Something Greater

Husband of One Wife 1 Timothy 3:2 What has gone before... Paul has written a " job description " for the office of overseer, beginning and ending with two similar descriptors that serve as general heading and summary: Above Reproach and Well Thought Of. "Above reproach" and "well thought of" are open to various definition, according to who is watching or judging. Paul lists twelve specific attitudes, behaviors or conditions which help define these two character qualities. Moving on... "An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed ...

Family and Work, Part 1: The Wife Colossians 3:18-25, 4:1 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (Colossians 3:18 ESV) What do you think? What do you know about the new internet-based social media sites like Facebook or Myspace or Twitter? What has been your experience, good or bad? Paul makes a transition from the general to the specific, from discussing the group of people called the Church, to four distinct relationships : Wife Husband Children Slaves Masters Every person in the world can identify with one or more of these social links. We will see that we are children long past adolescence, and we all are slaves in several imporant respects. We do not commonly use the terms "slaves" and "masters", except in reference to past usage. But these relationships are actually universal and foundational in modern, everyday life. This entire passage flows out of the umbrella statement found in verse 17: And what...