I am reposting this article about worship songs today. There are some wonderful songs out there, and tremendous hymns of praise. The point of the below is not to ruin that!
We need to give thought to our worship. And we should be careful about what songs we sing when it comes to worship. Not every song with a Christian label is good for us. I hope the below gives you some thought and make your worship be pure before God today. 
I’ve been thinking about worship songs recently. In particular, their content and origin. This began several months ago when singing the song “Christ is Enough for me…” It got me thinking… is Christ really enough? Of course He is, but what I mean is – is enough an adequate term to describe the One Who redeemed us?…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2019/02/25/christ-is-enough/
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.
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…
This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 2 This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. 3 And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him.
Titus 1:1-3 NLT
A sign sending you the right way
In yesterday’s post – A Slave of God – we thought about Paul’s opening words in the letter of Titus. Today we continue on that same line.
Paul identifies himself not only as a slave of God, but also as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is an apostle? There are a few different definitions actually, and the one most commonly used is to describe the group who first took the Christian message into the world. These were mainly the disciples of Christ, and of course, Paul himself. Many of them had seen the Risen Lord.
One definition I once heard is that apostle means “Sent One.” I like that, and it has always stuck with me. Hence the name of today’s post I suppose!
If Paul is indeed a “sent one,” then what has he been sent to do? The NLT translation makes it abundantly clear. He has been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen.
In many respects, all who minister in God’s Word are called to do this. Whether you write a blog, pastor a church or teach a small group, you are proclaiming faith to God’s people. A proclamation is a public announcement of some kind, and in this case, an announcement of the Good News of Jesus.
Sometimes when I sit and write a blog post, it is not easy. I read the Scripture, think about what God might want me to say and often tie myself in knots. Proclaiming faith is not complicated however, and nor should it be. It is not something that only top theologians can do, nor do you need a doctorate or ordination. I’m not against such things I hasten to add, but let us not disqualify ourselves from stating the simple truth of the Gospel to the world that desperately needs it.
If “apostle” means “sent one,” then where is God sending you? #Bible #Jesus #Christianity
I cannot gloss over the little note that Paul adds. He is proclaiming faith to those God has chosen. This touches on the theology of sovereignty, and makes us ask if it is God’s choice, does that remove our own freedom? You often hear people talk of “free will,” but you will not find that phrase in the Bible itself. While there are choices we can make, we must ask ourselves what really drives them. Without straying into philosophy here, what makes you decide to choose option A over B? If you lived a different life, experienced different things or happened to be born in another part of the world, would you still choose A over B? Hard to say…
The point is, when we are trapped in sin, we cannot choose God. As fallen and sinful creatures, there is nothing in us that wants anything of God. In order for us to be saved, He must choose us. Indeed, God did so before the foundation of the world. If we follow Christ, then we are the elect, and God has adopted us into His family. We can claim no credit for this, but instead rejoice in the truth that God did it all for us.
Is God sending you to proclaim faith to His people? That may not mean you boarding a plane and travelling to some far off land, as God’s chosen people might be just around the corner. If God sends you, then proclaim faith in your words and deeds. Do not say the words and fail to live the life.
Proclaim faith with your words and deeds. Do not preach the words and fail to live the life #Bible #Jesus #Christianity
This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 2 This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. 3 And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him.
Titus 1:1-3 NLT
Chains
Over the last couple of months, I have been thinking about the letter of Titus, and primarily focussing on the first chapter.
This letter is one of the pastoral epistles, and is written by Paul to a man named Titus. I need give you little more introduction than that, as I think the text itself is largely self-explanatory.
Paul, as is his custom, gives his name and then a brief description of himself. The first thing he says is “a slave of God.” It is all too easy to just skim over these words and move into the “meat” of the letter, yet we often miss important things if we do so.
This word “slave” is often translated as “servant” as it is more acceptable to our modern ears. Slavery, historically, was a dreadful thing and people treated as commodities in most cases. Paul is a servant indeed, but I wonder how he would feel about swapping out the word “slave” for “servant?” I suspect Paul might prefer the former. I would wager that Paul would be a glad slave of God.
If I had to be a slave, then I would gladly be the slave of our gracious God.
If I had to be a slave, then I would gladly be the slave of our gracious God. #Bible #Jesus #Christianity
As a slave, we live entirely to please our master. We surrender everything that we have, our freedoms, our privileges, our belongings, and all that we are, to the one in charge over us. To be enslaved to a sinful human master is terrifying and dreadful, but when we come under the Lordship of the unendingly good God of the Bible, there is little distinction between slavery and servanthood.
What price can be put on a human life? Slaves are purchased for but a few coins, as no amount of money can equate to the cost of a person’s freedom. God had indeed purchased us, but not in earthly currency, but in the shed blood of His Own Son – Jesus Christ.
God is without sin, and therefore neither under its curse nor liable for its penalty. He is perfect and holy. We cannot begin to fathom this, in our limited human state, tainted by sins effects. His purity exceeds ours by unimaginable degrees. I say all of this to remind us that if God is indeed that holy, then we cannot comprehend the cost of giving up His Son on our behalf. The price He paid for us is beyond reasonable, and is only explained by the magnitude of His love.
When we look at it like this, surrendering our lives to Him seems absolutely nothing in comparison. It makes me a willing slave, if that is not a contradiction.
What do slaves of God actually do? Earthly slaves prepare meals, clean house or clothes, and run errands for their master. Slaves to God are not required cook or clean, not for their Master at least, so what do they actually do?
This letter, at least in part, will help us answer that question. Paul gives instructions about what an elder or deacon should be like, and even if we are not called to such an office, we can still conduct ourselves in like manner.
Slaves of God put their Master’s needs ahead of their own #Bible #Jesus #Christianity
In conclusion, slaves of God put their Master’s needs and wants ahead of their own. Slaves do not gossip when their Master wants them to encourage. Slaves do not steal pens from work or surf the web all day, but instead work hard to please their Master and use their pay to give to the work of the Gospel. Slaves do not watch things they shouldn’t on TV, nor should they give in to the temptation of temper, bad language, pride or selfishness. Instead, they serve the Lord with gladness, devoting themselves to prayer and Bible study, and living a life distinctly different to the rest of the world.
Do we do this perfectly? I certainly do not! And I’m humbled by my own words. If you do, then let me know your secret…
Still, we strive on, pressing towards holiness in the strength of God, and we rely on Jesus to change us one day at a time into His likeness.
Slaves have no choice, and for the Christian truly transformed by encountering Jesus, they have little choice either. We cannot comprehend the depths of the Good News without surrendering all we have and are to our wonderful Father.
More on Titus in the days to come, and hopefully we’ll get to the end of verse one! Have a blessed day!
Andy Brown 