As we gather to select new Elders and Deacons, let us look for a moment at what it means to be an elder. The primary qualification in the book of Titus is the word blameless. We will take a look at what this means and what it doesn’t mean.

It would be awesome if life came with a manual. If we all could simply opened a book and look at the troubleshooting pages to figure out what to do in any given situation. Many of the challenges that life gives us would simply disappear. Unfortunately, this is not how life is. It takes time and practice to figure out what to do. So, what is the best way to learn? Today, we want to look Paul’s solution to this question. How can we go through life without having to personally go through the growing pains?

Have you ever had to face the consequences of your own actions? Wouldn't it be nice, if at that time, you got handed a mulligan?

After the temple’s foundations had been set, there was a general cry of despair! The new temple dwarfed significantly from the temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Because of this fact, many didn’t know if they wanted to continue to build it. But God encourages them to stay strong. While it may not seem grand to follow God’s plan, ultimately, following His call in our lives will result in Him glorifying the work for His purposes.

When the Israelites returned to the Promised Land after being in Exile, things were not quite how they remembered them. The city was in shatters; the temple was torn down. But the most important thing for them in the moment was taking care of themselves. However, God had called them to do something else. When their idea of what they should be doing conflicted with God’s, other problems occurred. Haggai 1 shows us that following God’s call is the most important thing we can do in our lives.

We desire to be followers of Jesus. But his way of living is very different than our normal way of thinking. Those who desire to be true followers must practice the teachings of Jesus in all aspects of their lives.

It is easy to see how people act and to just them for it. But Jesus calls for our attention to be not on others, but on our own lives. If we are too focused on what others are doing around us, we often miss the large problems that we are dealing with.

Money is something we often worry about. How are we going to clothe ourselves? How are we going to feed ourselves? We need money for those things. But Jesus teaches his followers to not worry about such matters. God has it in control!

Many times we are scared to pray. Sometimes it is because we are unsure how to go about it. But prayer is extremely powerful. Jesus talks to his followers about how we should pray, and it isn’t how everyone goes about it.

Often times that hardest people to love is our enemies. They are the ones we want to get even with the most. However, Jesus calls for his followers to be lovers of our enemies. It means being selfless in our love of others.