The Bible tells us that those who seek to follow Christ are to live and walk by faith. That doesn’t mean the Christian life is easy or effortless. On the contrary, it often takes significant effort, determination, and commitment to stay strong and obey God in a world frequently indifferent or even hostile towards Christianity. That’s why, in the face of temptation, persecution, or difficult choices, it’s always much easier to just give up or give in and conform to the standards and values of the world.

Timothy, the young protégé of the apostle Paul, faced similar challenges in his day. Feeling alone in the midst of a challenging culture and a frustrating ministry setting, Timothy needed some encouragement to keep going and “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). Maybe you could use that same encouragement in your own life.

Today in our continuing message series in the book of 1 Timothy, we’ll be considering a question that everyone would do well to ask: What do you really want out of life?

The number of things that a person could have on their “want” list could go on and on: good health, meaning, happiness, a home of your own, a dream vacation, a spouse, a couple kids, a new job, good friends, money… You get the idea.

How about just the basics? You know, like food and clothing. Would you be content with that? Would that

You’d like to think that the church is a safe place. One big happy family focused on truth-telling, uplifting and loving relationships, with no sign of greed or self-interest.

We’d like that to be true. We long for that to be true. God longs for that to be true. More godliness and less ugliness.

This Sunday our continuing study in 1 Timothy will help us take another step toward becoming the people—and the church—that the Lord wants His children to be.

It is the traditional time for resolutions. Many of those can sound like, “Improve myself. Get ahead. Accomplish something.” What if God were to write your resolution? Would it sound the same as yours?

What if, as crazy as it might sound to our modern ears, God wrote a resolution for a slave? What would that say? And what might that mean for us in our lives?

Today we will look at God’s desire for all of us—whether we are a slave, a slave owner, or just an average person in 2019.

If you’re looking for a life of meaning, welcome to the crowd! Everywhere you go you’ll find others on the same search.

We long for meaning. Jesus called it abundance - a life of purpose. One that satisfies the cravings of our souls.

This Sunday, before the New Year begins, our focus on the meaningful life could make all the difference in the kind of life you live in 2019.

Hearing a loved one at Christmas say “It’s just what I need” is music to the giver’s ears. It sure beats a quizzical look followed by what could be a hurtful “What is it?” or “Seriously?” question. After thinking carefully about what to buy, where to buy it, and how much to spend – a less than enthusiastic response isn’t your idea of Christmas cheer.

One thing is for sure: when God gives, His gifts are “just what we need” every time. Especially when it came to Jesus’ birth. After years of planning and preparation, the gift God gave to the world is what the world needed then and still needs now. It can change our lives now and forever.

This Sunday we’ll see why. The answer is in the forefront of the Christmas story, which has “just what I need” written all over it. It’s beneficial, amazing, undeserved, life-changing, and more.

For as long as there have been people, there has always been scandal and, at the same time, there have always been others who strive to remain faithful—which means there have always been church leaders in both groups. Since the church will have seasons of each, how are we to respond biblically, compassionately, and helpfully to all of those involved?

Religion continues to have a bad reputation in the world today. That’s not hard to understand, especially when professed faith often plays out as a form of religion rather than a changed life. It makes sense that people would question the legitimacy of professed faith when it’s simply a list of do’s and don’ts, or something you do on Sunday mornings.

Even Jesus wasn’t always big on religion. In fact, some of His strongest words and actions were directed at religiosity, and how it stood in the way of God’s true work in the lives of people He loved and longed to see live lives of love toward God and others.

Today in our continuing series in 1 Timothy, we come to the topic of religion. And it’s a good thing to consider. Especially in light of the bad reputation religion has in our world. The passage we’ll be studying will help us see what can be done about that problem.

If you’re like most, you’d like to avoid hard conversations. If given the choice, we’d like someone else to step in and give whatever counsel, caution, or correction is needed in others’ lives.

The fact is, at some point everyone will face the need for a difficult, heart-to-heart conversation with someone. That’s life in every family, including God’s.

If you could benefit from some godly counsel that can help you the next time you are called into a hard