In the sermon last week (from Habakkuk 1:2-4), Habakkuk questioned God about His seeming indifference toward the rampant wickedness in Judah. In the text for this Lord’s Day, God answers Habakkuk with a troubling reply. It presents the great sovereignty of God over his creation.

Habakkuk expressed his distress at God’s seeming lack of concern at Judah’s wickedness and the suffering it brought. As his writing unfolds, he teaches us that when our limited understanding cannot make sense of life’s pain and sorrow, we must begin with what we know about God. Nothing occurs by accident, but by God’s design. Though we cannot see God’s purpose in all he is doing, we know that all he does is right and good.

This Lord’s Day we will introduce a new sermon series. A study of the small work of Habakkuk will be our focus for the remaining weeks of the summer. We often struggle to see what God is doing in the moral chaos that grips the world. But Habakkuk teaches us to face life’s uncertainties with faith that comes from knowing that God is always on his throne.

The apostle Paul brought the body of his letter to Titus to a close with a repletion of his challenge to protect the truth. This responsibility rests on every church, and thus every Christian, in every age. As we celebrate Father’s Day this Lord’s Day, this is a timely message. Every father must lead his family to uphold the truth in this present age.

This Lord’s Day, we come to the apex of Paul’s letter Titus. In last week’s message, he explained that Cretan believers must live godly before an unbelieving world (Titus 3:1-2 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ). This is essential to the advance of the gospel. In this week’s text (Titus 3:3-8 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ), he explains that the gospel message we believe and proclaim distinguishes believers from the world. The central idea of the paragraph is that God justifies us, not because of our works, but because of Christ.

This Lord’s Day, we will come to the third chapter of Paul’s letter to Titus. In it, the apostle gave instructions intended for the members of the churches Titus served. The preceding chapters (1 and 2) dealt with Christian living in the church and the home. In chapter 3, Paul turns our attention to Christian living in the community. We live for Christ before a watching world.

We have completed a series of messages from Titus 2:1-10 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] . In that passage, Paul gave practical instructions regarding Christian living to various groups in the churches on the island of Crete. In today’s text (Titus 2:11-14 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ), Paul explains the doctrinal basis of those instructions. He explained that the churches must teach godly living to those who have trusted Christ. This is God’s design for the spread of the gospel as we wait for Christ to return.

In the sermon text for this Lord’s Day, the apostle Paul gives teaching instructions to Titus for a final group within the churches on Crete. The final group was slaves. The number of slaves in the Roman Empire was enormous and the message the Gospel of Christ spread through their communities quickly. Though our situation differs from theirs, the principles Paul gave aptly apply to the relationship Christians must have with their employers whom they serve. God calls each believer to serve those in authority over them, remembering that their service adorns the gospel. To overcome innate sinful resistance to the idea of serving others, we must remember Christ’s condescending service that achieved our salvation.

In the second chapter of Titus, the apostle Paul explained Titus’ responsibility to show God’s people how to live. His instructions touched every demographic in the church: young and old, male and female, servants and free (2:2-10). In today’s text we find instructions for training young men in the church. For them, Paul takes a different approach. He directs Titus to take the lead and set an example for the young men to follow.

Paul instructed Titus and the elders serving on Crete to instruct all the people in the churches to live according to sound doctrine. In the text for this Lord’s Day, he directed older women to train younger women how to live. Paul’s words contradict common assumptions of our culture. Believers must follow this biblical instruction despite opposition.