not his – that she loved.  Flowers, herbs, veggies. Big, beautiful garden. Her garden. He hated gardening, but the wife loved it!

In her senior years, she developed some health problems and physical handicaps that didn’t allow her very much time in her beloved garden – so she instructed her husband  to weed her garden, to water it, and to cultivate it as needed. The husband hated gardening – but he loved his wife, so he did what she told him to do. And boy did she told him how to tend this garden! She told him when to tend this garden. She told him why to tend this garden.

And he tended her beloved garden.

But now she’s gone. Their daughter says to the dad, “Dad, Mom’s gone. You don’t need to do this chore any more.”

And the newly widowed dad answers, “Oh honey, it’s not a chore. It was never a chore. When Mom was here, this was my gift to her. Tending this garden now means that I can still give this to her – and I can still feel her love through my gift.”

 

We do not have to all agree on which political party is the best – we do not have to agree on Presidential platforms or party lines or policies or laws! We, as followers of Christ, owe it to God Himself to do our darned best to listen for His Word to guide our voting and our conscience, and to reflect His love and mercy by being loving and merciful in our political debates.

Like returning His gift to us by doing what pleases Him.

 

That’s how to talk politics – and that’s why! In order to reflect God’s ideals, and because out of His love for us we can show grace to each other.

Amen?

 

Resources:

Johnson, Luke Timothy; 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus; John Knox Press; Atlanta, GA; 1987; Pp. 132-139.

 

 

 

 

 

NIV Study Bible; www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-titus/.

 

02/02/2020 = Titus 2:11-15 = “… in this Present Age”

(Click HERE for an audio version of this message)

Mark Wheeler

Titus 2:11-15

“… in this Present Age”

02/02/2020

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

 

Through the Written Word,           

And the spoken word,

          May we know Your Living Word,           

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

On Friday I learned of a birthday party to be held yesterday for an acquaintance – a birthday party I had not received an invitation to, but that I learned from a mutual friend was a party with an open invitation – everyone was invited, whether they had received an invitation or not! At first I felt “left out”, and then I realized most people were “left out”, not intentionally, but just because no one had told them that a party was happening!

I ended up not going to the party, for a variety of reasons, but I want to thank my friend who did “invite” me before it was too late.

Hopefully in 20 minutes we’ll see how we are invited to a Party, around this Table, with an Open Invitation – and how we might be the “friend” who spreads the invitation.

 

During this season between Christmas and Lent, January and February, we are looking at Paul’s letter to Titus, the Church Pastor on the Island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.

Titus is Paul’s spiritual son whom Paul assigned there to encourage these church members who were better at professing the Christian faith than they were at practicing it. They said they believed it, but they did not live like they believed it!

 

After the greeting, we learned that God expects/demands blamelessness and living in congruity with our words and with God’s Word. And then we saw that every generation of Christian has the responsibility of teaching “sound doctrine” to the next generation.  So that in every way we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive!

 

Today’s passage is less about who the Cretan Christians are or about how they can be more faithful in their Christian lives, how to make their walk a little more like their talk, and it’s more about activating the Good News of the Gospel to strengthen their faith. Listen for three things in these verses: 1) to whom the Gospel is offered, 2) what this Gospel offers us for today’s life-struggles, and 3) how the Gospel works today and for eternity.

 

Hear the Word of God, Titus 2:11-15 …. —-

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.

¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

 

In chapter 1 we read two main activities for the soon-to-be ordained leaders in the churches on Crete: 1) encourage others by sound doctrine and 2) refute those who oppose it. The beginning of chapter 2 instructs the family leaders to teach this same sound doctrine in their households. And we saw that every Christian leads someone somewhere  and that this book is therefore meant for all of us.

 

In today’s reading:

1. To whom is the Gospel offered? Did you hear verse 11? The grace of God has appeared offering

salvation to – all people! It’s true that the Hebrew people were God’s “chosen people”, but from the very beginning God chose these people to conduct themselves as the conduit through which God’s truth and grace might flow. God blessed Abraham to be a blessing for the world.
The grace of God has appeared though Jesus Christ to offer salvation to all people. That does not mean all people are saved. It does not mean all people go to heaven, nor are all on equal footing with God for all eternity. You and I still have a responsibility. John’s Gospel says our responsibility is to receive and believe Jesus as the Son of God, the Word of God incarnate. (John 1:12)  Paul says in Romans 10:9 that our responsibility is to declare with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and to believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.

But the truth is that no one is too far for God’s grace to reach – no one deserves salvation, and no one escapes God’s unmeritable love – we cannot do anything to make God love us more than He already does; nor can we do anything to make God love us less!

All people – that includes you, it includes your obnoxious neighbors and intolerable boss, people from every race and ethnicity and nationality, people of every sin-condition, people of every age, background, even every religious tradition – all people.

But, all people have the responsibility to receive and believe. This is the Gospel!

 

2) What does this Gospel offer us for today’s life-struggles? Verses 12 & 13 tell us that, while our propensity

is toward something less than blameless life choices and lifestyle decisions, the Gospel gives us God’s grace 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 ….

That sentence holds the promise fulfilled and the promised future, the “already” and the “not yet”. The fulfilled promise is that Jesus has “already” done the work to guarantee salvation and to give us Holy Spirit power to beat our own sinful hankerings, Holy Spirit strength to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions. I’m still going to sin by coveting someone’s income or vacation or higher metabolism; but when I confess and repent, I can also ask God for the ability to deny those temptations and to actually live self-controlled, godly lives right now … in this present age!

This is the grace of God revealed for today. In this present age … we can get a glimpse of the Kingdom of God, a taste of God’s grace, a whiff of God’s presence.
The ability to win over our own downfall is what the Gospel offers us today!

And all this victory is ours … while we wait for the blessed hope – that’s the promised future which is not yet achieved!

 

And 3) How does the Gospel work today and for eternity?  The promised future is revealed in that this paragraph contains a rare description by Paul of Jesus Christ as the glory of our great God and our Savior who gave Himself (“already”) to redeem us from our sinful wickedness and to make us pure because He calls us His very own people! And this is because of Christ’s death and resurrection-to-eternal-life to which He invites us.

 

The trouble on Crete was that the Cretan community discriminated against each other and claimed dominance over anyone different. In Spokane America 2020, our people are so divided over politics and religion that we can barely stand to be in the same room with each other, and we express as much racial prejudice today as we did 40 years ago.

The Gospel in Titus’ day is the same Gospel for us – God’s grace saves us from these self-delusions; and God’s grace saves us for full-on relationship with His glorious presence!

 

We are about to come to the Lord’s Table where Jesus uses the bread and the cup to remind us what He already did for us on the cross and from His empty tomb – an Open Invitation to everyone – and His Word looks forward to the amazing Family Reunion He has planned for us in Paradise – whom will we invite?

 

… in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope!

 

Resources:

Johnson, Luke Timothy; 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus; John Knox Press; Atlanta, GA; 1987; Pp. 122-132.

 

 

 

 

 

NIV Study Bible; www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-titus/.