We're reading from two passages today.
So the first one is Acts chapter 6, verses 1 to 7.
Now in these days, when the disciples were increasing in number,
a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews
because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said,
it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute,
full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
And what they said pleased the whole gathering,
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,
and Philip of Prochorus and Nicanor, and Timon of Parmenas,
and Nicolaus of the proselyte of Antioch.
These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
And the word of God continued to increase,
and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem,
and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
And then we're moving to 1 Timothy, chapter 3, verses 8 to 16.
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,
not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.
They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience,
and let them also be tested first,
then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.
Their wives likewise must be dignified,
not slanderers but sober-minded, faithful in all things.
Let deacons each be the husband of one wife,
managing their children and their own households well.
For those who serve well as deacons gain good standing for themselves,
and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you
so that 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.
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.
I see a few strangers in the second row.
Welcome, Corderwoods.
Great to have you with us.
Will you pray with me?
My name's Dave.
I'm one of the pastors here.
If you're new this morning, it's great that you're here,
and I'd love to meet you after the service.
Why don't we pray as we come to God's word?
Let's pray.
Father, as we come to a topic about authority,
since the fall, each of us have a reaction against any authority above us.
And so I pray that your word would breathe more life into us
so that we might see the beauty of your authority
and reflect that beauty in how we operate as a church.
So I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, blessed are the cheesemakers.
Some people, if Andrew Jones is here, it's good news for you.
He's a cheesemaker.
Now, those who know that's a Monty Python quote,
and I was watching a Monty Python interview,
and many of the cast were saying that they were influenced by the goons,
which that's before my time, but a radio show.
And I found it interesting that what each of the members of Monty Python
were attracted to in the goons,
one thing especially was that they poked fun at authority,
which was very new for the time.
Now, poking fun at authority is pretty common now, isn't it?
And Monty Python, like that quote,
they're willing to poke fun at Christ.
They pushed it to another level.
Watching that, it just bursts any notion that troubles with submitting to authority,
it's not new in our age, is it?
It's always been around.
But there seems to be widespread suspicion, right, don't you find,
of any authority unless you're the one in it?
There's suspicion of any authority above us.
So we're going to be spending time this morning looking at the topic of deacons
and who are those whom God calls us to identify and gladly submit to.
This is an area where we're called to be different from the world,
to be a light to the world, a winsome light
in who is in authority and in submitting to authority.
Now, I briefly want to clarify why are we pausing Acts
to look at 1 Timothy 3?
Why are we stopping our series in Acts?
Well, we're not quite stopping.
We're pausing and going deeper into the passage from last week.
There's three main reasons.
First is that the elders believe it is a priority to expand the diaconate soon.
Paul and Alex have been deacons for 10 years, faithfully now,
and we just think it would be wise to expand that team
to be able to achieve more.
Paul and Alex can't carry it all on their own,
so we think it would be a wise thing to do.
The second reason we want to pause and look at this
is we're about to distribute the Constitution,
and that's all about how the church is going to be structured.
And a significant section of that is on leaders,
so it seems worthwhile pausing to prepare for that as well.
And the third reason is to demonstrate how we can,
in the book of Acts,
we can glean implications that we are to follow today.
I said last week that talking about deacons isn't Luke's primary purpose.
That wasn't his purpose, primary purpose,
but it seems probable that he gave us these details,
some of which we should be following the example of the early church.
So that's why we do it.
We want to expand the diaconate.
We're about to look at the Constitution of the church family,
and we need principles to govern us to understand Acts properly.
So for those reasons, we're looking at 1 Timothy 3.
So in Acts 6, they appoint something that looked like deacons,
even though they aren't given the title of deacons.
And the reason we saw was to address disunity in the church,
that there was a difference in how people were relating to one another
that wasn't reflecting who we really are in Jesus.
But they did it in such a way that it didn't distract them
from the teaching and proclamation of the word.
Now, what out of that story should we be following today?
How do we decide that?
Is the number seven important?
Is the fact we've got only two deacons a problem?
Is seven necessary?
Should they be men?
Is their function to provide food to those in need,
or as a general principle, to look after the needy, the vulnerable,
widows and orphans?
Who decides who to appoint deacons?
Is it the leaders, the successors of the apostles,
or is it the whole church deciding equally?
You start asking questions, and there's way more questions than that,
and you get into how do you even decide what we should learn?
So here's an important principle for interpreting scripture.
So use the clear to interpret the less clear.
Use the explicit commands in the New Testament to interpret the narrative,
which is only implied.
So use the explicit to interpret the narrative.
So that's why we're going to 1 Timothy 3,
because the purpose of it is to talk directly about deacons.
Now, as we come into 1 Timothy 3,
where we're headed is we're going to look at what is the church,
we're going to look at who should lead the church,
and then we're going to look at what is the truth
that the church is called to reflect and defend and proclaim.
What was happening in the church at the time, in Timothy's time,
is in chapter 1 verse 3, there's very capable people,
very religious people in the church who are spreading false teaching.
It was there from day one,
and unbelief and false teaching is around today.
It's constant.
It's a constant threat on the church.
So that's the context here.
So if you've got these really capable religious people
saying things that are wrong,
how on earth do you discern who's godly or not?
Who do you appoint as leaders if they seem so religious?
It's a hard question.
That's the point of 1 Timothy 3, to answer that.
But I want to start with Paul's purpose statement
in verse 15 of chapter 3.
If you've got it open in front of you.
He gives us why he's writing this letter.
He's saying, Timothy, I may be delayed in coming to you,
so I'm writing so that you know how you should conduct yourself
in the household of God.
Now what is the church?
It's the household of God.
It's the assembly of the living God.
It's the pillar and foundation of the truth.
What you and I think church is will have the biggest impact
on how we engage with church,
whether that's pleasing to God or not,
is who we think we are and what we're doing.
That's the biggest thing.
This isn't just necessary context.
This is essential.
We understand this.
That we are the household of God,
the assembly of the living God,
and we're the pillar and foundation of the truth.
So I want to spend a bit of time on this.
So Grace Evangelical Church,
we're not a religious service provider.
For people to shop around for the best product,
that's not what we are.
We're not a volunteer organisation
uniting for a common purpose.
There's elements of similarity,
but it's not who we are.
We're a local gathering of God's household,
his family,
a local gathering of it.
We're not the totality of it,
but we are a real local gathering of God's family.
We speak in church land of pastor so-and-so's church.
I get why we talk like that,
but it's wrong.
It's not pastor so-and-so's church.
It's God's church.
It's not even our church.
Yes, it is.
We can talk possessively.
We can use that language.
But ultimately,
it's not the leader's church together.
It's not one pastor's church.
It's not even just the member's church.
It's God's church.
It's his family.
It's his house.
He is our father by virtue of the new birth
of coming into this family,
believing in Jesus.
He's the spiritual father.
We are brothers and sisters,
men and women,
boys and girls,
equal dignity before the father.
What higher privilege
than belonging to the family of God?
So leaders are first and foremost.
We're siblings.
We're siblings calling on the one father.
But what enormous responsibility
to care for God's family.
It is a weighty responsibility.
I want to make just a quick word
about our discussion
of the Constitution coming up.
It's going to be an open discussion for all
about every detail.
You can comment on any detail.
If you don't care about the Constitution,
can I say you should?
If this is the household of God
for the sake of future generations,
you should care.
It's not the be all and end all,
but you should care.
So it's going to be open to discussion,
but it's not a free for all.
It's not like you've got your opinion,
I've got mine,
and we've got 200 opinions in this room.
It's not a free for all.
What we're trying to do
is be faithful to what God says
we should be structured as.
That's how we're going to pursue unity
if we dive deeper into what God says
we should be structured as.
Now we're going to have to do that in grace
because there's no way
we're going to agree on every sentence.
But the main point I want to drive at today
is it's God's household.
It's his rules.
We should trust him to know
how to structure it best.
That needs to guide us
as we come to the Constitution.
Okay.
Let's move on.
So we're the household of God,
and second,
we are the assembly of the living God.
In the Old Testament,
the Lord is described
in contrast to the deadness
of idols.
Idols can't hear you.
They can't see you.
They can't save you.
They cannot bless you.
They're dead.
But the Lord is living.
He's present.
God said through Moses,
I will dwell among you
and be your God
and you will be my people.
That's the point
of the tabernacle and temple.
Dwelling with us.
He is present with his people.
Israel were to be conscious
that God is present in everything.
How much more we?
We don't have a physical temple.
We're called the temple now,
the church.
We are the temple
of the Holy Spirit,
the church.
How conscious we should be
that the Lord is present among us.
He is active among us.
An isolated Christian,
it's a contradiction
to all Jesus' blood
was given to accomplish.
To be a Christian
is to be assembled to Jesus
and to one another.
To be conscious
that the living God
is among us
through his words
of the apostles
by his spirit.
I think we experience
this especially
and why scripture
puts an emphasis
on the gathering,
what we're doing right now.
Martin Luther admitted,
at home,
in my own house,
there is no warmth
or vigour in me.
But in the church,
when the multitude
is gathered together,
a fire is kindled
in my heart
and it breaks
its way through.
It's when we're assembled
that God is active
in ministering to us.
So are we conscious
of the spirit's presence
and empowering
as we speak
to one another
over morning tea
to speak into
each other's lives
to serve?
Are you conscious of it
when the Bible's read?
Are you listening to that
as God is here speaking?
When the corporate prayer
and singing,
that God is inviting us
into his throne room
at the Lord's table
which we'll share today,
that the Lord is saying,
come,
have fellowship with me.
Are we conscious of that?
If we are,
God,
I think,
will be working
powerfully among us
when we're conscious
of that.
And I think leaders,
including deacons,
are to lead
this assembly
of this consciousness
that the living God
is present.
So we've got
the family of God,
we've got the assembly
of the living God.
And this next phrase,
I remember when I was
in small group
like years and years ago,
this phrase shocked me.
I thought it must be
worded wrong.
The church is a pillar
and buttress of the truth.
Isn't it the other way around?
That the truth
is the pillar
and buttress
or foundation
of the church.
So buttress can be
the construction people
in this room
are going to probably
laugh at me
as I try and explain this.
Buttress is an external,
I can't even explain,
external pillar thing
that holds up
the walls
of the building.
So either it's
this external support
for the wall
or it's talking
about foundation.
It's saying the church
is the foundation
or holding up
the truth.
Wow.
to keep
the truth
steady.
So yes,
we're created
by the truth,
we're sustained
by the truth,
but Paul's point here
is we're to keep
it steady
in the midst
of unbelief
and false teaching.
We've got to
hold the truth
firm.
Like imagine
if the foundation
under this auditorium
started to crack
and soften
that there'd be
nothing left
to hold.
Like don't you
find it sad
to drive past,
I know buildings
are whatever
about church buildings,
like it doesn't matter,
the people
of the church,
but you drive
past churches
that used to be
faithful to the gospel
in Newcastle
and they may as well
be demolished now.
They may as well
be turned into cafes
because the people
weren't solid
to the truth
and so there's nothing
left in it now.
We're called
to be steady
to the truth,
the foundation.
Now apparently
when it comes
to being pillars,
apparently in the
temples of Artemis
in Ephesus,
it was one of the
seven wonders
of the ancient world,
you've got these
like a hundred
huge 18 metre
tall pillars
and on top
was this beautiful
marble
ceiling
lifted high
into the air.
So I think
pillar here
isn't just about
supporting,
it's about
lifting up.
It's putting
the beauty
and wonder
of the truth
of the gospel
and lifting it up.
The church
is to be a pillar
for all to see.
So we're the
household of God,
the assembly
of the living God,
we're a foundation
and we're a pillar
of the truth.
I think we see
these
truths
of who the church
is in Acts 6,
coming back to Acts 6
for a moment.
We see
that
the apostles
treat the church
as family.
They are conscious
that the spirit
is among
all God's people.
I think we see
that demonstrated
the apostles
had more authority
than elders,
they could have said
alright,
let's sort this out
you lot,
let us office bearers
who are closer
to God
decide this.
here's seven men
submit to them.
But they don't do that,
they entrust
the church
to be spiritual,
to appoint
spiritual men.
I think it's
something of a picture
of being family
and it's something
of a picture
of they're conscious
that the spirit
was among them
through their word,
through the apostles' word.
and they're united.
They're united
in purpose,
they love
the proposal
given in Acts 6
because
it demonstrates
the truth
of the gospel
in their relationships
among the widows
but it also
frees up the apostle
to be
pillars of the truth,
to keep preaching,
to keep teaching.
Whoever is involved
in word ministry,
gossiping the gospel
even.
So I think we see
all these truths
of the church
in Acts 6.
Okay,
now we've got
in our minds
what the church is,
let's turn to deacons.
Who should lead
God's household?
Does being family
and being spirit-filled
mean that we
shouldn't have leadership?
Some churches
try and go
down that line.
No,
because God
cares for us.
He cares
for the details.
He's given us
elders and deacons
for our good
because he loves us.
What are their
qualifications?
I want to contrast
this with
a job advertisement
in Newcastle area
for a CEO.
I'm not really saying
that this job is wrong
in its criteria.
I just want to
show how it's
very different criteria
to what God
cares about
for his church.
So here's a job
if you're looking
for a CEO job.
We're looking
for an inspiring
and passionate
leader who has
extensive
leadership experience,
significant
experience in
financial management,
experience in
growing community
partnerships,
tertiary
qualifications
and so on.
There you go.
There's one
set of
qualifications.
Deacons
must be
dignified,
not double-tongued,
not addicted
to much wine,
not greedy
for dishonest
gain.
They must
hold the
mystery of the
faith with a
clear conscience.
Let deacons
be the husband
of one wife,
managing their
children and
their own
households well.
It becomes
really clear,
doesn't it?
Character
is
all-important.
Maybe I've
overstated that.
Their conviction
to the truth
is essential
in there too.
The character
is
the emphasis.
How do you
identify godly
leaders when
you've got
religious people
saying things
that contradict?
How do you
know?
Because they're
so word-based.
In Timothy's day,
they knew their
Old Testament.
Well, it's what
our Lord said.
You'll know them
by their fruit.
Not perfection,
but evidence that
the gospel is
ruling their
lives.
They're self-controlled
in their behaviour.
People can respect
them.
They're self-controlled
in their speech,
and that is very
difficult.
Read James.
They're self-controlled
in their use of
alcohol.
And there's one
that
they're self-controlled
in their attitude
to money.
I think that's a big
one in our day and
age that we need
to take seriously.
They're faithful
to their wife.
They take seriously
their calling as
spiritual leaders in
the home,
and they seek
to be faithful.
And not
perfection,
but they seek
to be faithful.
And they hold
to the revealed
truths of salvation
in Jesus.
That's what mystery
is about.
What once was
hidden,
the mystery
of God's
salvation,
it has been
revealed.
The gospel
reveals it.
They hold to
that with a
clear conscience.
Now,
how ordinary
are these
qualifications?
They're pretty
ordinary,
aren't they?
They're qualities
all of us should
be aspiring to,
every believer.
I suppose you
just need to
change the
spouse,
which spouse
you're faithful to.
But the title
of the office
is ordinary.
Like,
it's not
assistant regional
manager,
or assistant to
the regional
manager,
if people know
what I'm
quoted,
lieutenant.
It's not
lieutenant.
It's not
chief financial
officer.
It's servant.
There's your
title.
I think that's
ordinary.
Here is the
servant who will
lead the church
of God.
A servant
worthy of
imitating.
And yet,
their criteria,
I think,
are extraordinary.
ordinary.
It's possible
for your
natural temperament
and your
upbringing to
display some
of these
things,
I think.
But to be
across the
board of
life,
controlling
yourself and
in your
family life,
something's
going on
here.
Who Jesus
is and his
spirit is
invading this
person's whole
life.
And the
title is
extraordinary
because a
deacon shares
it with
the Lord.
He's described
as a
servant.
Even the
son of man
did not come
to be
served,
but to
serve.
That's
why Jesus
came,
to serve,
to be a
deacon,
if I can
use that
language.
So it is
extraordinary.
So by
their fruit,
you will
know them.
What's
their role?
Now,
this might
be dissatisfying
to some,
but there is
very,
very little
information in
the New
Testament about
what their
function is
meant to
be.
Their
official
position
suggests that
they've got
authority over
the whole
church and
that they're
representing the
church.
They have the
authority to
represent the
church.
We're told
nothing of
their function
here except
that you
don't have,
like you do
with elders,
the requirement
to be able
to teach.
But this,
I don't think
we should push
that too far
as if deacons
aren't allowed
to teach.
They are
convicted by
the gospel as
much as elders.
Of course
they're going to
be teaching
by their
conduct and
as they have
opportunity.
So maybe it's
best to see
deacons as
supporting elders
in whatever the
church needs at
the time.
That's going
to be really
undefined for
some, but I
think that's
where the
logic pushes
us.
Supporting the
elders in
whatever the
church needs
at the time.
So I don't
think we
should let
Acts 6
constrain us
deacons as
just mercy
ministries to
the vulnerable.
It may very
well include
that.
But we see
in Acts 6
even, Stephen
and Philip
they're evangelists.
They're the
ones who push
the gospel into
the next
frontier.
So we
can't restrain
their function.
The function
of deacons in
the local
church, it
might change
over time as
the needs of
the church
change.
But what is
important is
that their
character is
stable.
If you can
entrust them
with money,
you can
entrust them
with whatever,
kids'
ministry,
anything.
I can't
think of all
the examples
of the
people's on
the spot, but
the character is
what's important.
You can
entrust them with
anything, really.
And we see the
principle of freeing
up the elders to
teach seems to be
confirmed by 1
Timothy, that elders
have the responsibility
for teaching and
governing, and deacons
support them in that,
perhaps even by
teaching themselves.
I think we
shouldn't be
dualistic here, as
if elders do the
spiritual stuff and
deacons do practical
stuff.
I think it would be a
grave mistake to get
lured in to appoint
deacons according to
their competence and
just overlook some
character problems.
Talk to Don and
others who have
been around longer
than me, that there
are churches who
believe the gospel but
who have people in
positions of authority
who, at best, they're a
hindrance, at worst,
it's political, it's
undermining the
teaching.
I think of Charles
Simeon, for seven
years, the people in
charge of, we don't
have pews with doors
on the end, but they
locked the doors so
that people couldn't
come to church to
listen to him.
Let's not put doors
on there.
Other churches, a
rich person has
donated a lot and
they use that as
leverage to control
the direction of
church.
It could be just
devoting resources and
people energy to
things that aren't
primary spiritual
goals.
It could be
distraction like we
saw in Acts 6.
So I don't think we
should limit deacons to
just practical nuts and
bolts.
But I think we
should also see the
nuts and bolts as
spiritual.
There's so many
practical things that
need to happen and
when you've got gospel
goals at the end, that
is a spiritual task.
It enables the church to
go about its business.
How you relate to
people as you do
practical things requires
gospel mentality in
how you treat people.
So I don't think we
should limit to
practical things, but I
think we should also
see the practical
things as spiritual.
Okay, that's
function.
What about women
deacons?
It's only men in
Acts.
1 Timothy 3 verse
11, they're wives, but
the word there is just
women.
We can't determine
this whether it's
women deacons or
wives of deacons just
based off the
wording.
We've got to work it
out by context and
other reasons.
So the women,
likewise, must be
dignified, not
slanderers, but
sober-minded, faithful
in all things.
Their character must
be just as proven and
trustworthy as the
deacons.
So there's two camps of
interpretation here and
I'm going to dissatisfy
everyone and not tell you
what I think.
I'm just going to give you
the two camps and
encourage us to reflect
more on it and discuss it
more.
As we do that, we
need to trust that God
has given this to
thrive as a family.
He hasn't spoken to
restrict, nor has he
just want us to get
along with the world.
He wants us to be a
light.
He wants us to
thrive.
Now I'm conscious that I
have to be brief right
now and so if even
asking this question is
troubling you, I'd
love to talk more.
So come talk to me or
one of the elders or
someone more about
this.
I've got to be brief
right now.
Okay, here's the two
camps.
So is it the deacons'
wives or is it women
deacons?
Now, please keep in
mind, both of these
interpretations come
under people who take
what God says throughout
the whole Bible, that
men are called to be
spiritual leaders in the
church and in the
home seriously.
So these two camps
come under both, have
that same conviction.
So the camp's saying
it's deacon wives.
Reason is that verse 11,
it's sandwiched between
talking to the men.
So it's men and then it
goes back in verse 12,
deacons each be the
husband of one wife.
So it's sandwiched in
there.
It seems to be fitting
because it moves on to
talk about the household
of the deacon.
So addressing the deacon's
wife seems fitting.
And there's no mention of
the wives needing to be
faithful to their husbands,
which you would expect if it
was just women's
generally, women deacons
generally.
On that one, faithful in
all things, does that
include faithful?
It's all things.
Okay, that's obviously I'm
even summarising the
argument here.
But the other side that
no, this is talking about
women deaconesses, we
might say, is that the
connection in the passage
from elders to deacons in
verse 8 is deacons
likewise.
And then you've got verse
11, women likewise.
So could that connection
be suggesting this is an
official office of deaconess?
There's no mention of
elders' wives.
That seems a bit odd.
Like, surely an elders'
wife has to be trustworthy
as well.
So you've got to explain
that.
While deacons have
authority, it's only in
assisting the elders and so
it is obeying 1 Timothy
2.12.
And then you've got in
Romans 16 verse 1,
Phoebe is called a deacon,
a deaconess.
There you go.
How unsatisfying is that?
I'm not going to tell you
what I think after that.
The implication of the two
camps, can I just point out
the implications of it,
they're pretty close.
Because those who say
this is deacons' wives,
they say the rationale is,
well, if deacons are involved
in ministering to people,
the wives will be, to some
extent, involved in that
service.
And so the implication is,
either wives were expected to
be part of the deacons'
serving, or women generally.
So they're not too far apart
when you think about the
implications.
Can I encourage us, as we get
into a hot topic, let 1 Timothy
guide your interpretation of
Acts 6.
The goodness of God's design for
men and women is under attack
today.
Timothy was under attack with
probably different problems.
This is one the church is really
under pressure.
How we discuss this as a church
family, what convictions we come
to, and some of us are going to
have to submit our convictions for
the sake of the unity of the church.
How we go about this, I think,
will depend on how we see the
church.
Do we see one another as the
family of God?
As the assembly of the living God?
As the foundation of the truth?
As the pillar of the truth?
Is that what's motivating us as we
consider this?
That's when we'll move together as a
church family.
All this is given for our good, so
that we might reflect and defend and
declare the truth.
These instructions are given in the
context of mission.
Chapter 2, at the beginning of
chapter 2, where all these
instructions start, it speaks of God,
our Saviour, who desires all people to
be saved and to come to the knowledge
of the truth.
And then at the end of chapter 3, we
come across this hymn.
And the hymn is about mission.
This is caught up in mission, which is
what we're seeing in Acts.
So how we appoint deacons is important
for mission.
And what we see in this hymn in verse
16, and I'm not going to go through it in
detail.
I just want to point out one thing as
it relates to deacons.
Is that it's for the sake, Jesus came
into the world to save sinners.
He did it for his mission, and it was
very fleshly.
He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated
by the Spirit.
Here's how one preacher puts it.
Christ came down to us, incarnate as a man,
toiling, suffering, teaching, weeping, dying.
It's fleshly.
That is what the Spirit points to as holiness.
That is who the Spirit vindicated by his mighty
works and his resurrection.
It's very fleshly.
That's the Christ we believe in.
He did it to save us.
That the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve.
Here is, we're going to sing the servant king
in a moment.
Here is the servant king who we see in Acts
is still serving his church.
Why wouldn't it be a joy for our church family
to appoint and submit to deacons who reflect
this servant king who became flesh?
It was very ordinary, but he did it to save sinners.
It should be our joy to submit to deacons who consider
their spiritual worship in following this ordinary king,
in toiling and suffering and weeping and teaching,
even dying.
So here is the gospel of the household of God,
this Christ who is very ordinary,
but his service to save sinners is what God welcomes
and says, yes, that is holiness.
Not separating from the world, but entering it.
This is the gospel that has brought us into the family.
This is the gospel that, this is the one who's still alive
in this church family and he's among us by his word
and spirit.
This is the one we are called to reflect as we appoint deacons
and so that we can keep proclaiming him to the ends
of the world.
Well, why don't you pray with me?
Let's pray.
Well, Father, I want to pray again that you would help us
to be a light as a church family into a society that really
despises even authority and is very suspicious.
Lord, thank you that you use your authority to serve,
that you lay down your life to give us life.
Father, I pray that you would move us as a church family
to appoint leaders that are gripped by this Jesus
so that they will defend this gospel and lead this church
in serving like the Lord Jesus so that we might be a witness
to the nations.
Father, yeah, please use us as a light.
In Jesus' name, amen.