Sermon Video: "instruction in sound doctrine" - Titus 1:5-9

Following his greeting, Paul recounts the mission that he left with Titus when he departed the island of Crete: the appointing of elders in each of the churches.  In this passage, Paul interchangeably uses two Greek nouns when speaking about the leaders that Titus needs to appoint.  Paul's ambiguity has helped contribute to the arguments and fights that have erupted over how church leadership structure is constructed.  In this passage, however, the qualities needed by those to be appointed would apply to anyone and everyone in church leadership no matter whether he/she be called a pastor, elder, priest, vicar, preacher, bishop, rector, brother, reverend, or something else.  The overall task is the same regardless of the title, shepherding the Church of Jesus Christ.
The qualifications demanded by Paul are strict, he requires that candidates have a stable home life, that they have self-control, especially in interpersonal interactions, and that they exemplify Christ-likeness by living righteously.  It is indeed a daunting list for anyone contemplating entering the ministry, one that reminds us that this too is a task of grace by faith.  It is not supermen who will live up to this high calling, only Spirit-filled men.
Lastly, Paul speaks of the need to encourage with sound doctrine, and refute those who oppose it.  I've often found that too many preachers spend the bulk of their time attempting to refute false teachings outside of their own congregation and too little time encouraging the flock they've been entrusted with.  The basis of that sound doctrine is defined by Paul as the "trustworthy message as it has been taught".  The Gospel, plain and simple, following the example of the Apostles, no more no less.  When we, as ministers, stick to the hard to liberating truth of the Gospel, we will indeed by an encouragement to the people of God.

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Sermon Video

God answers the prayer of children too

On April 19th my wife was almost two weeks past her due date and not enjoying the "extra" time at the end of her pregnancy.  I asked her to come over to the church at 6 while I was teaching the AWANA lesson to our group of 20+ k-6th graders.  When Nicole arrived, I finished up the lesson and then asked her to sit in front of the kids.  Most of these kids know Nicole already, about half of them are from the church, and they were aware of her pregnancy and had been asking if the baby had arrived yet.  I asked the kids to come around Nicole, place their hands on her to pray with me for a speedy and healthy delivery.  We always prayed to end our lesson, and had often prayed for various family members or others in need that the kids had asked me to pray for, so this felt like a teachable moment to me as well as an opportunity to add a few more prayers to those already going up here and back home in Michigan on Nicole's behalf.
It was twelve hours later that Nicole went into labor, nine hours after that Clara Marie had entered the world safe and sound.  God is good, God answers prayer.  This confirms my theory that God hears the prayers of little ol' ladies first, kids second, and the rest of us are in line after that (I'm kidding, of course, but then again I'll gladly take a 70 year old grandma praying for me any day of the week).
The following week in AWANA, I had pictures of Clara, Nicole, and myself for the kids to look at on the PowerPoint, but I also wanted to thank the kids for their participation in the previous week's prayer and encourage them that prayers do get answered, so I asked all of the kids who had been in attendance the previous week (most of those present) to raise their hands, told them the baby had come 12 hours after they had prayed for just that, and gave them all a high five in turn.  God answers the prayers of children too.

Clara Marie Powell, born 4/20/15

Nicole, Clara, and myself at the hospital

The dedication of Clara Marie

On Sunday I was had the honor of dedicating my six day old daughter, Clara Marie.  Infant dedication is a formal acknowledgement of the role of the parents in teaching a child about the love of God, and the role of the local church in demonstrating and reinforcing our collective faith.  It was an emotional ceremony for me to perform, and a bit humorous one as well because I was making statements for the father of the child as the pastor of the church that I myself in turn had to respond to.  Trying to adjust the pronouns from "you" to "we, us" was a hoot as well.  My thanks to the people of First Baptist of Franklin, I know that they will be the extended family that Clara needs, and I trust that the mercy and grace of God will take the seeds of faith planted within her heart and cause them to grow as they have in my life and the life of my wife Nicole as well.

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Dedication ceremony for Clara Marie

Sermon Video: Reflections on her birth - various texts

This week's events necessitated a one week hiatus from our study of Titus because it marked the arrival of my daughter, Clara Marie.  My wife Nicole and I give thanks to God for her safe delivery and Nicole's health through the birthing process as well.  There were people praying from Pennsylvania to Michigan, all of whom have our gratitude.
This message focuses on three passages of Scripture that spoke to me as I pondered the experiences of the past week: Luke 13:34, which speaks of God's willingness to help people, but mankind's reluctance to accept it.  I thought of this verse as Nicole went through labor, for I could do nothing to take that pain away, nor nothing to help ease it beyond emotional support.  I wanted to help, and Nicole would have been glad to accept it, but I was powerless to do so.  God has the power to transform the life of each and every person on the planet, it is mankind's stubborn rebellion that holds the grace of God at bay.  The second passage, Hebrews 12:2 speaks of Jesus' ability to look beyond the agony of the cross to the glory that lay in his victory at the resurrection.  In a similar way, mothers going through the labor of childbirth take comfort in knowing that their trial and tribulation will result in new life, joy exists on the other side of pain.  The last passage, Ecclesiastes 11:5, speaks of the mystery of the wonder of human life, of God's amazing hand of creation that forms a distinct human being within the mother's womb.  Witnessing my daughter's birth, I felt the awe of God's creative power, of his ability to turn a biological process in a wondrous gift.

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Sermon Video: "resting on the hope of eternal life" - Titus 1:1-4

In this introductory message for an ongoing series that will cover the Apostle Paul's letter to his protege Titus, the background information concerning this book of the Bible is briefly explored prior to focusing on the greeting of Paul to Titus which speaks of Paul's role as a servant of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith, knowledge, truth, and godliness of God's elect which is predicated upon the hope of eternal life.  The certainty that Christian's can have, regarding life after death, is not based upon experience or logic, but rather rest wholly, and yet completely soundly, upon the character of God.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ proved the power of God to overcome death, but it is the faithfulness of God which gives us hope that his promises to us will certainly come true.  Christ walked the road from death to new life, we can trust his word that if we place our hope in him, we will follow in due time.  The implications of this truth are profound and varied for Christians, offering us perspective for life now and taking away the universal and ancient fear of death and replacing it with hope in the word of God.

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Sermon Video