Coastline Baptist Church

Stephen Chappell: Good morning, church family. It is great to see you here today. I'd like to invite you to take your copy of God's Word and join me in turning to the New Testament book of Titus. Titus chapter 2 is where we're going to be. Thank you for being here today. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Our family did, and I'm glad to be here with you today.

Quick question: how many of you have all of your Christmas decorations set up already? Good. Those who raised their hand have the same mental illness that my wife has, I think. You guys are on top of it, and that's great. We've got to get locked in. We've only got 26 more shopping days, so there's a lot to do, but this is a great time of year.

Each year around this time, I typically bring a message to help our church and the families in our church know how to navigate the holiday season. With all kidding aside, it's a great time of year, but it's a unique time of year, and it's filled occasionally with difficulties. We're all going to encounter pressures. Already, I'm feeling the squeeze. The calendar's pretty much filled up from now through the end of the year.

We're all going to feel busy, and then there are financial pressures and these expectations. Sometimes we're buying presents for people that we haven't seen since last year at this time, and there's pressure that comes along with that. I know there are other ways where the pressure just comes and comes. Occasionally, it's even from family, people we love, but they have expectations of us that maybe aren't right for us in the moment.

Even the nostalgia of the season can put us in a melancholy mood where we just get kind of blue. Yesterday on my phone, I had a memory that popped up. It was a memory from five years ago yesterday. It was a picture my wife took of me with my phone, my camera, and it was of me doing my mom's graveside service. That put me in a frame of mind where I just began to think about things differently than I would at other times of the year.

I think it's really important for us to have a game plan ahead of time so that when the pressure comes, we can know how to respond in the best way possible. If ever there was a time to get on top of your calendar, to get your budget set up, and to make sure that your heart is right so that you can focus on God, friends, this is the weekend for us to get locked in for this holiday season so we can enjoy it to the fullest and live it as God would have.

I was reading a passage of scripture recently that doesn't mention anything about Christmas. In the passage we're going to read together in a moment, we're not going to talk about the shepherds. We're not going to talk about a star. There are no wise men. We're not going to find Mary and Joseph. Yet, as I read it, I sensed God ministering to me, and I thought this is exactly the passage of scripture I want to bring to our church on this specific Sunday to get our hearts ready for the holiday season.

I believe it's an encouraging passage and it can be a great help to all of us. So, if you're able and willing, I'd like to invite you to join me in standing out of respect for the reading of God's Word. Titus chapter 2 is where we're going to be today. If you're glad you're in church, say amen. I'm glad you're here. Titus chapter 2, I'll begin reading in verse 11.

The Bible says, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."

I want you to take note in the midst of verse 13 of this expression: "the glorious appearing." Father, thank you for this day, and I thank you for each person in this room. I pray for your hand of blessing upon their lives. We thank you for this incredible, wonderful time of year. But, Lord, I pray that we would be spiritually in tune, that we would live this season as you would have. I pray that today's time in your Word would help us to that end. We ask this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.

The alarm clock went off early that day, and with a few moments together, it was time to get out the door. We left our apartment to spend the first Christmas Lisa and I would have together by driving to her grandmother's house. As you'd imagine, grandparents are typically happy when the grandkids show up, and so her grandmother was happy when we got there. We had a great time with her, and then it was time to go. She was predictably sad the grandkids were leaving.

We hated to make a grandmother sad, but we had to because we had a schedule to keep. So we got there, her grandmother was happy, we left, her grandmother was sad, and that was a tough thing. We just had to do it. We had to make the next trip, and we went to go see Lisa's mom. She was not predictably happy to see us arrive. She let us know promptly that we arrived later than she expected us to arrive.

We were met with disappointment, and then when it was time for us to go to get to the next place, she let us know we were leaving earlier than she thought we would. So we've now got a sad grandmother, an aggravated mother-in-law, and it's time to make another trip. Back in the car we go. We started in Long Beach, made our way to Downey, from Downey we went to La Habra, and now we're in the car from La Habra on our way to Corona.

We were there with my folks. At this point, we were tired and worn out. Honestly, it was all I could do to endure the endless passive-aggressive comments trying to make me understand I should have just spent the entire day there with my parents. When we had all we could handle of that, we got back in the car for the last drive to Seal Beach, where we went to see Lisa's dad. We love Lisa's dad. Who wouldn't love Lisa's dad? He's the greatest guy ever.

We enjoyed our time there, but we were just worn out and exhausted. On the ride home from Seal Beach back into Long Beach, Lisa and I made a decision that we would never again spend a Christmas like that, running here, running there, trying to meet the expectations of everybody else to the detriment and the neglect of our time together. That's a story I've told before, but I believe it was that experience in my life that, when God called me to become a pastor, put in my heart a desire to help people on the front end of the holiday season.

I want to help you make some good decisions that can alleviate the stress that comes and increase the joy that we can experience. There has to be a better way to do the holidays than the way we did it and the way we've all done it at times. I believe the Apostle Paul here shares some incredible insight that can help us at Christmas with words that don't ultimately speak to Christmas, but by way of application today, we're going to understand the text and apply it to our lives.

The New Testament book of Titus is what we call a pastoral epistle. Titus is the name of a young man; he was a young pastor. Paul's writing a letter to this young pastor, trying to help him know how to be in ministry, lead people, and be used of God. So Paul comes in, and he's giving words of encouragement and words of hope. He provided direction that would relate to Titus's ministry specifically.

It would be a service to the church in Crete where he was pastoring. In chapter 2, Paul gives Titus a message that was for him, but I want you to see today that it was a message that was to be shared. Paul said, "Listen, Titus, I'm giving you some good words there for you, but I don't want you to keep these to yourself. These are words I want you to share with other people." In fact, in verse 15, Paul to Titus said, "These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."

I love it. Paul was saying, "Titus, listen to me. These things I just gave you, you need to share them over and over. Repeat them, and if anybody says shut up, you say I'm not shutting up, you shut up. I've got a message from God that I'm going to deliver. You just need to listen." Paul said this is the message he's giving to Titus, but it's a message that needs to go through him because people need to hear this.

Paul's words were timely for Titus. His words were appropriate for that time and for that place. The words Paul shared were inspired by God. But they weren't just inspired by God; these words have been preserved by God, which is why we can open up a Bible and read what it is all these years later that Paul wrote to a pastor named Titus in a place called Crete. These words are for us today, perhaps even more so than ordinarily as we think of the Christmas season that's upon us.

As Paul began to share his instruction, he conveyed a truth that really is perfect for a starting point and getting us prepared for Christmas. We must consider God's purpose for Christmas. That's where we've got to begin. That's the foundational thought. What is really the objective of Christmas? What is the purpose of Christmas? Listen again to the words in verse 11: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men."

Again, I said it up front and I'll say it again: there's no mention specifically of Christmas there, but if ever there were words in the Bible that speak of Christmas, it's here. The Bible says the grace of God brings salvation, and it has appeared. What's the Christmas story all about? The grace of God brings salvation, and Jesus was born; he appeared, if you will. This really gives us the message of Christmas.

I love that idea of the grace of God. When John was helping us to understand who Jesus is and why he came, he referred to him first of all as the Word. He's the message, but he then said that Jesus is filled with grace. He said Jesus is grace personified. In John 1:14, the Bible says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Truth with no grace gets pretty harsh pretty quickly. Grace with no truth just gets squishy and mushy. Praise God that in His wisdom, He came with the grace, and it was a truthful grace and a graceful truth, and Jesus brought it all together in one. He is the grace that comes and brings salvation, and he appeared on Christmas. He appeared. He brings salvation. When the shepherds heard of that, it blew their minds. He came as a Savior to bring salvation, and he's for everybody?

They couldn't wrap their minds around a God who would love like that. We know their response in Luke 2:10-11. The Bible says, "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Do you remember their response when the news came to them from an angel that Jesus had been born and he was a Savior for all people, including them?

They were social outcasts, kind of the pariah of their time. This is a group of shepherds that weren't even allowed to be involved in ceremonies in the temple. They weren't even allowed to give a testimony in a legal trial because it was just assumed they were dishonest people. These shepherds of all shepherds had the midnight shift, and the angel says God loves you, and He's come to you in grace. He's bringing salvation. He's for everybody.

They heard this, and their response was amazing. They did exactly what the angels told them to do. They went to Mary, they went to Joseph, they saw Jesus, and the Bible tells us they told them what the angels had said. Then they personally worshipped Jesus. This one moment in time was so incredibly powerful and so overwhelmingly important that they had to say, "I don't know what's on my calendar right now, but this supersedes that. I'm going to take time right now to worship this God who lovingly came to me in grace, bringing salvation for everybody."

They worshipped Jesus. Friends, I'm saying today that sometimes during a season like the one we're heading into, what we need to do when we're getting pulled in so many directions is say, "I don't know exactly what's on the calendar right now, but there's something that's more important than that. I need to spend some time worshipping Jesus, praising Jesus, and thanking Jesus for who he is, how he came, and why he came." I'm going to worship the Lord.

I want to give you a few ways that can practically be done. This is going to be a practical message today. So how can we do that? Well, here's the first thought: spend time every day in God's Word to you, the Bible. Just spend time. I've had people say, "Well, Pastor, I read very slowly," and I say, "Okay, well then read it very slowly." If you're a speed reader, have at it. Take time daily to get in the Word of God and read the Bible. Investing time hearing from God will touch your life in ways you just can't imagine.

Don't let the holiday season deprive you of your time in the Word of God. You say, "Pastor, I get extra busy during the holiday season." Exactly. All the more reason why we need to stay in tune with God. You say you're busy? I'd say all the more importance then that we should find in reading a book where God lays out our priorities and will help us to make wise decisions. It's imperative that we spend time in the Word of God.

Decide now that you're going to make that a daily appointment. Open the Bible, read. You say, "I don't know where to begin reading." Get in the Gospel of John, read it from beginning to end. When you're done with John, read it again and again. If you want to get to know Jesus, that's a good place to go, the Gospel of John. I love the way Solomon spoke to his children in Proverbs chapter 2.

He said, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures." I could read on, but he's speaking here of wisdom in a general sense, and he's giving this passion that we should all have to know the wisdom of God, and we learn of that in the book, in the Bible.

When you invest time in the Bible, it'll impact your life. You can say, "Okay, Pastor, I get it. As we read the Bible, then we'll get to know the Bible more." I'd say, "Well, yeah, kind of, but that's not the end game. It's good to know the Bible; that's an important thing." What I'm saying is this: when you get in the Bible and you get to know the Bible, ultimately what you're getting to know is God. When you open the Bible, God opens His mouth.

When you read the Bible, God reads you. He communicates with you. There's something that happens in the life of a person that says, "I'm going to have a talk with God every day. I'm going to let Him speak to me through His Word. I'm going to speak to Him through prayer." Secondly, I would encourage you during this season to be faithful to times and places where your faith can be encouraged, and church is one of those places.

I read an article this week on the state of the church, and man, there are a lot of things happening. For years, there's been kind of a downward trend, and it's wonderful to see some things heading in the right direction, particularly with younger people now. There's more interest in spiritual things than there has been in our lifetimes. It's good to see some of this happening. One thing I saw that was a bit alarming to me was what's considered faithful church attendance keeps getting smaller and smaller.

I would say church isn't my idea. Sometimes I say I started Coastline. Let me rephrase that: God started Coastline; He just let me be a part of the work He was doing. Church is God's idea, and He said it's His people who are to come. He said, "Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, and so much the more as you see the day approaching."

Something special happens when we get together and we sing praises to God and we open the Bible and we get in the book and let the book get in us and let it lead us in the course of our lives. In this season that's known for colder weather, it's good to know that the Bible can heat us up from the inside out. In Jeremiah, we read this: "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?"

God's Word is a fire that warms us up. It's a hammer that tenderizes us when we start to get hard towards the things of God. God can come along, and as we get in the Bible, like a hammer, He can tenderize us and get things back as they should be. Hearing Bible teaching and preaching keeps our hearts tender before God. Finally, I would just say this: make time to enjoy authentic Christian fellowship. This would involve socializing, but it goes far beyond that. It's sharing a common bond of faith, and it encourages all who share in it.

We've got to get the purpose nailed down. But secondly today, we must consider God's process because of Christmas. If you're still with me, say amen. Let's look at verse 12 together. The grace Paul spoke of comes, brings salvation, and it's appeared to everybody. It's the grace, if you would, in verse 12 that teaches us "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world."

Now because of Christmas, because Jesus, God the Son, came, we can know him as our Savior and our Lord. He saves us of our sins. He saves us into a relationship with God, and then as the Lord, he can then call the shots in our lives. We can know him and we can come to him in faith, responding to his grace, and he accepts us as we are. I've heard people say don't use Bible words, it gets people kind of tripped up.

I would say I think far more highly of you to avoid Bible words; I'm just going to use them and we'll learn what they mean together. The Bible speaks of this as justification. Here's what it means: when we come to God in faith, responding to His call of salvation, we are made totally righteous before God. God the Father views us through the prism of the red blood of the Son, and He sees us as totally white, totally clean, totally pure.

We don't have to get cleaned up to get saved. We don't have to change our life to get saved. We don't have to turn over a new leaf to get saved. We have to believe in Jesus to be saved, and when that happens, the Bible says we're justified. God sees us as righteous. He takes us just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. So those who've been justified, it's His desire that we would then be sanctified.

It's this process of yielding our lives to God, saying, "All right, thank you for being my Savior, but you're my Lord. What is it that you want me to do? How would you have me to follow you?" He says in this verse, "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." He said it's grace, the grace of God that accepts us just the way we are. That's what teaches us that we're to live this life as God would have.

It's interesting over the years, I've talked to people who came to understand the grace of God and they thought that gave them permission or license to live anyway they wanted to. It's quite the opposite. When you understand how great God is and how much He loves us, it should compel us to say, "God, in response to Your love and Your mercy and Your grace for me, how is it that You would have me to live?" And He'd say, "Well, deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." During this season, I would say this: live your life for Jesus. Let Him call the shots.

My wife got me a gift not too long ago, and it's a heavy vest. You use it for exercising, and she's been getting me gifts about weight loss. It makes me feel bad. But you put it on, and it's a pretty good one. It's got a little snap over here, reflective tape on the back and front if you go at night, and it's got a little pocket in the back. As far as vests go, it's pretty good. It's about 25 pounds. So you can wear it. It's a good one, and I'm thankful for it.

I have a problem with it. It's heavy. It makes everything I do when I'm wearing it harder. It slows me down. This vest is heavy; that's my primary concern with it, which is probably okay if you're exercising. But if I were running in a race, I wouldn't want this. Did you know the Bible tells you that the Christian life is like running a race? That's what the Bible says. It's like running a race. Hebrews 12:1 says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

Church family, I'm telling you today that to get through this season of our race at a pace that's honoring to God, we need to get rid of the weight caused by a sinful lifestyle that's not honoring to God. We've got to say nuts to that. I'm leaving that behind because the grace of God is so overwhelming. I want to make sure I'm living as the Lord would have. This season can be a time of excess of all kinds of sin, and it's a wise Christian who says on the front end, "Lord, I really want to live this Christmas season for you. Help me to live a clean life for your glory."

Not everybody does, and that's fine; we're all in different places. But if you really want God's hand on your life, say amen. I'm going to tell you what's necessary for that to happen. Now, just imagine in your mind's eye you're stepping into heaven and there's God. He's sitting on the couch, and it doesn't work this way, but just work with me. He's thinking, "Man, I'm thirsty." So He gets up and He walks in the kitchen. He opens a cupboard, and there are all kinds of cups in there.

There are gold ones and silver ones. There are some that were made out of pottery and some out of wood, maybe a red solo cup. I don't know, there's just a variety of cups in there. Which one do you think He's going to pick up to get a drink? The clean one. More than what it's made of, He's interested in the cleanliness. That's how Paul the Apostle spoke of it when he wrote to another young pastor named Timothy.

He said, "Timothy, in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified (or set apart), and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." Paul said, "Timothy, let me help you out. If you want to have a life that's ready to be used, that's available to God, you need to purge your life of those things that He says stay away from. You need to live a clean life."

That's the kind of life that God delights in using. I'm glad today to tell you God doesn't require us to be the smartest. I'm not. God doesn't require us to be the strongest. That's good news; none of us are. But He does say, "If you really want me to be a part of your life and to use you for my glory, I want you to live it as I've taught you from the Bible. Live a clean life for me." Make the decision to live for Jesus throughout the year, but especially as the temptations with this time of year come along.

That leads us to this thought today: number three, we must consider God's promise after Christmas. So, Christmas we celebrate the coming of Jesus. Let's look at verse 13 in our text here. The Bible says, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." It's interesting to me that in these verses we read together, the word "appearing" is used two times. The first time it's used, it's referred to the coming of Jesus. He came; he brought salvation to all people. He's the grace that came; he appeared.

That's Christmas. The second time it's mentioned, it's referring to the second coming of Jesus, that blessed hope of the return of Jesus Christ. I like how the angels spoke of the second coming of Jesus as he ascended back to heaven. All the apostles are standing there, and Jesus ascended back to heaven, and they're just like, "Whoa, what in the world?" In Acts 1:11, the Bible says, "Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."

If you believe in Christmas, you have to believe in the Christ of Christmas who promised us, "Hey, I'm going to come again. I came at Christmas, and I'm going to come again. I'm coming for you." In John 14, he said, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." I'm here to tell you no man knows the day or the hour, but Jesus said so.

I shall share Jesus said, "I will come again." Jesus is coming again. Could it be in '26? Yeah, it's possible. It could be in '25 for all I know. But what I do know is he's coming again. That reality, that understanding, if I'm a person of faith, the reality that Jesus is coming again should do some things in my life. First, it provides us with hope and peace. I love that this event, which is wrapped up in the person of Christ—people say I'm looking for the second coming of Christ—I say just look for the Christ of the second coming.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. It's a blessed hope, the Bible says. It gives us hope. I don't know about you, as sometimes I'll read the headlines, I'll watch the news, I'll deal with different things in life, and it's like this planet of ours is a mess. It's a mess because people like us live on it. People are broken because of sin, and it's great to know Jesus is going to come again. He's going to right all the wrongs, and it's going to be wonderful when he comes. It's something that brings us hope and peace.

I remember it just like it was yesterday. I don't know why some memories stick with you, but I grew up in the church my family attended. As I was growing up, it was in Long Beach, downtown. One day after church, I was running around playing with all the kids, and it dawned on me that my parents weren't visible to me. I learned they had left. You see, that day Mom and Dad, for some reason, drove in separate cars, and they each thought the other one had me.

After church, they went home, and it's just setting in. I might die today. This might be the last day I live. As a little kid, it's like, "What am I going to do now? I'm stuck. I'm in downtown Long Beach, and I don't know how long I can stay alive living on the mean streets of downtown Long Beach." It was about that time, when I was getting ready to have a total meltdown, somebody said, "Hey, your mom called, she'll be right back and she's going to get you."

The peace and the hope that came to my heart knowing there's a parent that knows where I am, they're coming for me—that may be a lame analogy, but in a sense, that's kind of how I feel at times in my life. I look around and think, "Good night. What am I going to do? How am I even going to keep going here? How am I going to survive on the mean streets of Planet Earth?" God says, "Hey, I know where you're at. I'm coming for you," and that should bring hope to us. It should bring peace to us. We need to understand that.

Secondly, not only does it bring us hope and peace, it should stir us up. It should motivate us. If we believe a holy God is coming again to take those who've been saved to an eternal bliss, we need to be reminded that those that don't know Jesus—if we believe the Bible, look, you're free to not believe the Bible if you don't want to, but don't make the Bible say something it doesn't say. God's Word's pretty clear on this: two options when this life is done, this physical life: Heaven or Hell.

Not my word, His Word. When we think of the reality of God coming again, a righteous God, and because of His grace we've been justified and we're being sanctified, there ought to be something in our minds that goes, "What about those who don't yet know Jesus?" It ought to encourage us to share him with others. Verse 14 says he "gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people (we're a little bit weird, peculiar; if you live for Jesus, you're going to look a little bit different), peculiar people, and here it is, zealous of good works."

If you believe Jesus is coming again, that ought to do something on the inside that makes you zealous for good works. Right after sharing the promise of the return of Jesus, Paul writes a verse that says we should be zealous for good works. Knowing Jesus is coming again really that's kind of a celebratory thought for me. Praise God, He wins. Listen, all these nuts today that are doing all this crazy stuff, they're going to grow in prominence, but the day's coming when King Jesus is coming again.

I like the thought of that. It's celebratory, but it's also sobering. It's sobering because not knowing when that time will be, I want to make sure that I'm living my life for the glory of God. I sincerely—I'm not always there, but I sincerely want to live a life that is zealous of good works. This fact should compel us to reach out to those around us and do all we can to help make sure they know Jesus Christ. Christmas is a good time for so many things, but this is one of the reasons this is a particularly good season because people are more open to hearing about the reason for the season.

It's called Christmas; it's about Jesus Christ. It's a great time to invite people to a place that will share the meaning of the season and provide them encouragement by way of the Gospel. Some of you may have heard that in the culture of the New Testament, there was a word that spoke of our social circle. It's the word "oikos." How many of you have heard the word oikos before? Yeah, we all have one.

Sociologists say we all have an oikos, a social circle. It's comprised typically of somewhere between eight and 15; 12 is the average. Jesus amazingly had 12 disciples, and these are the people with whom we do life, and these are the people that we need to be most concerned about. Do they know Jesus Christ? If they do, are they being sanctified? Are they growing in Jesus? And are they zealous of good works? How can I be a blessing in their lives?

There's a great occasion in this season to make sure that we live our lives with these people that we do life with in our hearts. Let me share a few ways we can do that. First, identify them. Be intentional. Who is it in your life that you're going to care enough about to identify, to write their names on a list? God, these are the people in my life that I want to be used by You to be a positive influence, an encouragement, and help bring them into Your truth. Identify them.

Pray for them every day. Just pray for them. Now, I believe your prayer for them will touch their heart, but I also know this: it'll keep your heart tender towards them. The more I pray for others, God tends to do a work in my heart as well. I'd encourage you: who is it in your life you care enough about to let them know why Jesus came? Identify them, pray for them. Third, invest in those relationships. I always want to emphasize when I talk about this: I'm not talking about manipulation.

I'm talking about showing genuine, authentic love as God has commanded us. I'm talking about just loving them as Jesus would have. Invest in those relationships, and fourth, when the time is right, invite them to times and places where they can be exposed to the Gospel message. There are a lot of times and a lot of places and a lot of people around whom you may want your oikos to come, and that's wonderful.

I'll just mention one that's on the top of my head right now. It's this church I heard of called Coastline. That's a highly imperfect church, but I can tell you this about the pastor: on December 14th, he will have prayed, fasted, and prepared to share a message with your loved ones that you care about, that will let them know who Jesus is and why he came and what that can mean for them. Oh, the holiday season, it's for us, but it's bigger than that. It's for our oikos.

I believe as Paul talked to Titus here, he gave him some information that was not just for him. It's for us today. Imagine, if you would, if we got all this squared away in our minds. What is the purpose of this? How does God want me to respond? Knowing now what I know about Jesus, that he did come and that he is coming again, how would God have me to live? Am I zealous to do good work? Imagine if we let God's Word on the front end of this season get us squared away, and we live this time with His glory in mind. Imagine how God could use us.

Father, thank you today for these simple words written a couple thousand years ago from an older preacher to a younger pastor. Lord, thank you that these words work for us today. God, I love these people. I know I don't love them anywhere near as much as You do, but I love them, and I want them to have the greatest holiday season ever. Lord, I know a big part of that isn't planning everything so that we have the best holiday season ever. It's living with the needs of others in mind, not being consumer-driven, not being self-indulgent, but in looking around us and wondering how our love for You can overflow to those You've put in our social circle, our oikos. Help us, we pray. Amen.