Bethel Church of Houston

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We live in perilous times. These "last days" have always carried danger for the believer in Christ and also for His church. How can we find the discernment to recognize legitimate threats and take steps to be protected from them?

Over two thousand years have passed, but many circumstances and scenarios are merely repeated, over and over again. This is only one reason God's Word remains powerful, effective, relevant, and needed.

As Paul prepares Timothy to lead his church into further effectiveness, we learn some essential principles about living in the household of God. These principles instruct us still today.

The central task of any pastor-teacher in a Bible-centered church is to faithfully study and teach the Word. Why does this matter? Is this sufficient? Should we care?

Believers are called to "remember Jesus Christ" (v. 8). More this morning on our unique and very meaningful connection to Jesus. What a difference that should make!

What an amazing time of worship and praise we experienced together with Keith and Kristyn Getty this past Sunday evening. A special thanks is due to all those who worked so hard in helping make this event happen, including Colin and Lynelle, Jim Smith, and my son Blake and his team at Lakeside Bible Church (and many others, too). And the choir, robed and all, singing, smiling, clapping, worshipping in spirit and in truth.

And thanks be to God for gifting the Church with people like the Getty's; and for the new, fresh worship movement that remains grounded in God-centeredness as opposed to emotion, and rich theology as opposed to superficialities. The Getty's music, and hopefully that of Bethel, reflect this great trend. We want it to become, more and more, an essential part of our identity at Bethel: deeply moved by God's grace, and passionately commited to celebrating it and sharing it in culturally relevant ways.

And thanks to God for one more great gift: something to sing about! Sunday night was a preview of heaven! And eternity won't exhaust the depth and expanse of the celebration of our great Savior God's worth and glory.

While it might appear simplistic, today's text calls us back to the fundamental motivation for guarding the gospel. It was central for Timothy 20 centuries ago; it is just as crucial for you and me today.

The core of Paul's practical instruction to his protege Timothy is here in today's text: passing along the essence of the Gospel to faithful people who, in turn, will pass it on to others. This represents the "big picture"... and calls us to ask: how are we doing?

The economy is down. Stocks are down. Sales are down. Today, jobs are harder to find than they were yesterday. The only good news is that gas prices are down (although in Houston, that might be bad news). In such time, how should Christians think? Looking forward to 2009, what is a Godly perspective? Let's look together at the book of Leviticus where we will find a reminder of how we should view our economy.