Pastor John's message this morning will be taken from the book of First Timothy, Chapter 3,

verses 1 through 13. The saying is sure, if anyone aspires to the office of Bishop, he desires a

noble task. Now a Bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible,

dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome and no lover of money.

He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way.

For if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?

He must not be a recent convert or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought

of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach in the snare of the devil.

Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tung, not addicted to much wine, not greedy

for gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with the clear conscience

and let them also be tested first. Then if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons.

The women likewise must be serious, no slanders but temperate, faithful in all things.

Let deacons be the husband of one wife and let them manage

their children and their households well. For those who serve well as Deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. As I pondered what text I might open for you on the beginning of Family Week, the criterion that I used in my search was this. I wanted to find a text that connected the family of God and the families of man.

I wanted to find a text that pulled together and showed some kind of relationship between the family which is the church and families which are in the church.

See the connection I'm talking about, the church as a family

and the church as made up of many kinds of families. Using that criterion I hit upon 1st Timothy 3 verses 4 and 5.

What I'd like to do to open the text is begin at the end of verse 5 and take it a phrase at a time moving backward through the two verses.

So we start with this last phrase of verse 5 namely God's Church or the Church of God.

And the first point of the message is real plain and straightforward then.

The church is God's and not man's.

Belongs to God and not man.

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