Whether you are on the right or left, you may be offended by this sermon. That's because many of us tend to add the Bible to our political view rather than allow the Bible to form our view. This may prevent a proper understanding of this week's text.

If the church is to be a household where the gospel is illustrated, leaders in the church must act as the heads of this household. In 1 Timothy 4:6-16 leaders illustrate the gospel by being an example to their followers. To do this leaders must train in godliness like an athlete trains to achieve victory.

The church that Paul writes to in 1 Timothy was in a culture like ours, in that there were many gods and worldviews. In such an environment, what does it look like to live out Christianity? How do we illustrate the Gospel to the world around us?

Trust and leadership go together; before we will follow a leader, we need to know they are trustworthy. But how do we determine that? The early church had that same question.