Text: 1 Timothy 6:1-2
Exegesis
- Theme: Christian Slaves
- Topic: How Christian slaves should behave toward their masters
- Truth: God must be honored regardless of the believer’s life situation.
- Thrust: Christian slaves must learn to behave in a God-honoring way toward their masters, especially when their masters are believers.
Exposition
- Theme: Christians who have superiors
- Topic: How Christians must behave in relation to superiors
- Truth: Christians must honor God by respecting superiors in whatever life situation they are in.
- Thrust: Christians must learn to honor God by respecting those who are over them, even if they are believers.
Exhortation
- Type: Thrust-oriented Passage
- Take Home Message: Serve excellently for God’s glory. (Tagline)
- Trailing question: How can we honor God wherever we are?
- Talk (sermon):
A. Take-off (intro)
Many people today are not impressed with those who claim to be believers or Christians. There are reasons. One of them is the fact that believers just love to talk about spiritual matters. But they fail to honor God in their unique life situations. They don’t study well in their schools. They don’t work excellently in the workplace. They are good for nothing but singing and clapping during worship services. This should not be. We must learn to honor God in whatever life situation we are in. We must not be just good at singing and clapping our hands. We must also honor God as good students and faithful employees. In other words, we must learn to honor God in whatever life situation we are in.
B. Teaching outline (body): How can we honor God wherever we are?
- We must always seek to represent God (v.1).
- We must always seek to respect superiors (v.2).
C. Touchdown (conclusion)
We must learn to “Serve excellently for God’s glory.” Wherever we are and whatever we’re doing, we must learn to honor God and cause others to honor Him as well. We do this by representing God wherever we are and respecting others, especially superiors, and even if they are fellow believers like us. Our sphere of influence must not be limited in the church. We must be salt and light wherever we are.