Pillar and foundation of the truth

We're reading from two passages today.

So the first one is Acts chapter 6, verses 1 to 7.

Acts 6:1–7

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.

1 Timothy 3:8–16

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.

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

1 Timothy 3:11

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,

Romans 16:1

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.