Paying Attention to People

In one paragraph

Pastor A closed out the letter to Titus by paying attention to the real people named in its final verses, and what those people show us about how the church actually works. The message moved from a handful of first-century names to a Princeton Seminary study to a roadside breakdown in Wichita, all in service of one idea: that devoting yourself to good works means leaving room to see the person in...

Read together

1. John 3:16-17 quoted during opening worship to declare God's love and salvation
2. Colossians 4 cited to identify Tychicus as a beloved brother and faithful minister
3. Acts 16 cited to describe Paul picking up Timothy and circumcising him because of his Greek father
4. Acts 18 cited to introduce Apollos as an eloquent, scripture-competent Jew from Alexandria
5. Acts 19 referenced as the setting when Apollos was at Corinth
6. 1 Corinthians 1 cited for Paul's plea for unity against factions following Paul or Apollos
7. 1 Corinthians 3:5 cited to show Paul calling himself and Apollos servants, with God giving the growth
8. Galatians 2 cited to show that Titus was not forced to be circumcised despite pressure from false brothers
9. Ephesians 2:8-10 cited to contrast salvation by grace through faith with good works as God's prepared purpose for believers
10. Titus 1:1-4 cited to show Paul opening the letter with grace and identifying himself as servant and apostle
11. Titus 3:14 cited calling the church people to devote themselves to good works for urgent needs

Talk about it

1. Pastor A pointed out that Paul simply says 'I've decided to spend the winter at Nicopolis' without saying he waited for a specific word from the Holy Spirit about it. What does that tell us about how God guides ordinary decisions, and how does that compare to the way you tend to approach planning?
2. Paul describes Tychicus as a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and an encourager, while Apollos is known as an eloquent speaker, and Zenas as a lawyer with deep knowledge of the law. What does it say about how the church works that Paul treats all three as equally valuable servants?
3. Paul circumcised Timothy to remove a barrier to reaching Jewish people, but refused to circumcise Titus because false teachers were using it to add a requirement to the gospel. Where is the line between becoming all things to all people and compromising the truth of grace?
4. The 1973 Princeton Seminary study found that only 10 percent of students stopped to help someone in obvious distress when they were in a hurry, even though they had just been assigned to speak on the Good Samaritan. What does your own schedule tend to do to your ability to notice and respond to people in need?
5. Pastor A shared the story of stopping to help a stranger in Wichita on the way to a family emergency, and said the point was not to toot his own horn but to illustrate what it looks like to devote yourself to good works. Ephesians 2 says those works were prepared beforehand for us to walk in. What would it look like practically for you to leave room in your week to walk into those works?