Glory to God Alone (1 Timothy 5:17-25)

As we walk through this world as human beings there is no doubt that we are tempted to live our lives to please man.  This is a real and honest temptation that we face, but why is that so wrong?  Why do we live our lives before the face of God?  Why is it so essential to live our lives before the face of God as His redeemed people?

Overseeing Christ’s Church (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

The leaders of the church should desire to rule their lives and the church by the Lord’s standard.  If the Lord’s standard is perfection then how can we be qualified to lead if we are struggling sinners?  If Timothy is serving a church that has struggles then how can Timothy ordain leaders?  What qualifications should he look for in a leader?  How do we know if we should aspire to hold leadership in a church?

Grace and Peace through Leadership (Philippians 1:1-2)

I bet that if you were to survey the average person on the street they would tell you to question leadership and authority.  I would suspect that this answer would be consistent among conservatives as well as liberals.  We would probably not be that surprised by this considering that we have witnessed leaders deceive and abuse their authority. So, why would we as Christians want to trust leaders in the church?  We know leaders in the church have fallen into sin so why trust leadership?  How does the apostle Paul set the tone for Christian leadership?  How does setting such a tone for leadership reorient someone’s idea or notion of service?