You're Gonna Have to Serve Somebody

In one paragraph

This message came from the pastor's ongoing study of Titus, picking up where he left off the previous week at the household code in chapter two. He worked through the instructions given to bond servants and then followed Paul's argument through to the end of the chapter, pressing the question of why self-controlled, upright living matters for Christians right now, in this life. the pastor opened...

Read together

1. Titus 1:1 Paul describing himself as a servant (doulos) of God
2. Titus 2:1 Paul telling Titus to teach what accords with sound doctrine
3. Titus 2:6 urging younger men to be self controlled
4. Titus 2:7-8 Titus told to show himself as a model of good works with integrity and sound speech
5. Titus 2:9-10 bond servants to be submissive to their masters, not pilfering, adorning the doctrine of God
6. Titus 2:11 the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people
7. Titus 2:12 grace training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and live self controlled
8. Titus 2:13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ
9. Titus 2:14 Jesus gave himself to redeem us from lawlessness and purify a people for his own possession zealous for good works
10. Titus 2:15 declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one disregard you
11. John 3:16 God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes may not perish

Talk about it

1. The pastor talked about sound doctrine meaning 'healthy' doctrine, and said that teaching it continually matters even when not everyone will live up to it. What makes it hard to keep returning to the same teaching, and why do you think Paul kept pressing that point?
2. The pastor described the tension he personally feels when the text uses the word 'slave', because of American cultural history around slavery. How does knowing the historical context of Roman slavery, where roughly one in three or four people were enslaved, change or not change the way you read this passage?
3. The sermon pointed out that the word translated 'adorn' comes from the same root as our word cosmetic, meaning to make something compellingly attractive. In what ways do you think the way Christians live their daily lives either adorns or damages the teaching about God in the eyes of people around them?
4. The pastor described sanctification as a two steps forward, one step back process, and said that if we submit our will, God will shape and form us, but when we resist and hold on to our rights, that process stalls. Where do you find it hardest to submit your will, and what does it look like practically to stop resisting?
5. The sermon closed with the idea, drawn from the Bob Dylan song, that every person is serving somebody, either voluntarily serving the Lord or involuntarily serving self and sin. Do you agree that those are really the only two options? What does voluntary service to the Lord look like in ordinary daily life?