What is it? What does a healthy church look like?

In the Apostle Paul's last letter to Timothy, he highlights some of the key priorities

every pastor should embrace.

We'll look at those responsibilities today on Truth for Life and learn how we can

support and not undermine our church leadership. Alistair Begg is teaching from 2 Timothy

Chapter 2, verses 14 and 15.

I want to spend the time this morning on the way in which Paul gives instruction to Timothy,

first of all as a pastor in relationship to his flock, and then as a pastor in relationship to himself.

Spurgeon on one occasion his students, said to them,

if we do not spend time in diligent study, our congregations will get poverty-stricken sermons.

And he was identifying the fact that in his day, as I think in every day,

and not least of all in our

own, the church is in need of pastors who will actually study the Bible. That may seem so straightforward

as to be unworthy of mention. But the fact is that the pressures and the pace of contemporary

life make that an increasingly difficult goal to achieve.

And effective teaching of the Bible is dependent in part on the pastor growing in his understanding

of the Word of God himself. If pastors are constantly pouring out without at the same time pouring in,

then eventually they will have very little worth pouring out at all. And that will become apparent,

not first of all to the congregation, but to, and then eventually to the congregation. I recall,

I have it in my notes somewhere. I don't know where I took it from, but Mr. Mrs. Hudson were in church,

and they were listening to some poor soul as he was trying to make a go of the Bible.

And he finally dribbled to a conclusion. And Mr. Hudson said to his wife,

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