Audio Recording

Sermon Outline

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Imagining the Church

1 Timothy 3:14-16 (ESV)
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
    vindicated by the Spirit,
        seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
        taken up in glory.

Sermon Outline
The church, as a household (v15), is the family of God.

1. Church of The Living God (v15)

2. The Mystery of Godliness (v16)

3. How To Behave (v15)

Prayer of Confession
Our gracious heavenly Father, we are assembled before you, the living God.  With honesty and humility, we confess our sins.  We have not displayed the family likeness.  We have not followed the ways of Christ.  We have wandered and walked in the ways of the slanderer, the deceiver, the accuser, the liar, the murderer.  We have compromised the truth.  We have not acted with honor towards those in the household of faith, nor our neighbors.  Forgive us.  We thank you that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  In this family gathering, renew us, nourish us, cleanse us, lead us.  Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. In what ways is a church like a family?  Are there ways in which a church is not like a family? 

2. Why is the weekly pattern of assembling in the presence of the living God an essential part of the Christian life? (the word for “church”, ekklesia, also means an assembly)

3. How is a Sunday worship service like a family gathering? 

4. How do falsehood and deception bring ruin?  How do they turn people against God and one another?

5. How is God’s plan for all things held together in Christ?  What makes Jesus the way, the truth, and the life?

6. What can we do to keep focused on the things God has chosen to reveal?  What things can we do while there is still much we don’t understand?

7. Why is it important that Christians get clear on how they are to behave? 

8. What are some of the characteristics of the family of God?  What are some traits that all members of God’s household should have?