July 19, 2023

Titus 2:1-10 (HCSB)
Sound Teaching and Christian Living
2 But you must say the things that are consistent with sound teaching. 2 Older men are to be level headed, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. 3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 so they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, homemakers, kind, and submissive to their husbands, so that God’s message will not be slandered. 6 In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled 7 in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. 8 Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us. 9 Slaves are to be submissive to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back 10 or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

Barry Cobb
For those of you who don’t know me, I teach the Parents of School Age Children Connect class. While our members range in age, it’s fair to say that I’m one of the older members of our class. If you need further proof, ask Jeremy Cannon. He’s always quick with a joke about that fact. That said, I feel that it works to my favor as a teacher of that group. My children are now 21 and 17, and I’ve already walked the roads that many in our group are just starting down. I feel a responsibility to share the lessons I’ve learned (and mistakes I’ve made) with the parents in our group as they enter the different seasons of parenthood they will eventually face. Paul reflects this same sentiment in today’s verses in speaking of the older men and women in Titus’s ministry. Their experiences can and should be used for teaching and encouragement to younger men and women, just as ours should be today. After all, those experiences make up our testimony, and isn’t that what God calls us to share?