Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Read Titus 3:1-8 to prepare for the sermon this Sunday.
• How would you summarize these verses in a single sentence?
• List the instructions found in verses 1-2 that Paul tells Titus he is to give to “them.”
• List the categories that comprise the lifestyle and mindset of the typical non-Christian as detailed in verse 3.
• What is the first word of verse 4 and why is it so important in these verses? What is it stressing? Who did the work of salvation found in verse 5?
• List the various elements of salvation that are mentioned in verses 4-7.
• What are the results of the powerful work of the gospel in us according to verse 8?
• The Sermon Study equipping class notes are available online for anyone wanting to dig deeper. Please review this week's notes to help study this passage. Click here for the notes.

Prayerfully Meditate

• What would make obeying these instructions so difficult for the Christians in Crete?
• Who would be modern parallels to the people and challenges the Christians in Crete were called to be submissive to?
• In regard to our need to be submissive and obedient to non-Christian rulers over us, why should we keep in mind that we did nothing to make our salvation effective?
• How is this section helpful in thinking about how to be effective in our own evangelism?
• What are some of the practical effects of the gospel in your life? What do the good works that come from believing in the gospel look like in your life?