Letters to a Young Pastor (1 Timothy 6)
You know what the “prosperity gospel” is, don’t you? You may have heard it in this form: “Whatever you conceive and believe, you can do.” It sounds great, right? Just dream—and if you want it enough, it can be yours. The problem is, it’s not true. In fact, it can be downright sinful. Paul urges Timothy to stay away from those who try to make money from preaching and have strayed from the sound teachings of the gospel. To them, religion is nothing more than a way to get rich. This attitude is detestable to God. The church exists to glorify God and to save souls with the message of Christ crucified. And it’s our duty to take this powerful message to the ends of the earth. 

Letters to a Young Pastor (1 Timothy)
As members of a Christian congregation, we are family. In chapter five, Paul reminds Timothy what that means. He urges the young pastor to treat everyone with respect—to treat older men and women as fathers and mothers, and younger men and women as brothers and sisters. Ministry is all about service; God has a ministry for every believer to perform. We need to apply that lesson to ourselves. What can I do to serve others in the Trinity family? Discussion begins in the Commons at 9:15. Coffee and snacks are provided.

Letters to a Young Pastor (1 Timothy)
As members of a Christian congregation, we are family. In chapter five, Paul reminds Timothy what that means. He urges the young pastor to treat everyone  with respect—to treat older men and women as fathers and mothers, and younger men and women as brothers and sisters. Ministry is all about service; God has a ministry for every believer to perform. We need to apply that lesson to ourselves. What can I do to serve others in the Trinity family? Discussion begins in the Commons at 9:15. Coffee and snacks are provided.

Letters to a Young Pastor

To be a leader in the church is a heavy responsibility. You are dealing with more than just money, property, and livelihood; you’re dealing with souls. We must keep that in mind as we seek to call a new pastor and principal to serve our congregation. The church belongs to God. Church leaders should be elected, chosen, or called not because they are popular, but because they are faithful to him. Everything else takes second place. A called worker must be willing to serve and sometimes to suffer. For all these reasons, not everyone is qualified to serve in the public ministry. So, what are the qualifications for ministry? This week, we look at 1 Timothy 3.

Letters to a Young Pastor
How do you organize a church? How do you manage its worship services, Bible classes, and leadership? How do you handle prayers for government officials when church members have differing political views? What about the roles of men and women? These questions may be difficult for us, but at least we have some precedent to go on. Imagine how difficult it must have been for a young pastor when the Christian church was still in its infancy. You want to lay a good foundation for the church you serve and do everything in the right way. But what if you start off on the wrong foot? Aiming off-course in the beginning can put you on a trajectory that leads far afield and undermines the gospel.

Letters to a Young Pastor

It’s an exciting time. Sometime—hopefully soon—we will be welcoming a new pastor. He’ll be coming in “fresh,” without any prior experience among us. Especially if he’s a young man, he’s going to need help and guidance. What kind of training and experience will our new pastor have? Where will his strengths and weaknesses lie? What kind of challenges can we expect him to face? What can we do to help? The apostle Paul wrote two letters to a young pastor named Timothy. Over the next few weeks, we will be studying them with an eye to the ministry of a brand-new pastor in our own church.

What does God say about suicide?
It’s difficult for Christians to talk about. What do you say to someone who has lost a loved one to suicide? It can be hard to find the right words, but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to say. “The elephant is in the room and we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist,” writes Prof. John Schuetze. “But then let’s allow the gospel to shine forth.” What causes a person to take their own life? What comfort does the gospel offer? We will reflect on how to speak with confidence and compassion.

Conflict in the Church?

The church is holy, bought by Christ’s blood and cleansed in the waters of Baptism. Yet the church is also messy, filled with sinners and scarred by sin. We love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind. And yet the sinful flesh remains, and sometimes we experience conflict—even in the church. How should we handle it? This week, we’ll take a close look at the first church- wide meeting called to resolve a conflict, the Jerusalem council (Acts 15). 

Questions Skeptics Ask

Hurting people need God. Your friend might be open to Christianity but has questions. Or you sit next to someone on an airplane who is questioning the existence of God. You’d like to think you’re ready to give an answer, but that’s easier said than done. It’s hard to know what to say when the question is, “Why would God allow this [fill in the blank] to happen to me?” How do you deal with questions like this? How do you address the underlying concerns? What can you say when you hear someone express their objections to the faith? We’ll take up questions like these and others in our Bible class this week. 

Does God Promise Never to Give Us More Than We Can Handle?
"God will never give you more than you can handle." Have you ever heard anyone say that? It sounds great. But there are times when that saying collides with reality.

We can't always handle our own troubles and tragedies. We can't always put an end to them or heal them or undo them. We can't always survive the loss or find the cure or fill the emptiness or dry the tear. God is good...and...he is love. Yet we still suffer heartache and pain.

So, how should we view the common saying, "God will never give you more than you can handle?" What does the Bible really say? And what does this mean--practically speaking--for our lives?