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Timothy Study - Part 11. As Christians, we have the responsibility daily to provide encouragement by sharing the love of God. The lesson on May 6, 2007 provides a review of the
lesson regarding widows but then picks up to study the passages on
Elders in verse 17. 1 Timothy 5:17 says “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.” Elders are particularly
qualified to teach the word of God and that’s why it is important that the qualifications that God established when selecting an elder in the church are followed.
Elders are individuals that have ruled well showing they are faithful individuals especially when they receive a double honor by laboring in the word and
doctrine. Elders are wise, able, and are faithful because they have spent time in the word of God. We are reminded of the qualifications of the elder
listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-13. Timothy is being told what the work of a good minister is in the church. We see however that elders are not perfect. In
verse 19 there are instructions on how to handle rebuking an elder properly. The offense spoken about in verse 19 is a criminal accusation similar to the
type of accusation the Jewish leaders attempted to put on Jesus in Luke 6:6-7 or John 18:33-38 which never were proven. As Pilate said “I find in him
no fault at all”. The same is true when handling accusations against an
elder because you need to have two or three witnesses to be sure. We need to be careful about the individuals we choose to be elders as Paul expressed in Titus 1:5-6 “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order
the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of
one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.” Paul the charges Timothy with a serious charge in 1 Tim 5:21 “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without
preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.” The lesson comments on the statement found in verse 18 “For
the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn...” which is taken from Deuteronomy 25:4 when
there are stories about handing out judgment. The elders are in need of our prayer and support.   Click here to listen now. You may also want to listen to the entire series located here.
 Mother’s Day. The lesson on May 13, 2007 celebrates Mother’s Day with a lesson on Genesis 4:1
-7 with the first children who were born and the first to celebrate having a mom. Genesis 4:1-4 “And
Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the
LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller
of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:” Derek shares his own experience with
his mom who passed away this year. He expressed his concern that she was not saved but he knows that it’s not his job
to judge if she was saved but it is the Lords. We don’t always have the ideal situation in families but God can heal a
broken heart. Eve must have had a broken heart because one son killed the other. Cain was the one who committed
murder and was then cursed and banished because of what he did. This must have weighed heavy on Eve’s heart. It
started in Genesis 3:16 with the sentence passed on to Eve by God when she was tricked by the wiles of the devil “Unto
the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy
desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” The woman started with sorrow by giving birth to Cain. Cain
killed his brother Abel because he was an evil man as explained in I John 3:11-12 “For this is the message that ye heard
from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And
wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.” A parent is supposed to raise up
a child in the way he sould go... Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The lesson that God wants mother’s to teach their children is that faith, hope, and love is found in God.
The lesson ends by reading a poem entitled “A Mother’s Heart” by Jennifer Jones. Click here to listen now. You may also want to review all the lessons celebrating Motherhood.
 Timothy Study - Part 12. The lesson on May 20, 2007 continues the lesson in Timothy and
covers Chapter 5:21-25. Isn’t it required of a Christian to guard our heart? In Proverbs 4:23 it
says “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Jeremiah says that
there is nothing more deceitful than the heart. Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” If Christians don’t guard
their heart, it leads us astray. Sin never wins and faith never fails. Faith comes from the study
of the word of God where you learn the divinely implanted principles of God.. In 1 Timothy 5:21
we find Paul charges Timothy in a very serious manner with doing nothing by partiality. In churches today we find they
are in a habit of picking elders with partiality. They pick men of certain worldly talents instead of biblical knowledge. It
says in Proverbs 28:21 “To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.” If you
pick men to hold leadership positions in church who haven’t been tested, they will corrupt the church. We see an example
of choosing leadership correctly in Deuteronomy 1:15-17 when Moses picked elders to be judges over the different tribes
in Israel. Paul is charging Timothy to exercise the same wisdom when picking elders within the church. The lesson
continues with the remainder of chapter 5. 1 Timothy 5:22-25 “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of
other men's sins: keep thyself pure. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often
infirmities. Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise
also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.” 1 Timothy 6:1-2 is also
covered which brings the instruction to the ministers of the church to a close. Click here to listen
now. You may also want to review all of the audio lessons on the Timothy.
 Memorial and Remembrance. The lesson on May 27, 2007 takes time to recognize Memorial
Day in America honoring those that have died in service of the United States of America. If you
look up the word “Memorial” in scripture, you find many passages speaking of remembering
something, whether it is a person or an event. Basically memorial is tied to remembrance and is
important in the growth of our Christianity. There a many examples in scripture where you find
stories that tell of the Lord’s desire to keep reminding the generations of Israel of how God had
saved their nation. One story that is discussed is when Israel crosses over the river Jordan
and into the promised land. They did so over dry ground because God performed a miracle and
stopped the river and dried the soil so they could cross the river. He instructed them to stack stones to commemorate the
event and remind the subsequent generations of God’s history of caring for the nation of Israel. Joshua 4:5-7 “And Joshua
said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you
a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign
among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye
shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed
over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.” The problem with Israel is that a generation would pass and would fall away from following what God wanted them
to do. It is a common problem with mankind and why history repeats itself. We tend to be quick to forget what has been
done before and become relaxed to the point of allowing past errors to repeat. This is true with the price of freedom and
why a Memorial Day has been set aside to remind those who are living today that it is because patriots have died to secure that freedom. In Romans 5:6-8 it says “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The lesson continues to cover
truth in scripture that we should keep in remembrance of what we have in Christ and how He has accomplished everything for us because God loves us.  The lesson has a handout. Click here to listen now.
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Audio Lessons for this Month
