Titus Bible Study Meeting 2 - Part 1

One of the topics of discussion of the second meeting was the phrase "manifested his word through preaching" which is found in Titus chapter 1 verse 3.  I pointed out the similarity of the discussion of the "Word" discussed in John 1:1-14 and how the Jesus is referred to as the "Word" and how the "Word" was manifest to the people living at that time when the "Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."  Paul says, however, in his day (and in our day for that matter) that the word is manifest to us through preaching.  May we continue to revere the Word of God, as the Truth of God, as the Message of God, as the Word of God revealed to us.

John Piper, the pastor for preaching and teaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN has just begun a sermon series, which if I understand correctly, will continue all the way through the book of John.  The first sermon in the series is titled "In the Beginning was the Word" and is available free of charge for download (video, audio and text) from his ministry's website.

Link to John Piper's recent message "In the Beginning was the Word"

I had the chance to listen to it this morning and I high recommend it.  Note: if you go to the link above you will also notice that there are links to the podcast versions of Piper's sermon audio and video as well.  If you subscribe to the podcast, you will automatically receive the download of the sermon just a few days after they have been preached.

Titus Bible Study Meeting 1 - Part 3

I recently had the opportunity to listen to a sermon entitled "The Common Faith" on the first four verses of Titus given by S. Lewis Johnson.  Dr. Johnson was considered by many to be one of the preeminent expository preachers of the 20th century.  He was also a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary for many years and was also a visiting teacher and lecturer at many other schools.  He was also a major influence on both Dr. Steven Lawson and Dr. John MacArthur.  Many of his sermons, which he delivered at the Believer's Chapel in Dallas, are available for download.  Included in the body of available sermons is a short, 7 message series on the book of Titus.  I have only listened to the first one so far.  It covered the first four verses, which is where our  Friday morning study is right now.  If you have the time, about 45 minutes, it is definitely worth the investment of your time.  

Link to "The Common Faith" on the S. Lewis Johnson Institute's website

I will try to make a biographical article on Dr. Johnson at a later date.

Titus Bible Study Meeting 1 - Part 2

Continuing where we left off yesterday, another answer to the question that we posted last time, "What does this passage say about God?", follows:

• We saw, as it reads in verse 2, that "God cannot lie."  We spent some time discussing this statement.  We found great comfort in it, for, if it were not true, and God could lie, then we would have great cause for questioning His promises, His Word, and even His character.  In the phrase "God cannot lie", we have a higher truth the phrase "God doesn't lie."  If Paul had written in verse 2 that God doesn't lie, he would have left open the possibility that God could lie, but chooses not to.  However, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote "God cannot lie."  This phrase is much stronger, it leaves no room for the possibility of God lying.  To do so would be out of His character, and He can do nothing that violates His character.  

The difference between "doesn't" and "cannot" is significant.  It is the difference between "inerrant" and "infallible."  Praise to the Lord that He is not only inerrant, but infallible.  For more on inspiration, infallibility and inerrancy, see R.C. Sproul's message of the same name in his series "Hath God Said?".  As of the date of this blog article, you could go to the home page of Ligonier.org, click on the video tab of the resource center in the middle of the page and scroll down to 8/11/08 and watch (or listen) to the message mentioned earlier at no charge. 

Titus Bible Study Meeting 1 - Part 1

It was good to see everyone who came to Ken's house this morning to study the Word of God and to focus specifically on the book of Titus.  

We started off basically looking at the first four verses of the book and asking the question "What does it say about God?" One way we answered that question follows:

• We saw that both God (vs.3) and Jesus (vs.4) are called "our savior."  There is an equality present here.  In referring to both God and Jesus as "our savior", Paul is equating them. Jesus is God.  Many times people separate the roles of the three members of the Trinity into specific categories.  Probably most often thinking of the category or role of "Savior" specifically with respect to Jesus.  Paul, however, writes that all three members of the Trinity have a role as Savior.  God is called "Savior" in 1:3, 2:10 and 3:4. Jesus is called "Savior" in 1:4, 2:13 and 3:6.  Part of the the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit's role in salvation is seen in 3:5 where it says we were saved "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (KJV).  So, it is good to note that all of the members of the Godhead play a role in the individual's salvation.  
  

We should remember not to so categorize any member of the Trinity so as to exclude them from any attribute rightly due them.  

Please use the comments area to fill out our understanding of this part of our discussion this morning. 

In subsequent posts, we will add other points of our discussion to help us further remember and study for our next meeting which will be on September 19, 2008--6:00 am, again at Ken's home.

Titus Overview Sermon

Mark Dever, the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, has preached an overview sermon on every book of the Bible.  His church is in the process of making all of these sermons available for people to download.  The sermon on our Bible study topic, Titus, is one of the sermons that is already available to download.  It is titled "Beginnings: The Message of Titus."  The sermon is about 65 minutes in length, so it is a bit of a commitment to listen to it, but it is well worth your while.  

Beginnings: The Message of Titus link

If you get the chance to listen to it, go ahead and post your impressions of the sermon as comments to this article.

Becoming Familiar

It is a good idea to become familiar with a text of the Bible at a high level before beginning a close study of it.  The goal of this familiarization is to get a "forest" level understanding prior to examining each grove of trees or even each individual tree.  The most basic way of getting this sort of understanding is to read the section of the Bible over and over again. 

As we are beginning a study of the book of Titus, I would encourage you to read over the whole book, which is only three chapters long, each day leading up to the first meeting this coming Friday morning Sept. 12, 2008.  Doing so will give you an overview understanding of the book and will help down the road when we look at the text a little closer to aid in preventing taking the apostle Paul's writing out of context.  

New SPBC Men's Weekly Bible Study

This is an introductory announcement for a new weekly Bible study that all the men of Stansbury Park Baptist Church are invited to attend.  The study will be centered on the seventeenth book of the New Testament, Paul's epistle to Titus.  The initial meetings will be held in the home of Ken Blinn, with the location rotating between attending men each month.  The meetings will be every Friday morning starting at 6:00 am and going for one hour.  

Please see Ken Blinn, Jeff Wainwright, or Dave Teague if you have any other questions at this time.

Jehovah-Is Her Glory

Sermon Outline - May 13, 2007 - Pastor Scott Stout

Jehovah-Is Her Glory

Hebrews 11:23

I. The Character of Jochebed

Exodus 2:1

Exodus 3:6a "Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father..."

Proverbs 31:28-30

II. The Confidence of Jochebed

Exodus 1:7-11, 15-17

Exodus 2:1-4

Exodus 2:2 "...when she saw him that he was a goodly child..."

Exodus 2:5-10

Proverbs 22:6

III. The Contribution of Jochebed

Exodus 2:10

Acts 7:20-23

Hebrews 11:24-27

Acts 3:19-23

Habit #5: Spiritually Happy Men Tithe

I'm not sure if we will be going on to Habit #5, "Spiritually Happy Men Tithe" this coming Sunday, May 13th or not. I thought though I'd go ahead and get the links up on the blog so they are available should you have time to review the material ahead of time. There are video and audio (both streaming and downloadable) versions of the official "Man In The Mirror" presentations available for Habit #5 here. If you have about 35 minutes or so head on over and check them out. A downloadable "listeners outline" can be found here.

The Role of the Lay Person in the Church

I recently read an article on a blog I monitor that ties in nicely with the 4th Habit of Spiritually Men, namely, Spiritually Happy men are involved in a church. The blog is Pulpit Magazine. This particular post was made from material written by John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in souther California. In the April 23rd article he writes:

...Something is seriously wrong in a church where the staff does all the “ministry” and people are made to feel comfortable as mere observers. One of the pastor’s main duties is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12). Every believer is called to be a minister of some sort, with each of us using the unique gifts given us by God for the edification of the whole church (Rom. 12:6-8)...

If you have the time read through the whole article and bring your comments to church with you on Sunday.

Learning to Lean

Sermon Outline - April 29, 2007 - Pastor Scott Stout

Learning to Lean

Hebrews 11:21

Learning to Lean

Matthew 5:23-24

I. The Woe

Genesis 31:3

Genesis 32:3-8

Genesis 32:13-20

II. The Wrestling

Genesis 32:24-31

Genesis 32:25

Genesis 32:26

Genesis 32:27

Psalms 51:17

III. The Worship

Genesis 32:28-29, Genesis 33:1-4

Hebrews 11:21

I Corinthians 11:31

Habit #4: Spiritually Happy Men Are Active in a Church

The Bible Study class was to begin Habit #4 in our series, the "Six Habits of Spiritually Happy Men." However, the attendance was down and so consequently, we spent the hour discussing a topic that came up briefly in the April 22th class, namely, where was Adam when Eve was being tempted. Both Dan and I had done some research during the past week to see if the answer to that question could be determined from scripture. It was an interesting discussion and I, for one, am not done studying it out.

God willing, we will get into Habit #4 this coming week, May 6. There are video and audio (both streaming and downloadable) versions of the official "Man In The Mirror" presentations available for Habit #4 here. If you have about 35 minutes or so head on over and check them out. A downloadable "listeners outline" can be found here.

Alienation to Adoption

Sermon Outline from April 22, 2007 - Pastor Scott Stout

Alienation to Adoption

Hebrews 11:21

Galatians 6:10 NIV

Genesis 17:8

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali,

Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin

I. Alienated

Genesis 48:1-5a (5a being,"And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt.)

Ephesians 2:2-3

Psalms 51:5 HCSB

II. Adoption

Genesis 48:5

Genesis 48:5 AMP

John 1:12 NASB

Ephesians 1:5

Romans 8:14-17

III. Assurance

Genesis 48:21

I Peter 1:3-5

Small Groups - Part 3

-Remember The Big Idea of this habit- The Holy Spirit has more options to help you when you are part of a small group.

Pat Morley's final point in his presentation for Habit #3, "Spiritually happy men are in a small group," in his series the "Six Habits of Spiritually Happy Men" asks the question-What are some ways to make the most of your small group?

The notes that I took while I listened to the presentation follow:
3. Make the most of your small group.
What would you do in a small group?
1. Outreach
2. Pray
3. Accountability - man in the mirror weekly check up card. (apparently this is a free resource that is available by calling the offices of Man In The Mirror.)
4. Encourage one another.
5. Counseling one another.
6. Fellowship.
7. Mentor one another.
8. Participate in a common challenge like "praying with your wife."
9. Bible Study.
10. Book Study
11. Group discussions.
12 Some combination of the above.

There is not one best way to do a small group. The best way to do a small group is to do a small group. (This reminds me of a great quote I once heard "The best way to make sure you finish something is to begin.)
The real benefit of the small group is really the by-product of being together. That is you become brothers. There are many resources available at Man in the Mirror->Search term "Small group"-> Search Results.

What about you as a participant? What can you do to make the most of your small group?
1. Show up, participate, not to be on the fringe.
2. A willingness to be personally vulnerable.
3. Be forthcoming. This comes with a covenant of confidentiality, and there must be trust...this comes over time.

Small Groups - Part 2

Continuing on where we left off in Pat Morley's presentation of the third "Habit of Spiritually Happy Men", we find ourselves searching for things that a small group can do. Here Pat Morley references three passages of the Bible to bring out six things that small groups can do for you.

2. What a small group can do:
-Hebrews 10:24 - and following...
a. It can give you someone to spur you on. It can inspire you.
b. It can give you someone to encourage you.
Galatians 6:1 - and following...
c. Carry each other's burdens.
d. Restore one another.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 - and following...
e.Give you someone to pick you up when you fall down.
f. Give you someone to give you strength for the battle.

Pat Morley points out that these things are part of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. He ties this work in to the big idea of this presentation which is the Holy Spirit has more options in the life of a believer when they are in a small group. When you are on your own you are a little more vulnerable then when you are part of a small group. You've got some guys watching your back.

To illustrate this point in the presentation, Morley called four guys up to the front of the room. He had them standing next to each other in a line. Then he pushed on the first one of them. Instinctively, the others supported the first, but not before he moved a bit. Next he had the four men lock arms in a circle facing each other. He then pushed on the first again. Automatically, the others helped the first and there was little movement of the first person. Finally, Morley had the men lock arms in a circle, facing out. Again he pushed on the first and there was little movement because there was lots of support from the rest of the group--and because they were facing out, they could prepare for what was coming.

Morley suggested reading "A Look in the Mirror" issue number 94 for ideas on how to lead a weekly small group study. Jesus used a small group to generate momentum. Jesus knew that most meaningful change takes place in the context of small group relationships. men sharpening men with truth, encouraging each other for the daily battle and sticking with each other over the long haul. Even secularists understand the value of small group. "never doubt the power of a small group to change the world," one commentator said, "That's about the only way it has ever happened." But the main method of Jesus has fallen into disuse. The next post will be about the third item in Morley's presentation--How to make the most of your small group.

Small Groups - Part 1

I had the opportunity to watch the video presentation of the Habit #3 in our series the Six Habits of Spiritually Happy Men, namely "Spiritually Happy Men are in Small Groups", last night. The following is a brief outline of the presentation with notes on the first point. Notes on the other points will come in subsequent posts.

Spiritually Happy Men are in Small Groups

1. Why men need small groups.
2. What a small group can do.
3. Make the most of your small group.

Regarding point number one above: Why men need small groups. Pat Morley answers the question with a short and to-the-point answer-"Because you need a small group." He goes on for much of the rest of the presentation to support that short statement. Also, the Big Idea of this habit is presented with respect to why men need small groups. The Big Idea is:

"The Holy Spirit has more options to help you when you are part of a small group."

Regarding this point about the work of the Holy Spirit, Morley asks for patience on the part of the listener as he defends this supposition for the rest of his presentation. The next post on this topic will highlight ways that the Holy Spirit can use small groups in the life of the believer.

Why is reading the Bible So Valuable? - Part 5

One more article on this subject. I recently read and listened to the following article by John Piper. It is relevant to this topic. I would be very interested to read your comments after you read or listen to this article excerpted below:

"The Morning I Heard the Voice of God" by John Piper

Let me tell you about a most wonderful experience I had early Monday morning, March 19, 2007, a little after six o’clock. God actually spoke to me. There is no doubt that it was God. I heard the words in my head just as clearly as when a memory of a conversation passes across your consciousness. The words were in English, but they had about them an absolutely self-authenticating ring of truth. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God still speaks today...

Why is reading the Bible So Valuable? - Part 4

This past Sunday, during the men's first hour study, I turned the discussion back a couple of weeks to cover a little more about the first of the "Six Habits of spiritually happy men", namely spiritually happy men read their Bible regularly. I read a bit from a rather long sermon given by a 19th century preacher on this subject, J.C. Ryle. I mentioned that I would put a link on the blog to the full text of the sermon:
Bible-Reading by J.C. Ryle
The link above points to the great website: The Bible Bulletin Board. I have written about this site in a previous post and there is a link provided for you over on the sidebar on the right.

Habit #3: Spiritually Happy Men Are In A Small Group - Part 2

The following material was prepared by Allan Trigg for distribution last Sunday morning, April 14, 2007. Allan wanted everyone to read over the material and come ready to discuss it next Sunday.

HABIT 3: MEN ARE IN A SMALL GROUP

Bible Verses: Hebrews 10: 24-25, Galatians 6:1-10, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Focus Questions: Why small groups? What can a small group do? How do you make the most of your small group?

Why meet in a small group? What are some advantages? What can small groups accomplish that large groups cannot?

-Jesus used small group dynamics and one-on-one methods to change lives.

-Hebrews 10: 24-25: What do these verses tell us about meeting together and what can result as we meet? Meet to encourage, meet to exhort, meet to fellowship, and meet to encourage outreach.

Read Galatians 6:1-10: How can a small group work in these verses? What do we see happening in verse 1, and how can a small group work in this scenario? What do we see happening in verse 2 and how a small group can work well here? Verse 10 talks about another opportunity that we have working together as men. What is that opportunity?

Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: What do these verses tell us about what a small group can do vs. and individual? What can a small group do when a fellow brother fails?

Accountability, Trust, Responsibility, Confidentiality: These 4 attributes are very important in the success or failure of a small group. Discuss how these attributes can be developed and used positively in a small group setting.

FOR DISCUSSION NEXT WEEK: We will discuss an make a working model of a dynamic, positive, active, Biblically based, spiritually grounded small group. We will use your small group experiences as to what has worked, what hasn’t and other scriptural directives there are.

Albert Barnes (1798-1870)

Having previously introduced Albert Barnes in a prior article, I figured it would be nice to add some biographical information to this blog. As noted at Wikipedia,

Barnes was an American theologian, born at Rome, New York, on the December 1, 1798. He graduated at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1820, and at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1823. Barnes was ordained as a Presbyterian minister by the presbytery of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in 1825, and was the pastor successively of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey (1825–1830), and of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia (1830–1867).

Other Barnes resources that I found after a quick search on Google follow:

• Brief biography at SwordSearcher.com
• Brief biography at FamousAmericans.com
• Works by Albert Barnes at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library