Profile for a Church Deacon

1 Timothy 3:8-13

About the Sermon

We will look at a second office of the church, that of deacon, a term that comes from the word for servant. In God’s wisdom, He has ordered His church so that she would be led by qualified leaders, and that they and she would be joyfully served by a team of servants. Servanthood isn’t something for a few of us, of course, but for all of us. Jesus Himself “came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Through their service, our deacons model the kind of deaconing we all do in following Christ.

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