Thank you. God doesn't need our help to accomplish his purpose, but he chooses to include us in the process.

So how can we be useful to God?

We'll hear the answer today on Truth for Life and find out why it's a

privilege to serve God. Alistair Begg is teaching from 2 Timothy chapter 2. We're looking at

verses 20 through 22. Well, as I've been studying this week and this particular passage, which is not unfamiliar to me, nor will it be to you,

I have had in mind an incident that took place some time ago that some of our existing elders may even recall.

It was when we were still in the high school.

We had no building of our own, and our offices were on 91 along their opposite the Shell Station.

And so our elders' meetings took place in those offices, and the men would gather and assemble there.

And one evening, as I arrived, one of the men had got there a little early and had availed

himself of coffee, which was absolutely fine.

I was part of the plan.

But he actually was using my mug.

And I'm a little strange about that.

And so I said to him, I said, that's my mug.

He was a southern man, has gone back to the south, a dear man, he and his wife,

and he was notorious at the elders' meetings for a line that he used infrequently.

He used to say,

I'm going to say my peace, and then I'm going to hush. And so on this occasion, he said

his peace in response to my pointing out that he had invaded my territory, at least as it came to utensils.

And we came back at the subsequent elders' meeting to discover that there were mugs

placed at everybody's place in the elders' meeting, including my own.

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