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Why We Need to be in The Church

January 1, 2017 Speaker: Gibson Largent Series: Single Sermons

Passage: Titus 1:5– 2:10

(the text of Titus is below) (This sermon reviews our membership covenant)

Ridgeline Members' Covenant:

i. Live for Jesus Christ and obediently follow Him.

ii. Walk and worship together as family; to be committed to each other; to love, accept, and forgive each other until death or God’s calling and leadership causes us to part.

iii. Help one another grow toward Christ-likeness by bearing one another’s burdens, encouraging one another, exhorting one another, praying for one another, confessing our sins to one another, speaking the truth in love to one another, admonishing one another, submitting to one another, serving one another, patiently bearing with one another, being hospitable to one another, greeting one another, living in peace with one another, regarding one another as more important than ourselves, caring for one another, exercising our spiritual gifts to serve one another, being kind and tenderhearted to one another, being devoted to one another, accepting one another, forgiving one another, loving one another.

iv. Invite one another to pray for us, teach us, correct us, or rebuke us, if necessary, in a spirit of gentleness and humility should we stray from our Lord’s commands, because the thing we desire most in life is to serve Christ faithfully. We voluntarily submit ourselves to one another and to the discipline of the church. Such discipline will always be for the loving purpose of restoration— restoration to fellowship with God and with the covenant community— and it will always be done in accordance with Matthew 18:15-22.

v. Bring honor to the body of Christ by maintaining a good testimony.

vi. Contribute to the healthy growth of this church by faithfully serving, giving, attending, and protecting the unity of the Body of Christ by refusing to gossip or be divisive in any way.

(This covenant is based largely on the “one another” passages found in the New Testament that describe how we should relate to others in the Body and Bride of Christ.)
Mark 9:50; John 13:14; John 13:34-35; John 15:12; 17; Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:10; Romans 12:16; Romans 14:13; Romans 15:5; 7; Romans 15:14; 1 Corinthians 12-13; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:13; Galatians 5:15; Galatians 5:26; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:1-3; Ephesians 4:32; Ephesians 5:18-21; Colossians 3:5-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:24-25; James 4:11; James 5:9; James 5:16; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 Peter 4:8-10; 1 Peter 5:5; 1 John 1:7; 1 John 3:11; 1 John 3:23; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 4:11-12; 2 John 1:5

Titus 1:5-2:10

[5] This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—[6] if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. [7] For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, [8] but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. [9] He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

[10] For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. [11] They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. [12] One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” [13] This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, [14] not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. [15] To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. [16] They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

[1] But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. [2] Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. [3] Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, [4] and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, [5] to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. [6] Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. [7] Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, [8] and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. [9] Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, [10] not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

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