“I write so to you so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the support of the truth.” – 1 Tim. 3:14
Dear brothers and sisters,
As I have been preaching through 1 Timothy, it is giving me an opportunity to think deeply about the purpose and the relevance of this book for us today. The Ephesian church faced many problems. There were false teachers circulating false doctrines within the church (1 Tim. 1:3-20). There seems to be an attitude problem both with men and the women within the church, and possibly ‘dissensions’ among them (1 Tim. 2:8). Women were trying to divert the attention of the congregation from God to themselves with improper clothing and costly jewellery (1 Tim. 2:9). Some could have been trying to usurp authority over men by trying to preach and teach to the church (1 Tim. 2:12).
In the midst of all that was going on in the Ephesian Church, Paul was urging his co-worker Timothy to plug in and keep preaching and teaching the gospel (1 Tim. 4:6). For it is the proclamation and explanation of the great doctrines of the gospel that provides the remedy of any problem in the church. Unfortunately, we see many who tend to sort out problems in the church by addressing them specifically with pragmatic and worldly wisdom. So, studying through the book of 1 Timothy reinforced our belief that it is the preaching, explanation, and application of the Word of God that provides the solution to all the problems in the local church. Of course, I am not saying that there isn’t any place of pastoral counselling or discipleship, but ‘Expository Preaching’ has to be the main thing that a local church must do in order to nourish its flock to be faithful disciples in this world.
We are thankful to the Lord that our Saturday evangelism is rewarding, as a couple of women began attending our church service three weeks ago. One of them
Please continue to pray that the Lord would rise up the leaders within the church and for all the unconverted visitors that are attending our church on Sunday mornings.
Please pray for all the members of the church to be holy, dedicated, and self-sacrificing for the glory of God.
Please pray for a boy by the name Abhi who used to attend our church with his mom. He has a blood clot in his brain. Please pray for healing.
Please pray for Karthik. The guy who used to attend our fellowship, but he doesn’t anymore. He has had many problems. Pray that the Lord might save him before it is too late!
Thank you,
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Sandeep
