On January 6, 2013, Pastor Chris will begin a new preaching series on 1 Timothy. This amazing segment of God’s Word (and it’s all amazing) is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the biblical vision for the local church.  It would be a great exercise to begin reading through 1 Timothy now. Why not read 1 Timothy 20-30 times over the next six months? (See this post, “How I Got Started as a Spiritual Leader”).

Those who attend our church know that we are committed to expository preaching. If you are not familiar with the term, “expository preaching,” it means that we believe that the call of the preacher is to preach the Word of God (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Our goal in the pulpit is not for me to share my thoughts. Rather, we want to hear from God’s truth. As I have argued elsewhere in a Gospel Coalition article, a sermon should be a “biblical bullet fired at the life of the listener.”

My favorite kind of expository preaching is to work through a book of the Bible. There is nothing like the whole congregation getting to know a segment of God’s Word together.

Beginning in January, I will preach a new series from 1 Timothy. This is a letter from the Apostle Paul to Timothy in which Paul is equipping Timothy for church leadership. Consequently, the letter is rich with significance for the local church. Indeed, in what may be the very heart of the letter, Paul encourages Timothy that the church is “a pillar and buttress of  truth.”

I am already immersing myself in 1 Timothy. Our church family is encouraged to do the same. Why note read 1 Timothy repeatedly in the weeks to come? Write down the date at the end of the book each time you finish. For me, it was a reading exercise like this which made all the difference!