Church isn't the place, it's the people
May 19, 2012

1 Timothy Series – Love: Paul’s Apostolic Purpose

5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

1 Timothy 1

 

We all set goals in some way or other… However, I’m not sure that LOVE is a goal we hear banded around churches very much these days.

 

We often hear of goals in the church being, ‘to see more people go on Alpha’, ‘financing a new building’, ‘running multiple services’, ‘10% growth in numbers’, ‘better worship’, even ‘we must serve real coffee’(!). None of which are necessarily wrong or bad in and of themselves.

 

But, Paul’s goal in his command to Timothy (to stop false teachers) is LOVE! It is interesting that Paul doesn’t say that the goal of teaching correct doctrine and stopping false teaching is that ‘you will find more people listen to you’, or that ‘you will get a greater response to your preaching’ etc.

 

Paul knew that good doctrine would cause genuine love for God (which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith), and by default a love for one another, which in turn would build a healthy community.

 

Questions:

  • Where does Paul say love comes from?
  • How do these things result in love?
  • In a society that loves false and empty teaching, how can we live out Paul’s goal of love effectively?
  • Take some time to think through goals you may have set in your life… how are you going about acheiving them? What is your purpose in them?

 

Prayer Points:

  • Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh today with his presence & power
  • Ask God to help you grow in ‘a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.’
  • Pray for Gateway, that we might be a church that achieves Paul’s goal time and time again!
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May 18, 2012

1 Timothy series – God’s work – by faith

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith.

1 Timothy 1: 3-4

 

God's work - by faith

For Paul, the goal of teaching is not just the conveying of information, its purpose is to bring people into an understanding and partnership with God and what he is doing.

 

In verse 4, Paul clearly says to Timothy that, in contrast to controversy in the local church that arises from false teaching and speculation about myths and genealogies, God’s work is a work that is achieved by faith.

 

The reality is, false teaching (and speculation about myths and genealogies) is usually ‘dressed up’ in ways that make it attractive and persuasive to its hearer, it sounds amazing and promises so much etc. However, its fruit is that it separates and confuses people (promotes controversy). Unimportant ideas get chased round and round, truth gets muddied, and purposefulness is abandoned.

 

Its effect on the local church is devestating if left unchallenged. This was the issue destroying the fragile church in Ephesus in the 60′s in Paul’s day. In fact, verse 6 implies that people can wonder from the truth and its fruit because of this very thing!

 

So the contrast to this then is that, good teaching of truth will (and does) lead us to an increase in faith which promotes God’s work (transformation, unity & love).

…

‘There is nothing surprising about that’ you might think. But when was the last time you stopped to ask ‘what is God’s work?’

 

In our ever increasingly busy lives we are very good at ‘going to church’ (tick), or, serving an area of the church (tick), or even having a particular area of Christian life that we give ourselves to (tick).

 

But, is this all there really is to God’s work? Surely, Jesus demonstrated something more about what ‘God’s work’ is than these few simple tasks in his life?

Something to ponder on today:

  • What does Paul mean by ‘God’s work’?
  • And, how is God’s work accomplished by faith?
  • How does Jesus in his own life demonstrate God’s work to us?
  • Do you have favourite ‘pet’ subjects that you love to discuss with anyone that will listen? Is the result of that usually excitement at what God is doing, or, disagreement?!

 

Prayer points:

  • Ask God to give you passion to be part of His work – the spreading of His Kingdom
  • Ask God to help your faith genuinely be seen by ‘good works’
  • Pray for God to bless Gateway as we seek to do God’s work, by faith
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May 17, 2012

1 Timothy series – The undervalued valuable

The Undervalued Valuable

Romans 1: ”For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened (…) They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”

In 1556, Calvin (in his commentary on 1 Timothy) declared that 1 Timothy was, ‘Highly relevant to our own times’. More than 450 years later, we can aptly claim the same in our own day; today, truth is under fire more than ever…

The thing is, the truth is not highly valued in our culture these days. When it comes to it, we are often happy to avoid telling the truth to protect ourselves, or others from embarrassment. Parliamentary inquests slowly and painfully extract the truth like a decayed tooth. The media regards truth as secondary to the story that sells. To the scientist, empirical fact is truth!

In our ‘post-modern’ society, we are frequently told:

  • there is no such thing as absolute, objective and universal truth
  • that ‘religious’ truth claims have no place in modern society, as they often deal with areas that science can’t empirically test
  • all so-called ‘religious’ truth is purely subjective, a result of our cultural conditioning
  • therefore as a result, all ‘religious’ truth claims (about God, origins, meaning, morality and destiny) are relative and equally valuable.

………………

Paul’s encouragement to Timothy by contrast is wonderfully refreshing in its love of the truth of God. This is one of Paul’s central preoccupations, indeed it ‘bookends’ his letter to Timothy. (1 Tim 1:3 & 1 Timothy 6:20). However, Paul knew that the truth is not a commodity that aimlessly ‘hangs’ around churches. No, it must be continuously fought for, guarded and proclaimed, and failure to do so leads to sick churches!

 

Application:

The truth (about God, origins, meaning, morality and destiny) is not gleaned from observing nature, through science, art or philosophy (though they can teach us much). It is known through the Gospel- the good-news concerning Jesus Christ…

Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

To love Jesus is to love the Truth and to know the Truth is to know Jesus!

Churches need to be full of people who love the truth, who grow in knowledge of the truth (in their Bibles) and who fight for the truth therein. The good news about Jesus has been entrusted to his followers, but is to be taken to all peoples.

 

Challenge:

As we study Timothy together, why not think about and write down when you find the truth of God’s Word that excites you, when it strengthens you, and when it challenges you… Then reflect on why you think the truth can have such different effects on us.

 

Questions:

  • When is it difficult to stand on God’s truth, rather than dishonesty and deception?
  • When you read the Bible, is your motivation to understand truth as revealed by God, or rather as a self-help book, a ‘pick-me-up’?
  • The truth revealed in the Bible is entrusted to God’s people to treasure, guard and proclaim… how could you increasingly grow in knowing the truth?

 

Prayer Points:

  • Ask God to help you grow in knowledge and love of the Truth
  • Ask God to speak to you through the Bible every time you read it
  • Invite the Holy Spirit to motivate you to read your Bible – He loves nothing more than to help you love, understand, and discover Jesus in the Bible
  • Pray for someone else who loves to engage with the Bible to ‘come along side’ you and help you to grow in your love of it
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May 16, 2012

1 Timothy series – Passing the baton

Deuteronomy 4:9

‘Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.’

 

A recent TV programme exploring Cornish fishing communities featured the picture postcard Cornish fishing village of Cadgwick which grew around a small group of ‘master & apprentice’ fishermen that have sustained their community for about 1300 years. These men venture out into the sea in small, one man boats, seeking crabs, lobsters, and fish etc., only ever landing a small catch in comparison with the behemoth trawler boats of elsewhere. Sadly their community’s existence is under threat from fishing quotas and the giants of the industry. One of the lines that struck me was when one of the wizened fishermen recognised that if they lose their livelihoods to these challenges, the real loss would not be their jobs, but ultimately the very community that it creates. ‘Once it’s gone, it will never return’.

…………..

 

Paul knew his leadership task was not for his generation only, but one that must be passed from generation to generation. A ‘family business’ that must be passed from father to son. A ‘family story’ that must be told by one generation to the next. A baton that must change hands safely and confidently at the end of each leg.

 

Timothy was the apprentice learning from his master. After 15 years of working side by side, Paul knew Timothy, his strengths and weaknesses all addressed. Encouragement, challenge, personal health as well as teaching on-the-job were all part of Paul’s input to his young co-worker.

 

Application:

Our culture is always telling us that we should live for now, that youth culture is the main thing, that we are wiser than generations of yesterday. But, over and over the Bible instructs believers to tell these truths one generation to another, to remind each other of them, to teach them to your children, and instruct those younger than you in the faith.

(see Deuteronomy 11:19, Titus 2:3-4)

 

Challenge: 

Are we creating a culture of ‘baton passing’, one generation telling another of the mighty works of God?

Are you seeking to pass the baton, or have the baton passed to you?

How could you be part of the culture change to see this happen?

 

Prayer points:

  • Thank God for those who have ‘fought battles’ in other generations for God’s truth that we enjoy today! Eg. John Wycliffe – Translated the Bible into English, Martin Luther – 1600s reformation, Terry Virgo – 1960s /70s Charismatic renewal…
  • Ask God to give you someone who will father or mother you in the faith
  • Ask God to give you someone that you can begin to disciple from an early age!
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May 15, 2012

1 Timothy Series – What have YOU become?

baby penguin

‘For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.’

Romans 8:29

When I was young, I used to think birthdays and Christmases for ‘old people’ were rubbish. I could never understand how the presents us kids gave dad, consisting mainly of figs, chutney and books, could genuinely be appreciated. I hated all three with a vengeance.

 

However, they say that people tend to become their parents. (I don’t know whom this ‘they’ are, who seems to think they know everything about everything, but whoever they are, they should write a book!) I used to always question the wisdom of this saying, but the older I get, the more that I see yet another cliché is indeed true… I see bits and pieces of my parents in me all the time. These days, Christmases are never more perfect than when those three simple treats are waiting for me under the tree!

…

Think About:

Paul’s encounter with the risen and glorified Jesus, albeit brief, impacted Paul for good…

Paul was Timothy’s spiritual father. His passion in life was to instill in his son passions and values that would shape Timothy as he grew in Christ and as a leader. A love for truth, a heart that can’t help but break out into worship, a desire to see people become all that God has made them to be…

“Paul said ‘Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ’. (1 Cor 11:1)

 

Application:

There are many Christian leaders and friends who I love and respect, and I suspect much of who they are has formed much of who I am today. Attitudes, passions, preferences, life choices, actions, looks and sayings have all been formed by those close around me, whether intentionally, or by osmosis.

 

Questions for reflection:

Who do you spend time with and how do they shape you? Is it for your good?

Do you spend time with your heavenly Father and let him shape your passions, plans and personality?

What areas of your character and faith do you need others to help shape?

How do you think Paul went about shaping Timothy?

What kind of impact do you think he had on Timothy’s life?

 

Prayer points: 

  • Ask God to continue to make you more like Christ
  • Pray for God’s help that you would set an example for your children, or those around you, of a heart that loves to worship Jesus.
  • Thank God for your parents, for their having served you whilst you were growing up!
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May 14, 2012

1 Timothy Series – Post 2

2. Fatherless Generation

Psalm 68:5 ‘A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.’

The refrain, ‘the fatherless generation’ is one that is all too real.

A tidal wave of crazy divorce rates, imprisonment, working all hours, the sexualisation of society and drink culture has resulted in an extreme lack of male role models. And in a ‘culture of acceptability’ many have simply accepted this fact of there being so many fatherless children without cause for concern. But it is creating a tsunami that will flatten this nation if left untouched.

The start of Paul’s letter contains another refrain that oozes with love from the apostle to Timothy in these simple words ‘My true son in the faith’. It’s a refrain that is never heard by far too many young children and teens up and down this nation. Instead the story told sounds something more like this:

‘Dad wasn’t around when I was a kid. Part of me wanted to admit it hurt, and the other part of me was too numb to care. He left, so what? I didn’t need him. I made it without him…’

This issue is one that affects boys and girls, men and women. In fact women both young and old may suffer more. I believe something magical happens when a father tells his daughter she is beautiful, that she is a women, and that she has a reason to be respected and loved by a good man. If she doesn’t get this message from her dad, she will look for it in men that have less pure motives. Women tend to become victims when they grow up without good fathers. Men tend to become oppressors. I heard recently that 94 percent of people in prison are men. And 85 per cent of those men grew up in fatherless homes.

If we have a crisis in this country, it’s more than a fatherless crisis, though. It’s a crisis of manhood, of masculinity. It’s affecting our families, our schools, it’s filling our prisons, and it’s killing the hearts of our women. It is time to rewrite the ‘fatherless story’!”

Donald Miller – Father Fiction

Application:

Our church is no different to the wider society on this issue. It is not, nor should it be, immune from feeling the pain of it either. However, our response is one that is crucial to rewriting the ‘fatherless story’… the world needs more fathers! As Christians we have the incredible privilege of introducing the fatherless to the True Father!

Challenge:
How can you show encouragement & love to those around you who are fatherless?
Do you have an ‘open heart, open home’ policy toward others?

Prayer points:
Whatever your story and experience of fathers is, ask the Holy Spirit to pour the love of The Father into your heart.
If this is ‘your story’, invite God to do a deep work of healing in your heart – you still need a father whether 8, 38 or 68!
Pray for those you know who are growing up without fathers
Pray for opportunities to bless those who are fatherless

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May 13, 2012

1 Timothy Series – Post 1

Leading is hard at the best of times…

Timothy knew this as much as anyone. A young guy, thrust into leading a growing and thriving church, in a growing and thriving cosmopolitan city (Ephesus) with some major problems to straighten out, he found himself facing many challenges and frustrations for which he was in need of guidance.

Imagine the feeling of relief Timothy felt when early one morning, whilst drinking his espresso and pondering the day to come with all its challenges, he heard the letterbox go. Rushing to the front door, he saw a letter on the mat and instantly recognised the large scrawl that was his friend and mentors’ handwriting – Paul’s letter had finally arrived! Okay, so it might have been better if Paul was there in person, but a letter… with answers to his questions!

Shouting up to his wife, ‘It’s arrived, I’m going to my study for an hour… don’t let anyone interrupt me’, he dashed in, shut the door, settled at his desk, exhaled deeply, and with a bold gesture ripped open the top of the envelope: ‘Dear Timothy…’

Application:
We all face-challenging circumstances in life where we need the input and guidance of others. All of us need a ‘Paul’ in our lives – someone who we know loves and trusts us, someone who speaks into our life, at the right moment, words of encouragement and discipline.

2 Peter 1:3 says ‘God has given us everything we need for life and Godliness.’
This is through the Spirit at work in us and by God speaking to us through the Bible, but also through other believers who we live life with!

Question:
When you face tough situations, do you look for wisdom from others in the family of believers God has placed you into, or are you fiercely independent, with an ‘I can sort this on my own’ attitude?

Prayer points:
Ask God to speak into your life through this series
Ask God to give you a ‘Paul’ if you do not have one
Ask God to help you receive wisdom for godliness in all of life with eagerness

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March 26, 2012

The Apprentice

Post by: Colin

So, Lord Sugar’s search for his elusive apprentice continues as season 8 of The Apprentice kicked off this last week (hooray!). There is something strangely engrossing in watching a group of ‘wannabe’ apprentices clawing at each other whilst they themselves constantly fumble the ball in hope of a slice of Lord Sugar’s pie.

What’s more strange is the ridiculously high levels of self belief (delusion) the candidates possess after so few years business experience, the evidence for which is uncovered via their never ending quotes filled with self-congratulatory misguidance and comical puns, rather than the ability to successfully execute the given weekly task!

Even stranger still is that the series title (The Apprentice) is the one valuable idea of the show that is much needed but never present.

The word ‘apprentice’ by definition (according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary) implies: ‘One who is learning by practical experience under skilled workers a trade, art, or calling’.

This seemingly archaic yet highly valuable principle of master-student tutelage flies in the face of the hotheaded know-it-all ‘entrepreneurs’ portrayed week after week until the victor finally triumphs.

In contrast, it is so refreshing to currently be spending time digging into the apostle Paul’s pastoral letter to Timothy in preparation for the upcoming summer-term preaching series (based on 1 Timothy).

Unlike lord Sugar’s regular dressing-down of the candidates, Paul oozes personal encouragement and instruction in abundance to his ‘true son in the faith’, Timothy. Every thought and phrase from Paul carries Godly weight and experience for Timothy to glean from, who himself is growing in leadership and pastoral ministry. His heart clearly seen as he seeks to guide his apprentice on his journey to be the best he can be at what he has been called to do, all the while spurring young Timothy on with the words of a personal coach: ‘Run the race’ & ‘fight the good fight’.

I am eagerly looking forward to us spending ten weeks together under Paul’s tutelage, so that like Timothy, we too can glean wisdom from someone whose life was radically changed as a result of encountering the risen Lord Jesus and whose life’s work has arguably had a greater impact on the world than almost anybody else’s!

Over the next month, why not read and re-read this fantastic short letter to familiarise yourself with it in readiness.

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March 4, 2012

40 days – Day 40

 ’Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.’ Acts 13:3

 

The church at Antioch is a model for us. It was wonderfully diverse, they were open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and put worship and prayer at the very centre of their lives together.
Gateway Church already shares some similar characteristics but we long for much more so let’s keep pressing on, so that like Antioch we might be a church that impacts not only the community around us but the nations of the world…

Prayer Points

  1. Pray for Gateway that we will always be willing to take bold steps to reach the lost.
  2. If we are determined to follow the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit we can expect that church life will continue to change in unexpected and exciting ways.
  3. This year Pray for the sensitivity and flexibility to ride the wave of God’s leading and his blessing.

Today we will be celebrating the end of our 40 Days, and ‘Celebrating God’

As part of our celebrations everyone who would like to is invited to come in their National Dress – If you don’t have one why one why not consider coming in the National Dress of another Nation? 


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March 3, 2012

40 days – Day 39

 ‘… because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down and …he died. But the word of God continued to increase and spread.’ 

Acts 12:23b – 24.

 

Kings and princes, prime ministers and presidents do not ultimately control events. It is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is in control. Hallelujah!

 

Prayer Points

  1. Praise God that He is the One who is in control of your life, of Gateway Church and of this world.
  2. Pray that none of us will be intimidated by the fear of powerful people but live knowing that in Christ nothing can separate us from the love of God.
  3. Thank God for all He has done amongst us through the 40 Day programme.

 

Tomorrow we will be celebrating the end of our 40 Days, pray that many will come ready to worship and celebrate the goodness of God… 

As part of our celebrations everyone who would like to is invited to come in their National Dress – If you don’t have one why one why not consider coming in the National Dress of another Nation? 

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