Confess Neglecting the Word

1 Timothy 4:13-16

"Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."

Paul writes to Timothy about how to lead the church in his absence. In the big picture each of us is to live this way, even if we don’t do this for a living. Read the Word. Exhort people from the Word. Figure out the big picture doctrine of the Word. Don’t neglect your ability to read the Word. Give yourself entirely to the Word. We use the Word to evaluate our lives and our understanding of God. So in our worship service we make sure we read more than a few token verses for inspiration. We read from Old and New Testaments each Lord’s Day, and I try to balance our diet between Law, Prophets, Writings, Gospels and Epistles. We need time to consider God’s Word. This is partly what the sermon is about, but also what the rest of the Lord’s Day is about, as well as preparation before you come. Are you giving attention to God’s Word?

9/30/12