The Surprising Servant

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The Surprising Servant

The Lord's Day Morning July 4, 2004 I Timothy 1:12-14“The Surprising Servant” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to I Timothy, chapter one. We've been working our way through this book the last three weeks or so, and we come to I Timothy, chapter one, verse twelve today. I'd simply say, by way of preparation, that Paul has focused on the same themes throughout this letter so far. From the time he finished his salutation, in verses 1 and 2, he's been showing us what the gospel is and how it impacts Christian ministry. In verses 3 through 5, for instance, he tells you what the result is–what the goal is–of gospel ministry. In verses three through five, he reminds us that what we're aiming for as we teach the truth…

Joy at Walking in the Truth

The Lord's Day April 4, 2004 2 John 1-4 Joy at Walking in the Truth If you have your Bibles I'd invite you to turn with me to 2nd John. We've been looking for a few months at 1st John, and it's part of a larger study of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. And today we come to one of the two smallest books of the New Testament, the other being 3rd John. These are letters, letters from the Apostle John very possibly to the church in Ephesus where he pastored in the latter days of his life. Imagine it. This is a church that had been founded by Paul, pastored by Paul. Timothy had labored there. And now John, in the latter years of his life, had been the pastor. But this was a church that had seen some significant difficulties. Let's remember this is a beleaguered church. This is a…

Being Like God

The Epistles of John 1 John 1:5-7 Being Like God We’re continuing to work our way through this book and the two small letters of 2nd and 3rd John that follow it. The last time we were to together we said that John in this book shows us how the Christian life expresses itself doctrinally, relationally, and morally. That is, how it expresses itself in the truth that we believe, in the love that we show for one another in the Christian church, the commitment that we show to our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ as well as to those who are neighbors outside of the body of Christ, in the way that we live in accordance with God's precepts and commands. The Christian life manifests itself in these ways: it shows itself in these ways. And John makes that point in this book, but he…

The Christian Attitude/The Wordly Attitude

James 4:6-10The Christian Attitude/The Worldly Attitude If you have your bibles I invite you to turn with me to James chapter 4. Since James began to talk about heavenly wisdom towards the end of James chapter 3 he has been slowly turning our attention to the issue of worldliness. Worldliness is a tremendous challenge. It's always a challenge for the Christian church, when the church dwells in a peaceful and prosperous setting and is in some measure identified with, and admired by, and takes…

The Goal of Paul’s Mission

Romans 15:14-21 The Goal of Paul's Mission If you have your Bibles I'd invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 15 and to the 14th verse. We have now worked our way through a marvelous section of the book of Romans chapters 12 through 15 in which Paul spells out something of the Christian way of life. Last week we came to the end of that section and indeed the end of the main argument of the book of Romans, but we said even then that Paul had much more to say in the remainder of…

A Call to Humility and Service

Romans 12:3-8 A Call to Humility and Service If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 12, as we continue to work through this great passage together. Last week we looked at Romans 12 verses 1 and 2. In this passage Paul makes a grand declaration about Christian living and we've said this whole second section of the book, from chapter 12 through 15, is about living of the Christian life, the Christian way of life Paul is now speaking about, and he's…

A Warning Against Arrogance

A Warning Against Arrogance Romans 11:17-22 If you have your Bibles I'd invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 11 to the 17th verse as we continue to work our way through this great book. We are right in the thick of it now in one of the most difficult chapters in one of the most difficult sections of one of the most profound books of the Scriptures. Fear not, we are coming up for air soon. Next week we come to a chapter which is climatic in the declarations that it makes about…

A Hardening for Mercy’s Sake

Romans 11:11-16 A Hardening for Mercy's Sake This chapter has been the occasion of many disputes and interpretation over the matter of God's dealing with Israel and the end times. There would be some who come to this chapter and say that this chapter predicts that Israel will come together as a nation in the end time, that there will be an almost or complete conversion of Israel as a nation state to God and that there will be a reign of one thousand years of that nation state on earth…

God’s Purpose to Display His Mercy Against the…

God's Purpose to Display His Mercy Against Evil Romans 9:22-29 If you have your Bibles I'd invite you to turn with me to Romans 9. We come this morning with burdened hearts to the house of the Lord. It's not that there is just a national crisis; our own congregation has been touched in many ways. We have sons and daughter, and sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law, friends and colleagues who have been touched in different ways, the Wares, the Yandells, the Welborns, many others in the…

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