As ever, it was a great privilege to be able to speak at our church is lent meeting yesterday evening.
Over the course of Lent, we are thinking about Luke 15 in the three “lost “parables. I gave a brief message last night about the parable of the lost sheep and I share the recording below.
I heard someone talking about John 3:16 the other day, and wanted to share a few brief points from it. These are not theological in nature, but just some interesting quirks specifically to the English NIV translation… it’s more interesting than I’ve just made it sound! John 3:16 is arguably one of the most well…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2022/10/01/the-gospel-in-one-verse/
Sharing an older post today on the 10 Commandments. I hope you enjoy! 
Yesterday I wrote about one of the proverbs, and it was ultimately a post about stealing. You can read it here – It’s Not Really Stealing… I referred to one of the Ten Commandments which clearly tells us we should not steal. It got me thinking about the Commandments as a whole and so perhaps…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2020/05/01/the-ten-commandments/
Jonah 4:11 (NLT) But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” As I write this, I’m overlooking a sort of forest woodland. In the last few minutes I have seen an abundance of nature! I’ve seen ducks,…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2020/03/19/what-about-the-animals/
Sincere apologies that I have not had much time to write lately. In lieu of that, I share an older post with you today. This post was released in the height of the coronavirus pandemic but I hope it’s words are still very much relevant today. 
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2020/03/23/where-do-you-stand/
If you are familiar with the wonderful work of the Berry Bunch family, then you may already be aware of the brand-new website which launched on 1st February.
What you may not be aware of, is that things did not quite go according to plan… The Berry bunch, WordPress blog did not transfer over as expected, and unfortunately lost all of its subscribers!
This is a real shame! If you were a previous follower of the Berry bunch, then you can find the new look WordPress blog here:
If you were not a previous subscriber, then I strongly encourage you to become one today! Andy, Jo and the boys share a variety of materials designed to encourage you and your family in your walk with God.
There is much I could say about this wonderful family and their tremendous ministry, and there are few who truly follow Jesus, as faithfully as this family. I can honestly say they are an inspiration to me!
As well as the blog, you can find all of the materials on the brand-new website here:
Marriage is never easy, and couples starting out their journey together require much prayer. Are there couples in your church you could pray for today?
This Sunday at Church I want to encourage you to do the following: Pray for those who recently got married in your Church. Someone in our Tuesday …
I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.
5 I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.
Titus 1:4-5 NLT
Over a series of recent posts, I talked through some of the details of the first three verses in Paul’s letter to Titus. These next two verses give us a summary of precisely who Paul is writing to.
Paul states clearly that he is writing to Titus. Who is Titus exactly? Well, a person of this name is mentioned several times throughout the New Testament including in Galatians and 2 Corinthians. Some speculate that Titus may be another, more informal name for Timothy, and I wonder if the various references to Titus are all in fact the same person. Ultimately, we could discuss such points at length and although interesting, does not detract from the content of the letter itself.
Paul describes Titus, whomever he may be, as his true son in the faith. Not every son has to be biologically linked to us, and indeed, some of our closest family may be people who do not share the same bloodline. What unites Paul and Titus is their shared faith. They both follow Christ, and are children of God.
2 Corinthians 2 says:
But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him.
2 Corinthians 2:13 NLT
Here, if it is the same Titus, he is described as a dear brother rather than a true son. Some may point to some weak contradiction here, asking if he is brother or son? But this is a fruitless argument. Like Paul, we are united to our Christian brothers and sisters through our connection to Jesus. It matters not whether we describe them as parents, siblings or children, we are family.
The latter half of verse four gives one of Paul’s familiar greetings. He asks the Lord to bless his reader – Titus and by extension, us – with grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Christ. Again, it is all too easy to skim over these familiar words, but do let them sink in. We rejoice in God’s grace towards us, and no amount of money can purchase peace. If you do nothing else today, spend some time thinking about these two terms and meditating on their meaning.
May God the Father and Christ #Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace. Titus1:4b #Bible
Verse five tells us what Titus was doing on Crete, which is a Greek island if you are not aware. Paul and Titus clearly worked there for the Gospel, planting churches and making disciples. When Paul moved on to continue his missionary journeys, he left Titus behind to complete the work” and to “appoint elders in every town.”
I do not know if you have ever been involved in setting up a church? It is no easy task, and there is much to do and much help required from God and people. Paul’s role and calling, as we saw from the earlier part of this letter, was to proclaim faith to those God has chosen. While part of that call involved teaching, it is clear that Paul was not a pastor, and so not intended to stay with one single fellowship of believers. Titus remained behind to finish this work of setting up the churches of Crete, and a big part of this involved appointing elders.
A church building
In the verses that follow, we will look to understand what an elder is, and what qualifications or requirements there are for potential elders of the church.
Before I close, let us not forget that we all have a different calling. Paul was called to move on, and Titus to stay. Neither is superior to the other, they are just different. If I preach and write, I am no better than someone who plants a church, runs the church administration or even cleans the building. There is one body, but this body is made up of different parts. We need each other. Do not disdain your own calling – embrace it. If God is calling you to do x, y or z, then do it faithfully. Do not waste your time wishing you were the pastor, worship leader or anything else. Give your life to your calling, follow God and glorify Him in the way He has instructed you.
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of #Christ. 1Cor12:12 #Bible #Jesus
Are you called to be an elder? Or is God asking you to pray for your eldership or leadership team instead? Whatever God is asking of you, do it with all of your heart.
As always, it was an immense privilege to be able to share with God’s people at my church this weekend. I share below a recording of the message which I hope you enjoy.
A dove
Here is the text from Luke 3 for your reference:
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[a] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:15-22 NIV
John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire Luke3:16 #NIV #Bible
Another great suggestion to share with you this Sunday, and I really do encourage you to pray for any churches you know that do not have a pastor at the moment.
This Sunday at Church I want to encourage you to do the following: Pray for churches you know looking for a Pastor. In 2021 I was guest speaking at a…
Andy Brown 