What good does the local church serve for its members and the larger community outside of the four walls? South Bay Bible Church, 578 Montauk Highway, East Moriches, is pleased to announce the start of The Faithful Church: How to Be the Church According to First Timothy on Sunday, September 15th, at 11:00 a.m. Join us in person or online at southbaychurchli.org/livestream, Facebook Live, or through our church app.
“The local church in this generation can learn to do more by doing less,” said Matt Horne, lead pastor. “The book of First Timothy reminds us of God’s original, simple design for the faith community.”
Whether you consider yourself a church person or not, you’re invited to join us for this ten-part series, The Faithful Church, as Pastor Matt reveals God’s basic requirements for our unique impact in the world.
1. Committed to the Gospel (1 Timothy 1:1-17) – September 15: The foundation of the church is the Gospel, or Good News, of Jesus Christ. It’s the message we preach and the very reason the church exists at all. The modern church has lost its hope in the simplicity of the gospel, but we know that we have nothing more important to say than this: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
2. Committed to Accountability (1 Timothy 1:18-20) – September 22: The secular world longs to see the church have more accountability. Unfortunately, most churches do not practice any kind of accountability. As a community of people who profess belief in the gospel, we must consider what the scriptures say about the process, motivations, and consequences of biblical accountability.
3. Committed to Prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-7) – September 29: Prayer is the driving force of the church, but not only for particular needs or people. God instructs the church to pray for all people, no matter their position in life, society, or the church. Why? So that those who pray and those who have been prayed for might be saved in the truth.
4. Committed to Mutual Submission (1 Timothy 2:8-15) – October 6: Throughout church history, several passages from the Bible have been used and abused for selfish gain. This is one of those passages, however; there can be beauty and goodness in its application when rightly understood. How can men and women work together in the church in their respective roles to the glory of God?
5. Committed to Respectable Leadership (1 Timothy 3:1-13) – October 13: Every group needs a leader. In the church, there should be several. Biblical church leadership is described as a plurality of people serving two distinct roles within the body. However, as the skepticism against church leadership increases by the day, it’s direly important that we look at the standards placed on us by God Himself.
6. Committed to Sound Doctrine (1 Timothy 3:14-4:5) – October 20: Every single day, there are Christians who are led astray by cultural ideologies and new teachings. It isn’t always due to persuasive celebrities or cult leaders. Sometimes it’s your best friend or coworker. Consider two questions then: What are the fundamental truths we believe? Why do we believe these truths?
7. Committed to Godliness (1 Timothy 4:6-16) – October 27: Other people’s perception of us is certainly not the most important thing, but it is somewhat important. This is primarily because the way we carry ourselves says something about what we believe about God, but also, because a good and godly example is more likely to persuade others to join us in believing. In our scripture, there are five specific areas that we can practice godly character.
8. Committed to Each Other (1 Timothy 5:1-16) – November 3: The church is often referred to as a “family,” and the central element of a family is mutual care. Christian believers should always seek to take care of their own, in how we speak to one another, as well as how we provide for those in need.
9. Committed to Authority (1 Timothy 5:17-6:2) – November 10: Some church structures have a wide-gapped hierarchy where the congregants and the leaders have no engagement with one another, but that is not how God designed it to be. Instead, the leaders of a local church should have relationships within their congregation, be taken care of by their congregation, and be held accountable by their congregation.
10. Committed to Stewardship (1 Timothy 6:3-21) – November 17: False teachers under the guise of “prosperity preaching” will deceive Christians around the world with the idea that being blessed is in attaining more for themselves when being blessed is actually in giving more away. God works through the church’s generosity to give life and peace, for both the giver and the receiver.