Contentment, Work, and Wealth

1 Timothy 6:1-10

About the Sermon

Work and our wallets. These are two deceptively difficult dimensions of the Christian life. When we think of areas of temptation, these aren’t normally the first things on our mind. Yet these were areas on the mind of Paul, and he wanted them on Timothy’s mind as one shepherding the flock at Ephesus. And so this sermon will put these subjects on our mind. They aren’t easy subjects, for more reasons than one. There are some difficulties of historical context that we’ll need to consider. Even more difficult, the context of our own hearts. Abundant help is ours for every related challenge in the “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 6:3).

About the Series

What if we could read a letter written by one of Jesus’ apostles to a first century church leader? What would we learn about Christ’s deign for her leadership and health? We need look no further than Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul tells us why he wrote this letter: that we 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” (3:14–15). That will involve a variety of things, chief among them instruction in sound—literally, healthy—doctrine for a healthy church and a radiant witness (1:3, 10; 4:6; 6:3). From worship to widow-care, from anger to parenting, Paul’s words are for us.
What if we could read a letter written by one of Jesus’ apostles to a first century church leader? What would we learn about Christ’s deign for her leadership and health? We need look no further than Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul tells us why he wrote this letter: that we 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” (3:14–15). That will involve a variety of things, chief among them instruction in sound—literally, healthy—doctrine for a healthy church and a radiant witness (1:3, 10; 4:6; 6:3). From worship to widow-care, from anger to parenting, Paul’s words are for us.

Sermons in the Series