Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

In one paragraph

This message served as both a close to the study of 1 Timothy and an introduction to Titus. The pastor walked the congregation through the timeline of the New Testament to show where these letters fit in real history, then read the final verses of 1 Timothy before opening the first few verses of Titus. Before touching the text, the pastor laid out the approximate dates of New Testament events from...

Read together

1. 1 Peter 5:6 quoted as comfort for a new pastor: 'Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will lift you up in due time'
2. Isaiah 43:2 a child wrote it in a note of comfort to a mother, and it was also the VBS theme verse: 'when you pass through the waters, I will be with you'
3. Acts 1:8 Jesus told the disciples they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts
4. 1 Timothy 1:5 cited as the theme of first Timothy: the aim of the charge is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith
5. 1 Timothy 6:10 referenced as the previous week's text: flee the love of money as the root of all kinds of evils
6. 1 Timothy 6:20-21 closing verses of first Timothy: guard the deposit, avoid irreverent babble and contradictions of false knowledge, grace be with you
7. Ephesians 2:8-10 cited to show salvation is by grace through faith, not works, but that Christians are God's workmanship created for good works
8. 1 Corinthians 1:18 referenced as the message of the cross being foolishness to those perishing but the power of God to those being saved
9. Titus 1:1-4 the opening verses of Titus read and expounded as the sermon's main new text
10. 1 John 1:9 cited as assurance that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us
11. Romans 10:13 paraphrased: all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved
12. John 17:3 quoted in the closing prayer: 'this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan walked through the chronological order in which the early church spread, noting that the stoning of Stephen scattered believers out of Jerusalem and pushed the gospel forward. How does it change the way you think about difficult or painful seasons when you consider that God used persecution to accomplish His missionary purposes?
2. Pastor Nathan described the aim of the whole book of First Timothy as love flowing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Which of those three do you find hardest to maintain in your own life, and why?
3. Paul warned Timothy to avoid 'the irreverent babble and the contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge,' and Pastor Nathan connected that to confident voices today that contradict scripture. How do you personally decide what is worth engaging with and what is worth walking away from?
4. Pastor Nathan pointed out that Paul chose Titus for the severe letter to Corinth and warned Timothy to keep some distance from younger elders, recognizing that each man was wired differently for different assignments. How have you seen God use your own temperament or background to fit you for something specific, even if it looked unlikely at first?
5. At the close of the sermon, Pastor Nathan said that however different we may be from one another, we are all called to carry the same message out of thankful obedience, for the good of those who will hear it and for God's greater glory. What does that look like practically in your own neighborhood or workplace this week?