After twenty years, the speaker meets his extended family, seventy Johnsons, and, looking at an old photo of his grandfather, suddenly understands where he himself came from. From this family discovery he leads us to the letter to Titus (Titus 2), where Paul shows how the different generations in a community need one another, like a family in which we finally learn who we really are. The church is meant to be the safest place on earth to fail and to succeed, because entry into this family is a gift, not a reward. Listen to how the Gospel heals our fear of rejection and teaches true closeness.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Titus 2:1-8 Paul addresses older men, older women, younger women and younger men in turn. What ties these instructions together, and why are the older women told to teach the younger ones?
- The speaker explained that household work in the ancient world was the center of economic life. How does this change your understanding of what Paul expects of the younger women?
- The sermon compared social media relationships to a spoonful of relational sugar with no nutritional value. Which relationships in your life are truly deep, and who knows you better than you know yourself?
- The speaker described two extremes: an independence so strong it never asks for help, and a leech-like attitude that only takes. Which do you lean toward more often, and how does it affect your relationships in the church?
- Why can the fact that entry into God's family is a gift, not something earned, free us from the fear of failure and rejection in the church?
- What is one concrete step you can take this week, such as talking to someone face to face instead of talking about them behind their back, or asking someone for help?
