This is expressed in the Shema, which comes from Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, (Deuteronomy 6:4) ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you would fully trust in Christ as your

gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom. 1: However, verses like 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and Philippians 4:6 remind us that the foundation of a prayerful Then passages like 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 tell us to give thanks in everything. Thess 1:6). momentary sufferings pale in comparison to the eternal glory God has in store for His people (2 Cor. 4:

The world keeps trying to drive a wedge between Jesus and the Church. Don't fall for it! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 23 Q. What are these articles of the Christian faith? A. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Summary The letters that Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus are called the pastoral epistles, since Paul sent them to these two young pastors with instructions on how to build up and care for their local churches. This first letter to Timothy begins with instructions on how worship and how to identify men to lead the churches as elders and deacons. But it's in the verses we read today, which is almost at the exact center of the letter, that Paul lays the foundation for the Church: the Church is built upon a creed. A creed is a summary statement of the primary tenants of a particular belief system. There's a ton of theology packed into these two sentences: The Church is the household of God, and since the Church's main task is to proclaim God's Word, it is the "pillar and foundation of the truth." Jesus Christ is the source of all true godliness for those who are in Him; God became incarnate, and the God-Man was given the stamp of approval by the Holy Spirit; The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for the entire world; Jesus has ascended to glory! This means that a Man is presently sitting at the right hand of God working out all things for His Church. Dig Deeper Most of us in this Bible reading plan are part of Reformed churches, and one of the distinctives of Reformed churches is a strong adherence to creeds and confessions. Confessions are slightly longer documents that summarize what we believe the Bible says about important topics. The Heidelberg Catechism, which we're also reading through this year, is an example of a confession. The Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt are the two other confessions Reformed churches subscribe to. Many Presbyterians subscribe to the Westminster Standards, while some Lutherans hold to the Formula of Concord. Confessions, for the most part, are products of the Protestant Reformation - tools used to articulate what the Bible actually teaches about core doctrines. Creeds are much older than confessions. Adherence to creeds like the Apostle's Creed often is the determining factor as to whether a particular church can properly call itself Christian or not. There have always been some, who look at all of the strife and division in the Church and trace it to these 'man made' creeds, and self righteously declare they have no creed but Christ, as if somehow their own personal interpretations of the Bible will be more pure than declarations that have passed centuries of examination. It's true that the Apostle's Creed was written by men. We don't considered it to be inspired or give it the same authority we give to scripture. But not only is every word and phrase of our creeds and confessions meticulously based in scripture, you can see from our passage today, which is just one of dozens of similar passages in the Bible, that's God's people have always expressed their core beliefs in the form of creeds (note the different formatting of v16 - Paul was likely quoting an early creedal hymn of the church). Praise God for those who came before us and wrote the creeds to keep the Church centered on God's inerrant, infallible Word of Truth. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The Living God, who lives in His Church, the pillar and foundation of the truth. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will know and believe the core doctrines of Christianity well. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 19

3:16-18 - Simple Beauty 1 John 4:8-10 - This Is Love Psalm 103 - Praise the LORD! ​ ​ Article 4: A Twofold Response to the Gospel John 1:9-13 - The TRUE Light John 3:31-36 - Wrath Removed 3-6 - Before the Foundation Deuteronomy 7:1-10 - Set Apart John 17:1-5 - Sovereign Submission John 17 1-8 - One and the Same Romans 4:9-17 - Chicken or Egg? 2 Timothy 1:7-10 - Passive & Powered Titus 3:3-7 - Transformed Deuteronomy 9:4-6 - You're Not That Awesome

Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NIV) This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 4  has echoes of the creation mandate God first gave to Adam & Eve, to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:

3:16-18 - Simple Beauty 1 John 4:8-10 - This Is Love Psalm 103 - Praise the LORD! ​ ​ Article 4: A Twofold Response to the Gospel John 1:9-13 - The TRUE Light John 3:31-36 - Wrath Removed 3-6 - Before the Foundation Deuteronomy 7:1-10 - Set Apart John 17:1-5 - Sovereign Submission John 17 1-8 - One and the Same Romans 4:9-17 - Chicken or Egg? 2 Timothy 1:7-10 - Passive & Powered Titus 3:3-7 - Transformed Deuteronomy 9:4-6 - You're Not That Awesome

You'll never understand how clean you've been made till you understand how filthy you were! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 73 Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins? A. God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies. But more important, he wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sign, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water Summary Once again we're reminded as we read God's Word that sin is a serious problem. Far from being little indiscretions that the kindly 'Old Man in the sky' sort of snickers at, and much more impactful than just keeping us from living our best life now, we read that those who are unrighteous (wrongdoers) will not inherit the kingdom of God (v9)! Paul defines what it means to be unrighteous using what's often been called a 'vice list' - that is, a list of significant sins that often show up in Paul's letters. Understand that this isn't a comprehensive list, meaning that these nine sins are not the only nine sins possible. They're just a representation of the whole. Paul uses these vice lists to shine the light on the filth of humanity. But the primary purpose of this passage isn't to warn you of the massive danger of unrepentant sin (although it does), rather Paul's point here is no matter how filthy these sins have made you in the past, you've now been washed, sanctified and made righteous. (v11). Dig Deeper Most of us experience baptism in the context of a newborn baby being brought forward by her parents. The baby is soft & cuddly, beautifully dressed and in the arms of her proud parents. Often the grandparents look on with big smiles on their faces. It truly is a time of celebration as a new covenant child is welcomed into the congregation. We'll dig deeper into why it is that we baptize the children of believers in our Reformed churches later this week, but one of the big difficulties that we must work past in bringing babies to be baptized is that they don't look anything at all like the type of sinners Paul described at the beginning to today's passage. But even though they've not yet committed the gross sins in Paul's vice lists, they are completely covered in the filth of sin. When you fail to realize just how sinfully filthy you are from the moment of your conception, you fail to realize how dire your circumstances are apart from Christ, and how disgusting it is for your Father when you take what the Holy Spirit has washed clean and make yourself filthy all over again. If you've been baptized, thank God that He, through Christ, has washed you clean in the same way water removes filth. If you've not been baptized, what are you waiting for? Reach out to your elders or pastor so you can experience first hand the tangible reminder of how you've been washed in the blood of Christ (plus, God's commanded you to do so!). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our holy and righteous Father, who will not bestow His Kingdom on those who remain in the filth of their sins; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that you've been washed clean by Christ, and pray that temptations are kept far from you so that you don't fall into the filth again. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 5

The message of the Bible is complex, but it's not complicated. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 2 Q. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort? A. Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Summary The Bible certainly has implications for every facet of life, and over the millenia, tens of thousands of pages of deep and complicated theology have been written unpacking the rich truth contained in scripture. But the primary message of the Bible is elegant in its simplicity. You only need to know three things. Paul explains this to young Pastor Timothy in today's passage. First, know that God has saved you... not because of anything you have done, but because of his own purpose and grace (v9a). The fact that you need salvation in the first place presupposes that you have something that you need salvation from. This is why the Bible goes to such great lengths to show you 'how great [massive] your sin & misery are.' Second, having recognized your need for salvation, you can trust in Christ alone, who who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (v10). Finally, knowing that you have been saved from your overwhelming sin problem must result in gratitude that changes the way you live. Not only did Jesus save you, but He called you to a holy life (v9a). Dig Deeper Notice the aggressive language Paul exhorts you with in this passage: fan into flame the gift of God (v6) Christians aren't timid, rather they're full of power, love & self discipline (v7) Don't be ashamed... suffer for the gospel by the power of God (v8) Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you (v14) As you begin a new year, pray that you will understand these three basic facts: that you'll come to recognize the depth of your sin (your Guilt), the magnitude of what Christ did to save you (Grace), and that in response you'll aggressively demonstrate your Gratitude by living a holy life. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father who by His power saved you and called you to a holy life (v9) ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Repent of your sin, thank God for His salvation through Christ, and ask for strength to live a holy life. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Mark 5

3:16-18 - Simple Beauty 1 John 4:8-10 - This Is Love Psalm 103 - Praise the LORD! ​ ​ Article 4: A Twofold Response to the Gospel John 1:9-13 - The TRUE Light John 3:31-36 - Wrath Removed 3-6 - Before the Foundation Deuteronomy 7:1-10 - Set Apart John 17:1-5 - Sovereign Submission John 17 1-8 - One and the Same Romans 4:9-17 - Chicken or Egg? 2 Timothy 1:7-10 - Passive & Powered Titus 3:3-7 - Transformed Deuteronomy 9:4-6 - You're Not That Awesome

Hebrews 4:12–13 (NIV) 12  For the word of God is alive and active. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity Point 4 - Irresistible Grace Article 11: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Conversion Moreover, when God works Today: 1 Corinthians 14