Generally, each message is a part of a series, that deals with applying the Bible to real-life issues.  Don't worry if you've missed part of a series.  Each Sunday will work together with the other messages, or can stand alone to help you deal with the things life brings each day.

Timothy's Spirituality: Mind, Body and Spirit (May 1st, 2005)

Timothy: a young leader:  An emerging leader or emerging snot (May 8th, 2005)

Timothy: a gospel worker:  ADD attention!!  (May 15th, 2005)

where nobody stands alone

Timothy: the man and his family: interracial love (May 22nd, 2005)

don't live your life with the above attitudes, but find out how to live life fully through the following messages below.

Living life message series Everyday life aspects through a character study of timothy Today we will focus on Timothy’s Spirituality Thesis:  To maintain a complete and healthy spirituality mandates a balance of mind, body, and spirit. Epiphany DNA It is the dream of a place that cares so much about new families that it will go the distance. Families of all ages and sizes will connect with others that have been in their shoes.  It will be a place that offers relevant training to promote successful and joyful living in today's world. Today’s message will let us know a distance in which we must go to reach families for Christ. I. Exercise your way to godliness (body) a. Mature Christians exercise b. Timothy did not have best health (body) Percentage of American's who own running shoes but don't run: 87%  Charis Conn, Ed., What Counts: The Complete Harper's Index. Obesity Statistics (2001) http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/statistics-obesity.htm USA Obesity Rates Reach Epidemic Proportions • 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese • Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight • 78% of American's not meeting basic activity level recommendations • 25% completely Sedentary • 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990 Childhood Obesity Running Out of Control • 4% overweight 1982 | 16% overweight 1994 • 25% of all white children overweight 2001 • 33% African American and Hispanic children overweight 2001 • Hospital costs associated with childhood obesity rising from $35 Million (1979) to $127 Million (1999) Surge in Childhood Diabetes • Between 8% - 45% of newly diagnosed cases of childhood diabetes are type II, associated with obesity. c. 1 Timothy 5: 23 i. 23 No longer drink water exclusively, but use R210 a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. ii. He suffered from stomach troubles and other frequent bouts of illness d. 1 Timothy 4: 8, 5: 23 i. 4: 8 for bodily R148 discipline is only of little profit, but godliness R149 is profitable for all things, since it holds R150 promise for the present R151 life and also for the life to come. ii. Paul advised exercise and other precautions to protect health Timothy’s health. "Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness"   Edward Stanley quotes         "Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning."   Thomas Jefferson quotes  iii. When your mind just doesn’t think clearly, then exercise is the best way to clear out the cobwebs. iv. You may not understand it. v. There are a lot of things that I don’t understand 1. Illustration a. Guns and roses doesn’t have sheet music. vi. All joking aside. 1. My understanding does not build the essence of truth, for truth exists outside of my mind, waiting to be rescued from the grips of loneliness as if some damsel in distress. e. We are to physically exercise to maintain a complete spirituality for God. i. A retired couple decided that they should walk two miles a day to stay in shape. They chose to walk a mile out on a lonely country road so they would have no choice but to walk back. At the one-mile mark on their first venture, the man asked his wife, "Do you think you can make it back all right, or are you too tired?" "Oh, no," she said. "I'm not tired. I can make it fine." "Good," he replied. "I'll wait here. You go back, get the car and come get me."  Joyce Redding in Reader's Digest, February 1980. II. Cling to sound doctrine for godliness (mind) a. Timothy was commanded to oversee sound doctrine (mind)        "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."   Plato quotes b. It is not only important to do right thing, but we must believe, think and imagine rightly. i. Believe correctly 1. we must heartfelthy cling to the hope of Christ a. Philippians 1: 29 i. For to you it R58 has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer R59 for His sake, ii. Think correctly 1. we must adhere to sound doctrine a. Titus 1: 9 i. 9 holding R34 fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound R35 doctrine and to refute those who contradict. iii. Imagine correctly 1. Our minds must dream and dwell on godly things. 2. This means our future dreams must be godly and our daily state of mind must be godly a. Phillippians 4: 7, 8 b. 7 And the R181 peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, F56 will guard R182 your hearts and your minds R183 in Christ R184 Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever R185 is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, F57 whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell F58 on these things. c. Illustration A pastor I know, Stephey Belynskyj, starts each confirmation class with a jar full of beans. He asks his students to guess how many beans are in the jar, and on a big pad of paper writes down their estimates. Then, next to those estimates, he helps them make another list: Their favorite songs. When the lists are complete, he reveals the actual number of beans in the jar. The whole class looks over their guesses, to see which estimate was closest to being right. Belynskyj then turns to the list of favorite songs. "And which one of these is closest to being right?" he asks. The students protest that there is no "right answer"; a person's favorite song is purely a matter of taste.  Belynskyj, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Notre Dame asks, "When you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is that more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?" Always, Belynskyj says, from old as well as young, he gets the same answer: Choosing one's faith is more like choosing a favorite song.  When Belynskyj told me this, it took my breath away. "After they say that, do you confirm them?" I asked him. "Well," smiled Belynskyj, "First I try to argue them out of it."  Tim Stafford, Christianity Today, September 14, 1992, p. 36. d. Christian service was challenging and demanding for Timothy i. There were false teachers presenting subtle and superficially attractive alternatives to the Christian faith. ii. There were also the temptations of materialism and secularism 1. 1 Timothy 6: 9 – 10 a. 10 For the R232 love of money is a root of all sorts F58 of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered R233 away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But flee R234 from these things, you man R235 of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, R236 love, R237 perseverance F59 and gentleness. e. False teachers were active, spreading their dangerous view, i. 2 Timothy 4: 3 1. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires. f. and Timothy was called to oppose them i. 1 Timothy 1: 3 – 11 1. 3 As I urged you upon F1 my departure for Macedonia, R8 remain F2 on at Ephesus R9 so that you may instruct certain men not to teach R10 strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay F3 attention to myths R11 and endless genealogies, R12 which give rise to mere speculation R13 rather than furthering R14 the F4 administration of God which is by faith. 2. 5 But the goal of our instruction R15 F5 is love from R16 a pure heart and a good R17 conscience and a sincere faith. R18 6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless R19 discussion, 7 wanting R20 to be teachers R21 of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 8 But we know that the R22 Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law R23 is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, R24 for the ungodly R25 and sinners, for the unholy and profane, R26 for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and F6 immoral R27 F7 men and F6 homosexuals R28 and F6 kidnappers R29 and F6 liars R30 and F6 perjurers, R31 and whatever else is contrary to sound R32 teaching, 11 according to the R33 glorious gospel of the R34 blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. R35 ii. Paul calls out those that teach other doctrines 1. Those that do not agree that the Bible is the sole authority in all matters, being inerrant, infallible and inspired. 2. 1 Timothy 6: 3 – 4 a. If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicsions. ""I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.""   xtr19   John Wesley quotes ( evangelist, ) III. Be intimate with God (spirit) a. Paul commanded Timothy to live a close relationship with God (spirit) b. Paul insisted that Timothy’s personal relationship with God was a matter of the greatest importance both to his own life and to the effectiveness of his ministry. i. 1 Timothy 4: 16 ii. 16 Pay R165 close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure R166 F44 salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. c. Train himself in godliness i. 1 Timothy 4: 7 ii.  But have F40 nothing to do with worldly R145 fables R146 fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; d. We must desire this godliness. i. We must desire an intimate relationship with him. In the Antarctic summer of 1908-9, Sir Ernest Shackleton and three companions attempted to travel to the South Pole from their winter quarters. They set off with four ponies to help carry the load. Weeks later, their ponies dead, rations all but exhausted, they turned back toward their base, their goal not accomplished. Altogether, they trekked 127 days. On the return journey, as Shackleton records in The Heart of the Antarctic, the time was spent talking about food -- elaborate feasts, gourmet delights, sumptuous menus. As they staggered along, suffering from dysentery, not knowing whether they would survive, every waking hour was occupied with thoughts of eating. Jesus, who also knew the ravages of food deprivation, said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for RIGHTEOUSNESS." We can understand Shackleton's obsession with food, which offers a glimpse of the passion Jesus intends for our quest for righteousness. Source Unknown. e. this is the intensity in which we ought to have when we desire a relationship with Christ. IV. Invitation a. I am not talking about just walking an aisle b. I am not talking about saying one prayer c. I am not talking aobut doing great deeds. d. I am talking about having an intimate relationship with God. i. A relationship that is closer to you than any other relationship ii. The word believe is an ancient compounding of the verb “be” and the noun “life”.  To “believe” is to “be live” – to live your being, to turst your “being” to “life.”  The root meaning of “believe” as “credo” did not originally mean nodding in intellectual assent; it meant “to give my heart to” or “to hold dear” or “to love.” –

Living Life message Series Week 2:  Timothy:  a young leader:  An emerging leader or emerging snot Week 3: Timothy:  a gospel worker:  ADD attention! Week 4: Timothy:  The man and his family:  interracial love Title:  Timothy, a young leader:  An emerging leader or emerging snot thesis: Young leader - Paul believed that Timothy was one of the promising younger leaders in the emerging church who could be called upon to give significant leadership when it was needed. -1   What is an emerging leader? e•merge    1. To rise from or as if from immersion: Sea mammals must emerge periodically to breathe. 2. To come forth from obscurity: new leaders who may emerge. 3. To become evident: The truth emerged at the inquest. 4. To come into existence. See Synonyms at appear. lead•er    1. One that leads or guides. 2. One who is in charge or in command of others. 3. a. One who heads a political party or organization. b. One who has influence or power, especially of a political nature. -2   What is an emerging church? Church (Greek – ecclesia; Hebrew – Kahal) meaning simply an assembly (Acts 19: 32, 41) It denotes the whole body of the redeemed (Eph. 5:23, 25, 27, 29; Heb. 12:23). The interesting thing here is that Timothy was a young man, so Paul gave him this command (not option) 1 Timothy 4: 12 12 Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. "The Jewish people, ever since David slew Goliath, have never considered youth as a barrier to leadership." John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes (American 35th US president (1961-63), 1917-1963) Thesis applicable:  Ministry ought to be done not perfectly, but with excellence.  We give our boss at work great quality or we will get fired, should we not give God even better work? -1   this means not taking any of God's other children for granted so that you can slack, but be a fellow worker -2 this means we are to sincerely care about epiphany and what goes on in it, by ministering and sharing with others -3 this means we ought to be a person where our no is no and our yes is yes, we ought to be a person of respect, being a good representative of the church to the world. You may not want to do anything with excellence.  You ambition may want to lack, so you will suffer with this attitude until it changes:    Ambition 01 Or you may suffer with this attitude:  You may have a very negative view on life and achieving in it…    Underachievement 01 I. Do not take others for granted, for Timothy was a Fellow worker a. He was not someone that work against the goal that Paul had for himself. b. Illustration: i. A bus carrying only ugly people crashes into an oncoming truck and everyone inside dies. When they get to meet their maker, because of the grief they have experienced, He decides to grant them one wish each before they enter Heaven. They're all lined up, and God asks the first one what their wish is. "I want to be gorgeous." So God snaps His fingers, and it is done.  The second one in line hears this and says, "I want to be gorgeous too." Another snap of His fingers and the wish is granted. This goes on for a while with each one asking to be gorgeous but when God is halfway down the line, the last guy in the line starts laughing. When there are only ten people left, this guy is rolling on the floor, laughing his head off. Finally, God reaches this last guy and asks him what his wish will be.  The guy eventually calms down and says:            "Make 'em all ugly again." c. Paul considered him his fellow worker, because unlike this man at the end of the line, Timothy worked with Paul on the same mission. d. The main thought here is equality in leadership i. Romans 16: 21 1. Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen ii. The thought here is that because Timothy is a fellow worker, then he is trusted and worthy to do the job of the primary messenger:  Paul. 1. He is not just a replacement, but seen as someone equal. iii. It is hard for us to understand this because we live in a pastor centric area 1. Where the pastor has to do it all. 2. Thought - multiplying leadership a. The work of Springfield alone is to big for one. i. It must be accomplished by the many. ii. Every member is a minister. 1. as Christians we are not servants TO one another," but servants of God WITH one another (compare Php 3:17). iii. More of this thought will be seen at the Connect Groups this week as they ask the question…. 1. What is success?  Service is often unglamourous, like picking up trash that others have left.  For some of us, our natural reaction is that such jobs are beneath us.  For others of us, no act of service is beneath us because we've acquired Jesus' servant heart. iv. Epiphany DNA 1. It is the dream of a place that effectively engages the generational gap most often overlooked by the modern day church by being culturally relevant, innovative, and authentic.  This place will be one of the leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation, divorce care, and minister / leadership training centers in northern middle Tennessee. 2. How can we accomplish this vision? a. By sticking with the expectation that every member is a minister. e. He is not only a fellow worker, but a partner in gospel i. Paul valued such partnership in the gospel 1. 1 Corinthians 4: 17 a. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 2. Paul saw Timothy as identical a. Timothy, from his spiritual connection with Paul, as converted by him, was best suited to remind them of the apostle's walk and teaching (2Ti 3:10), f. You got a choice (show pics for both of following for each point) i. Follow a great leader   Micheal Jordan 01 He was great because he knew how to be a team player and to elevate the ability of his team.  He is the epitome of a fellow worker leader ii. Or live with this attitude Demotivation 01   - Don’t be a team player Blame 01   - don’t be a team player II. Sincerely care about what is going on with your church, for Timothy had a Genuine concern a. "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." i. Colin Powell quotes (Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93). At present, US Secretary of State, 1937) d. He paid tribute to Timothy, acknowledging his genuine concern for the Philippians in contrast to the self-centered attitudes of others ii. Phil 2: 20 - 21 1. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 1. 20. His reason for sending Timothy above all others: I have none so "like-minded," literally, "like-souled," with myself as is Timothy. Compare De 13:6, "Thy friend which is as thine own soul" (Ps 55:14). Paul's second self. h. Timothy, just like Paul, had a true concern for the people he was ministering to: 2. Illustration I Am the Door George Adam Smith, the 19th Century biblical scholar tells of traveling one day in the holy land and coming across a shepherd and his sheep. He fell into conversation with him and the man showed him the fold into which the sheep were led at night. It consisted of four walls, with a way in. Smith asked him, “This is where they go at night?” “Yes,” said the shepherd, “and when they are in there, they are perfectly safe.” “But there is no door,” said Smith. “I am the door,” said the shepherd. He was not a Christian man and wasn’t speaking in the language of the New Testament. He was speaking from an Arab shepherd’s viewpoint. Smith looked and him and asked, “What do you mean you are the door?” “When the light has gone,” said the shepherd, “and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door." A true leader has a true concern for those that he leads. e. You got a choice (show pics for both of following for each point) i. Follow a great leader   MLK 01 He was a great leader because he had a general concern for people that lead him to live a life beyond himself. ii. Or live with this attitude   Loneliness 01   Defeat 01 III. Be a good representative of the church to the world, for Timothy was a Man of respect a. A true leader does not wear any falsehoods, but is who he is. i. Illustration 1. Dirt bike is not my expertise, not do I know anything about it. 2. To say or act like I do would be wearing falsehoods. b. "The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes." Tony Blair quotes (British prime minister from the Labour Party, b. b.1953) c. An aspect of being respectable:  integrity. i. You must maintain good integrity ii. That means you must be a person whose beliefs and actions are identical d. Paul had the highest confidence in Timothy’s fine track record as a Christian worker "Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy." Norman Schwarzkopf quotes (U.S. Army officer who commanded Operation Desert Storm, b.1934) "The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office." Dwight David Eisenhower quotes (American 34th president (1953-61). 1890-1969) i. Timothy has proved himself 1. Philippians 2: 22 a. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father f. Paul clearly expected Christian people to respect young leaders like Timothy g. 1 Corinthians 16: 11b - 11 So let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren. h. i. You got a choice:  i. Follow a great leader   Jesus 01 Jesus was a man of respect not because he worked for respect but because he served everyone else the respect of love IV. Invitation j. Those that are faithful in the small things will be faithful in much. (Luke 16: 10) k. The reason why you don't get opportunity in life is that you are not being faithful in what you have. l. This is not only in the area of leadership and responsibility, but also in blessings. i. How can a perfect sinless God bless someone that is going to turn that blessing into something selfish or even something to be used as a license for immorality?

Living Life message series Next Week 4: Timothy:  The man and his family:  interracial love Timothy was called out to be a gospel worker:  2 Timothy 4: 1 - 4 (NAS) 1 I R163 solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge R164 the living and the dead, and by His appearing R165 and His kingdom: 2 preach the R166 word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, R167 rebuke, exhort, with great F31 patience R168 and instruction. 3 For the R169 time will come when they will not endure sound R170 doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will R171 turn away their ears from the truth and will R172 turn aside to myths. Title:  Timothy:  a gospel worker:  ADD attention! Being a generation with limited attention span, we must refocus. Thesis:  We have lost focus as the church of America and as the church of Epiphany.  I once used to listen to people coming to me telling me of the stories of the sharing of Christ's love that they were doing.  These stories are far and few between.  When was the last time that you personally shared the gospel with someone?  I am not asking if they accepted, but if you attempted.  That was Christ's last command for the church, and if they do not do it then they are looking for extinction.  It is as if we have caught ADD from the world and cannot keep our focus on the evangelical message of the gospel. You may say that well people don't ask or notice that I am living a Christian life Illustration: The young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, "I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The manager replied, "Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty." So it is with evangelism. Our lives should be so filled with Christ that they create a thirst for the Gospel.  Preaching, November-December 1985. If they don't notice that you are living a Christian life, then your life is not making them thirsty: Timothy is seen throughout Scripture as a gospel worker, and now we must focus on this character of the Bible in efforts to focus our daily life. Transition:  How to be a gospel worker:  Revealing (Telling), Relocating (Positioning), Responsibility I.   Revealing:  Tell others about Christ's love  -- We got to make them thirsty! a. Church word:  Evangelize others i. Napoleon once pointed to a map of China and said, "There lies a sleeping giant. If it ever wakes up, it will be unstoppable." Today the American church is a sleeping giant. Each Sunday, church pews are filled with members who are doing nothing with their faith except "keeping" it. b. Timothy worked with Paul and Silas (also called Silvanus) to bring the good news of Christ to Europe. i. 2 Corinthians 1: 19 19 For the R35 Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us--by me and Silvanus R36 and Timothy--was R37 not yes and no, but is yes in R38 Him. e. He sent Timothy from Athens 'to strengthen and encourage' all who he met Illustration: One Sunday evening, William Booth was walking in London with his son, Bramwell, who was then 12 or 13 years old. The father surprised the son by taking him into a saloon! The place was crowded with men and women, many of them bearing on their faces the marks of vice and crime; some were drunk. The fumes of alcohol and tobacco were poisonous. "Willie," Booth said to his son, "These are our people; these are the people I want you to live for and bring to Christ." Years later, Bramwell Booth wrote, "The impression never left me."  W. Wiersbe, The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 185. We have been left here in the world to impact everybody, not just those that look good smell good and act good. f. The purpose of timothy's  visit was to foster Christian faithfulness in the face of persecution and attacks from 'the tempter' i. 1 Thess. 3: 3 - 5 3 so that no one would be disturbed F34 by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we R99 have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and R100 F35 so it came to pass, as F36 you know. 5 For this reason, when R101 I could endure it no longer, I also sent R102 to find F37 out about your faith, for fear that the R103 tempter might have tempted you, and our R104 labor would be in vain. Timothy was there because he was a leader, not because of who he was, but because of what he was... ii. "Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes." Peter F. Drucker quotes (American educator and writer, b.1909) Timothy knew how to be a man of results, and that was through ssharing his faith. g. How do you tell others? i. Testimony of your life ii. Scripture memory iii. Bring them to an event that will tell them Evangelism (telling someone about how much Jesus loves them) is a matter of serving. Who are you going to serve:  you or them Small group blurb i. Serving Christ in others II. Positioning:  Position yourself in Christ's love - We got to make them thirst!! h. How do you do this? (2 ways) i. Follow and Support Leadership "Where there is no leadership the people fall, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14)" Bible quotes (The sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity.) 1. Paul seems to have been the chief leader and spokesman for the faith, but Silas and Timothy were certainly partners in mission and happy to work with him and under his leadership and direction Acts 19: 22 22 And having sent into Macedonia R1172 two of those R1173 who ministered to him, Timothy R1174 and Erastus, R1175 he himself stayed in Asia R1176 F429 for a while. So many people want the say so in a circumstance, and not wanting to follow good leadership. Everybody wants the power to run things without the responsibility That's why you have so many churches that have business meetings for everybody to fuss and fight about decisions and you truly only have about 10% of the church that will actually do it. They don't understand that church has never been a democracy it is a theocracy. How do we make this practical? Yes decisions are made by Scripture alone, but what about those everyday decisions? Painting, cutting grass, setting up? The giftedness of the individual not electedness grants the position of decision and action. That is why when you join epiphany, then you fill out a wired packet to find out you giftedness and personality. Some people need to shut their hole and know their role. Amber and Lucas work their butt off getting this set up every Sunday. No One has a right to say a word about it, unless you are involved in it. Why is this important? Because we do not know it all and need mentoring "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes (American 35th US president (1961-63), 1917-1963) ii. Being united 1. Testifying about others to the world - evangelistic testimonies/attitude The veteran missionary spoke affectionately of Timothy 1 Thess. 3: 2 2 and we sent Timothy, R98 our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, 2. He did not talk bad about a fellow brother, unlike the modern church. 3. Epiphany DNA a. It is the dream of a place that embraces the growth of the individual and the collective.  This is a place that will intently reproduce 12 small groups per year and one church plant per year for the purpose of creating more stations of growth and relationships for the individual and the collective. You cannot effectively grow if there is poison in the system. Hatred, gossip, bellitling, racism is all poison to the church system 4. How do you know when someone is gossiping or talking bad about someone … when they begin the conversation with such phrases as - "I don't mean to talk bad" or "I'm not talking bad or anything"  "I don't want to gossip, but…" This is an attitude that divides us.  Any form of participation will dictate guiltiness. And yet many of us would choose to be a church of the self, only worried about what is in it for me. Hey! You took my parking space at church > You Took My Place > One day, a man went to visit a church He got > there early, parked his car, and got out. Another car > pulled up near and the driver got out and said, "I always park there! > You took my place!" The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found > an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached > him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was > somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After > Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. > Another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit! > You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by this > treatment, but still He said nothing. > Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, > the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars > became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. > Someone from the congregation noticed him and > called out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, as his hat > became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye, "I took your > place." III. Responsibility:  Be Responsible with Christ's love - We got to make them thirsty!! i. Realize it i. In Paul's view, Timothy could be entrusted with responsible tasks and carry them out satisfactorily. 1. 1 Thess. 3: 7 - Timothy brought back encouraging news. ii. The modern day church needs more people that can be entrusted with responsibility. iii. The world and church has seen its share of people that drop the ball. iv. You are expected to take on responsibility for the kingdom of Christ 1. It makes a great difference in the life of a race, as it does in the life of an individual, whether the world expects much or little of that individual or of that race. - Booker T. Washington, The Intellectuals and the Boston Mob, 1911. j. Live it i. Christ calls out, commands out, and mandates responsible obedience. ii. But yet the workers are so few and the harvest is so great. It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction.  Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 162.

Living Life Message Series Video Clip:  Chapter 2 (0:04::45 – 0:05:10) – Citizen King The church has got to be a community that breaks down the walls of segregation. If we do it here at Epiphany then they will talk and it will happen there. Timothy:  The man and his family:  interracial love I. Love the interracial family a. Why? i. Because that is who we are. ii. The church is and ought to be the collective, not the individual. iii. The collective is many colors iv. Epiphany DNA It is the dream of a place that embraces racial and ethnic equality.  It’s essence will be the message and goal.  This church will not judge on the basis of skin color or place of origin, but will embrace everyone, by having interracial and multiethnicity equality within.  This place will be interracial and multiethnic in every aspect of its existence.  W. E. B. Du Bois once said that the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line. (The Souls of Black Folks, 1903) b. Timothy’s Mixed family c. Acts 16: 1 i. Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, d. Timothy’s Background i. Nationally and Racially Goulash 1. his mother was a ‘Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek’ 2. The only reason that this is made an issue is because of the spiritual life they bring to the family, not the color. 3. Timothy was never hated by Paul because he was born to an interracial couple, that’s racism a. The only thing Paul points out is the differences of spiritual life ( you have a believer vs. a non believer).  It wasn’t a black or white issue, Jew or Greek.  That didn’t matter b/c the Jew ought to be loved as much as the greek and vice versa i. Some people have hang ups on interracial relationships 1. Moses and Zipporah – never condemned in Scripture. ii. Spiritually Goulash 1. mother was a believer, father was an unbeliever. e. Despite the mixed family, Timothy was still a man of community i. He never snubs his dad, so we are to assume as a good minister he ministered to his dad’s spirit. ii. Timothy was  a man familiar with interracial community. 1. He understood Christianity as a relational community. f. The church is a countercultural community of discipleship, and this community is the primary addressee of God’s imperatives. i. The community, in its corperate life, is called to embody an alternative order that stands as a sign of God’s redemptive purposes in the world. 1. Timothy understood (as we should) that to love the church you will have to love interracial relationships. 2. The true church does not see color and should embrace all. II. Choose your allegiance a. He had a decision of allegiance b. We are a community  that are not strangers to family allegiance. i. We even brand ourselves with this thought: 1. "Other things may change us, but we start and end with family"  Anthony Brandt quotes c. "If you don't know [your family's] history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree"  santiz  Michael Crichton quotes (American writer, b.1942) d. He could have followed in his father’s footsteps e. Or f. He could have followed in his mother’s footsteps i. He learned faith at the knee of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice 1. 2 Timothy 1: 5 a. 5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 2. 3: 15 a. 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. g. We have a decision of allegiance today. i. We could follow the ways of the world or the ways of Christ. ii. Many pay lipservice to Christ and still actively live out the ways of the world. 1. James 3: 13: 18 a.  13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let R119 him show by his good R120 behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy R121 and selfish F57 ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the R122 truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from R123 above, but is earthly, R124 natural, R125 F58 demonic. R126 16 For where jealousy R127 and selfish F59 ambition exist, there F60 is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from R128 above is first pure, R129 then peaceable, R130 gentle, R131 reasonable, F61 full R132 of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, R133 without hypocrisy. R134 18 And the seed R135 F62 whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by F63 those who make peace. 2. James 4: 17 a. To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. b. Galatians 5: 13 i. 13 For you were called to freedom, R222 brethren; only R223 do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve R224 one another. iii. For Timothy his allegiance fell toward the love, peace and well being of Christ. iv. And since it did, Paul commanded him to connect with community III. Connect with the community a. Paul calls Timothy out to be family with a community b. "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."  Richard Bach quotes (American writer, author of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull', b.1936) c. d. For Timothy to be useful in Jewish evangelism and accepted as a Jew, it was expedient for Paul to circumcise him, for all the Jews ‘knew that his father was a Greek’ e. Acts 16: 3 i. 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. f. Although Timothy knew Christ and was ministering as a Christian it was necessary for him to take certain action of circumcision be part of the community. g. What is community? i. It is knowing others and being known. ii. It is relationships iii. It is family – Jesus describes the church as a family iv. It is being there for one another. v. Illustration 1. Lucas Donica understands community and the need to be actively part of it. 2. He is there for you in a heartbeat. a. With this in mind, I decided I needed to be there for him. b. He cashed in this past Friday. c. Community for me meant busting my knuckles, recieinvg metal shards as splinter and hauling wet oak boards to the top of a barn. h. Each one of us is called out to be an active part of community i. Those Christians that say that they don’t need church to be a Christian. ii. Those that don’t go b/c of a “good reason” iii. Those that are simply not an active part of a church (not dating many, but dedicated to one) are doubtfully Christians. 1. They are definelty disobedient and sinful in their ways. iv. You cannot claim Christianity without community 1. Jesus had community, Paul did and many others. 2. Because they knew Christianity without community is an oxymoron. a. The very essence of Christianity is 1 main relationship to be shared with all other relationships. b. A lot of times we miss that second part. i. What does it mean to be part of God’s community? i. A child of God grows 1. 2 Peter 3: 18 a. grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ii. A child of God reads God’s word 1. Psalm 119: 11 a. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. iii. A child of God prays 1. Praise and thank God for Himself and for His blessings, and pray for the needs of others. iv. A child of God participates 1. The NT speaks of “God’s household” (Eph. 2: 19) j. Today you may need to circumcise something to make this community possible. IV. Invitation a. What if you know someone that needs a family to love b. What if you know someone that doesn’t go to church c. What if you are this person d. What do you do? i. As soon as possible, join a church where the Bible is clearly preached. ii. Regularly attend the service. iii. Find some work to do for God in the church iv. There you will experience the love and protection of the Christian family you need. e. What is it in your life that you need to cut out to make it possible?