Paul concludes his letter to Titus and the young believers in Crete by reminding them of what their lives and attitudes should look like to the outside world. We should be obediently submissive to the authorities God places in our lives. We should live with a grace-filled, gentleness that reflects the grace we’ve received from Jesus. Christians should be the greatest citizens on the planet, living out good works, and looking for ways to do good to people. We live this unique way of life so that people would see the beauty of God in us and be drawn to the God who compels His people to live such beautiful lives.

As we move into chapter 2 of Paul’s letter to Titus, we shift from the need for godly leaders in a healthy church, to how believers are to live out the gospel in practical ways. See, the gospel of Jesus isn’t just for our salvation. It’s also for our sanctification (the life-long process of becoming more like Jesus.) Our lives should reflect the new life and new heart that Jesus gives us. This should play out in our marriages, how we parent, how we work, how we speak and in every other area of our lives. Our lives ought to be a mirror that is constantly pointing those around us to the beauty of God as we pour into the lives of others and make more disciples of Jesus!

In the New Testament book of Titus, Paul writes to his young friend & partner in ministry, whom he left on the island of Crete to help structure new churches there. As Paul paints the portrait of a healthy church for Titus, he starts by painting the picture of healthy leaders in the church. These elders are to be marked by lives that look like Jesus, they are to teach God’s Word rightly and also correct false teaching in order to protect the flock God has entrusted to them. This week Paul lays out the marks of false teachers and how the elders of a church family should respond to such destructive and toxic people within the church. We learn much about our own walks with Jesus in this portion of the letter, and how our lives should match our beliefs.

Through the month of October, we’ve talked about living on mission in our city and how we have a role to play in reaching the 45 million in slavery around the world, the 8 million children who die each year due to poverty and starvation and the 2.8 billion people who have never heard the good news about Jesus. We must go to these people and these places. But in going to them, we must not neglect the mission field God has placed right under our noses with our family, friends and neighbors. The home was designed by God to be our first mission field. Our children were given to us by God in order that we might introduce them to Jesus and teach them the joys of living life with and for Him. And yet, studies show we’re losing our kids at an alarming rate. Why is that and how can we stop the bleeding? We’ll unpack that today by diving into Ephesians and Deuteronomy to explore how God has designed the home to function as a mission field.

What does it mean to be a Christian? What distinguishes the life of a Jesus follower from the life of anyone else in this world? As believers, our lives should look an awful lot like the life of Jesus. In order for us to give our lives away to what Jesus is for, we have to look at why He came and what He was about. We get a really clear answer to those questions in Luke 4 as Jesus bursts onto the scene in His hometown synagogue and He launches His earthly ministry. We see that Jesus was all about good news for the poor, liberty for captives, sight for the blind and jubilee for all who would believe in Him. Those traits should mark our lives as His disciples, as we live our lives on mission caring for the poor, orphan, widow, abused and marginalized in our culture, while pointing them to their ultimate hope in Jesus.

The book of Titus is a fascinating little letter that is jam-packed with insightful truths that give us a portrait of a healthy church. The apostle Paul writes this letter to his protege, Titus, who is on the island of Crete helping organize these young and fledgling churches. Paul gives us several themes throughout this book as he paints a picture of what a healthy church should look like. Among these themes are godly leadership, sound doctrine and lives changed by belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This week we’ll look at why godly leadership is foundational to a healthy church, and how the qualifications for elders should be the goal for every follower of Jesus.

A lot of times we think that living “on mission” with God means getting on an airplane and going to some far-away place to be a missionary. Going to the nations is certainly a part of God’s mission, but living on mission is a part of everyday life for the follower of Jesus. Matthew records in amazing detail how Jesus lived His life every day on mission, and how He instructed His disciples to live on mission. The reality is that we can live on mission right where we live, work and play. With a little intentionality, we can turn our ordinary lives into amazingly powerful and exciting lives on mission with Jesus!

There is a Bridge - The Why of the Mission - Joe Dillon, Guest Teacher 10 07 18 by New Life of Asheville

This week we wrap up our DNA series on 5 of the distinct traits of the local church--the Bride of Jesus. We’ve unpacked local church membership, baptism, biblical preaching and fellowship. This week we’ll tackle a topic that may be the biggest elephant in the room in most American churches, the subject of biblical generosity. Jesus talked more about money than anything else outside of the Kingdom of God. Paul wrote very specific instructions to 1st century churches about their giving practices. In fact, generosity has been one of the marks of the follower of Jesus since the beginning of the movement. This week we’ll learn why we give as followers of Jesus, how we give and how much God expects us to give. As we learn to live generous lives, we learn to trust God in new and exciting ways that bring us great joy and God great glory!

Biblical Fellowship - Chris Dillon, Lead Pastor - 09.23.18 by New Life of Asheville