A couple of months ago, I experienced a medical issue which necessitated a trip to the emergency room, several doctor visits, and two new (lifelong) prescriptions. Praise God – what could have been a serious issue was caught in time and is now under control.
Unfortunately, all of these medical interventions have left us with some bills which, while not so enormous that they will render us homeless and starving in the street, are large enough to sting a bit.
If you’ve followed my ministry for any length of time, you know that all of the materials I write, including my Bible studies, are free, and I don’t put anything behind a paywall. I don’t receive any income from blogging, podcasting, or ads, except from a handful of kind donors on Patreon and PayPal.
Normally, that’s just fine. I do what I do to serve the women of the body of Christ, not to earn a salary. My husband supports our family, and we consider any monies I receive from this ministry to be supplementary “Proverbs 31-ish” income.
Also, normally, I don’t ask for financial support, but if you’ve benefited from this ministry and would like to help out, I’m opening up the floor for anyone who would like to help us defray the cost of these bills, even with a small gift. As soon as that cost is covered, I will let you know, so that further donations won’t be necessary.
If you’d like to contribute, you can click over to my Financial Support tab or see the info below.
Thank you, dear ones, for your kindness and generosity.
(Normally, I send a thank you note to donors, but Cash App does not provide any contact information and only lets me respond to donors with an emoji. Please know that I am deeply thankful for your kindness and generosity and promise to steward your gift well.)
It brought me such joy, recently, to share with a great group of ladies at the Jesus Camp, Nantucket Women’s Retreat on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Conferences are super for reaching out to women in your community and surrounding areas, but retreats provide an intimate atmosphere that’s conducive to both formal instruction and informal, one on one discipleship. And we had plenty of time and space for both! Many thanks to Darcy Creech Marelli for opening up her lovely homes and hosting this biannual time of refreshing for women from all over the country.
I love the way Darcy decorates her homes with these varied and striking maps of Nantucket!
My husband doesn’t often get to come with me to speaking engagements, but since we’ll be celebrating our 30th anniversary in December, we decided to make this a “working second honeymoon,” driving up to the retreat together, exploring Nantucket, and visiting any sites that caught our fancy on the drive home. (In case you’re wondering, it’s about a 24 hour drive from our home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Hyannis, Massachusetts, where we caught the ferry to Nantucket Island.)
A loo with a view! :0)
Our view from the ferry as we docked in Nantucket.
Darcy and her friend Sheree graciously picked us up at the ferry and whisked us out to the High Point, the Jesus Camp property, a lovely home and guest house perfect for hosting retreats and other getaways. (Ladies if you enjoy admiring beautifully appointed homes, be sure to check out the slideshow and video of High Point here. You’ll love the nautical and local island themes!)
The main house – High Point
The guest house
Sunset from the roof of High Point
Things got off to a cozy start Wednesday night with the arrival of all the retreat attendees. We shared a delicious dinner, then had the opportunity to hear everyone’s testimonies. Our backgrounds varied from those of us who were born and raised in church and came to know Christ at an early age to those who had survived abuse, or walked on the wild side, or were involved in heretical church backgrounds before coming to Christ later in life. There is no such thing as a “boring” testimony. Every new birth in Jesus is a miracle of His mercy and grace.
Thursday’s teaching started with God’s Word, Our Foundation, discussing the necessity, authority and sufficiency of God’s Word. We rounded out our instructional time with Teach What Is Good: Discipling Women in the 21st Century, examining biblical and practical discipleship and women’s ministry. Each session was followed by a time of Q&A and discussion groups.
Friday, session 1 was Hooked on a Feeling: Living By God’s Word Instead of Our Emotions. As Christians, our feelings don’t get to lead us around by the nose, we submit to the authority of Scripture instead. Our second session was Discernment 101. Both teaching sessions were again followed by Q&A and discussion groups. Many of the ladies were new to discernment and were disappointed to learn that some of their favorite ministries, authors, and teachers are false teachers. But they were all very gracious and receptive, and I had several fruitful conversations with women who were eager to learn.
During free time, the ladies enjoyed chatting around the dinner table, relaxing in the pool and hot tub, and trips into town and to the beach.
Retreat swag! Darcy kindly provided these resources and gifts for retreat attendees, and gave me a special treat of honey from High Point’s hive!
Ana, a retreat attendee who is originally from Guatemala but now resides in Ohio, brought me these lovely gifts. Homemade buckeyes and Guatemalan gifts and coffee. The sale of this coffee supports the orphanage and foster care home Ana and her husband still operate in Guatemala.
All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. It was a wonderful time of fellowship in the Lord, and I’m looking forward to going back next year! Many thanks to Darcy and her assistant, Otilia, who worked so hard to host a great retreat, took care of all my needs, and made my husband and me feel so welcome.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Click here for more information.
When the retreat was over, my husband, Scott, and I had the opportunity to explore the island a bit. We went out to Great Point, the farthest point on the island, and had a wonderful time seeing the seals and the Great Point lighthouse. The shops downtown were charming, and we enjoyed an authentic Nantucket dinner at The SeaGrille.
If you think this is a lot of pictures of seals, you should see how many I deleted. :0)
Look how close the seals came to the shore!
A quirky hippo statue outside one of the shops.
The next day, we boarded the ferry and headed back to the mainland. Since Plymouth, Massachusetts, was only 30 minutes away, we decided to make that our first sightseeing stop.
At Plimoth Patuxet we saw recreations of a Patuxet home site and 17th century English village. We enjoyed seeing Wampanoag (Indian) boats, dwellings, and a cooking demonstration. The Wampanoag word for the succotash stew (turkey, beans, corn, celery, onions, etc.) our guide was making means “throw it in”. (There’s a running joke in Louisiana that that’s pretty much what “gumbo” means, too.) They would just throw in whatever they had and keep adding to it. We sampled some at the visitors’ center, and it was pretty good – basically a turkey and vegetable soup. We also saw the English village, made up of several Pilgrim homes and a fort.
Our guide making succotash
The succotash we got to sample in the visitors’ center.
The English village (view from the fort)
I found the theology books the Pilgrims brought with them.
This was the women’s ministry book, lol. :0)
The fort.
We loved the beautiful fall foliage and scenery in the Plymouth area.
Our next stop in Plymouth was Jenney family grist mill. It was situated in a lovely little area, on, of course, a running stream. It still operates several times a week.
From the mill, we walked over to Plymouth Rock. It sits ensconced in a little pavilion on the side of the road. No velvet ropes or admission fees, no big hoopla. It’s just there. Along the way we saw some other Pilgrim points of interest including the Scrooby Leyden Church / Mayflower Meetinghouse and the Church of the Pilgrimage, along with monuments to Governor William Bradford and Elder William Brewster.
Scrooby Leyden Church / Mayflower Meetinghouse
Church of the Pilgrimage
“A man that had done and suffered much for ye Lord Jesus and ye gospell’s sake…”
Our final stop in Plymouth was the Mayflower II, a replica of the original Mayflower. It was much smaller than I expected, and very spare in its appointments.
In case any of the Pilgrims fell overboard. :0)
I’m glad the Pilgrims had a fire extinguisher aboard. :0)
My husband is a JFK buff, so the next day we drove the half hour to Boston and visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of the University of Massachusetts. (If you’d like to hear the “My Daddy Is President” song, click here.)
“Ask not what your country can do for you….”
<<One of Jackie’s gowns
Can you believe this was a purse?
A piece of the Berlin wall.
There was a special exhibit on John Jr. and Caroline.
I actually took this picture because the pose, the hairstyle, everything is very similar to a picture of my mother with my sister and me.
<<Painting by Grandma Moses that hung in Caroline’s bedroom.
“My Daddy is President” song
Matching rockers for Caroline and John Jr. made by a craftsman in North Carolina
Dolls from Caroline’s extensive collection. As a child I had a doll from Mexico that was almost exactly like the one in the black dress.
I had wanted to visit New York City on our way home, but, unfortunately, we didn’t have time. This is as close as we got.
After Boston, we headed for Hershey, Pennsylvania, and spent most of the day at Chocolate World. We went on a ride that explained how chocolate is made, designed our own candy bars, went to a chocolate tasting, and took a trolley tour of the town.
Milton S. Hershey
And one last stop on our way home from Alabama. I finally got a chance to go to Buc-ee’s!
Photo Credits
All photos marked with a white star were taken by Ana Morales.
1. Was there anything new God taught you in this study that particularly impacted you? What was it, and why was it so significant?
2. How is your walk with the Lord different after this study than it was before?
3. What did you learn from this study about the nature and character of God?
4. What did this study teach you about the structure and order of the church? About the orderliness of God?
5. What did this study teach you about your role, function, and responsibilities as a church member?
6. Have there been any passages or concepts in this study that God used to convict you of disobedience and lead you to repentance? How will you walk differently in this area from now on?
7. Describe one specific, practical way you will apply to your life something you learned in this study.
Homework
Spend some time in prayer this week asking God to show you how to put into practice one thing you learned from this study.
Recite all of your memory verses from this study. Which one is most meaningful to you right now?
1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson. How does that passage carry over to, impact, and set the tone and context for this week’s passage?
2. If we broadly characterize the lists of personal requirements in chapters 1&2 as character and behavior of Christians inside the gathering of the church, how would you broadly characterize the list of instructions in verses 1-2, 8b, 14? Do these instructions tend more toward character or external behavior? How does this compare with the requirements in chapters 1&2?
Let’s examine each of the instructions for church members in 1-2, 8b, 14:
Be obedient: Describe a Christian who walks in obedience in her daily life. To what and whom is she obedient? Is she subservient? Oppressed? How does her obedience look like Jesus’ example of obedience in the gospels?
Be ready for every good work: Notice this phrase doesn’t just say to do good works, but to be ready for every good work. What does it mean to “be ready” for every good work? How does being ready – being prepared, organized, planning ahead, etc. – help us get more good works done, and done well? How does this concept of being ready line up with the theme of “setting things in order” in the book of Titus?
Speak evil of no one: Wait a minute, didn’t Paul just say (1:12-13) it’s true that Cretans are “liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” and that they should be rebuked sharply? Isn’t that “speaking evil” of them? Why not? What does it mean to speak evil of someone? How is that different from speaking hard truths about someone or something when the situation requires it? Some professing Christians would say that warning against false teachers is “speaking evil” of them. Is this true? Why not?
Avoid quarreling: Give some examples of what this might mean in your own life. What does it not mean? (For example, does it mean not to contend for the faith? Never to oppose or correct anyone?)
Be gentle: What does it mean to be gentle as a Christian? Do Scripture’s various admonitions and descriptions of gentleness mean there is never a time to be assertive, even harsh, or is it more of a general descriptor? Consider again Paul’s instruction in 1:13 to “rebuke them sharply,” and these Scriptures.
Show perfect courtesy toward all people: Apply the questions asked in the sections above (speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, and be gentle). Does showing perfect courtesy to everyone mean never to confront someone, stop someone from hurting others, etc., or is it just a general instruction not to be a rude person? Consider these passages.
Devote themselves to good works: Why do you think Paul mentions this twice (8b, 14)? What is the difference between being devoted to good works and being ready for every good work? How do the two go hand in hand? Some Christians can be a bit “triggered” by the phrase “good works,” afraid that any time they see or hear it, the writer or speaker is saying that we are saved by our own good works. Is that what Paul means by “devoting themselves to good works”? How do you know? (Hint: Look ahead to v. 5.) What is the difference between a person who thinks she can be saved by her own good works and a person doing good works out of love for Christ and obedience to Scripture because she’s already saved?
Help cases of urgent need: Think about socio-political culture of the first century. What sort of “cases of urgent need” might have presented themselves in the churches of Crete? How does your church family work together to “help cases of urgent need”?
Not be unfruitful: Examine the cross-references listed. What does an unfruitful church or individual Christian look like? Why does Paul admonish against unfruitfulness? How can the church and individual Christians be fruitful instead?
3. Examine verses 3-7. How do verses 3-7 answer the question of why Paul wants Titus to “remind them to be…” in verses 1-2? (Hint: What’s another word you could substitute for “For” at the beginning of 3?) How does this “why” apply to your life and behavior today?
How does verse 3 describe lost people? How does each descriptor in verse 3 describe you prior to salvation? Why is it good, from time to time, to remember how we lived and what we were like before we got saved?
Verses 3-7 explain how salvation happens. Work carefully through these verses and explain each step of the process in your own words.
Imagine you had a friend who believed in works righteousness – the idea that we can earn our salvation by our good works alone or by Jesus plus good works. Using verses 3-7, how would you explain salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone to her?
4. Examine verses 8-11. List and explain the reason for each specific instruction God gives Titus in these verses.
Notice God’s instruction to Titus (and all pastors) to insist (8) on these things in 1-7. Describe what it would mean for a pastor to insist on “these things” in verses 1-2, verse 3, and verses 4-7. (It might help to look at 8 in a few different translations.) How does this fit with the perspective many hold today that pastors should be “nuanced” and “winsome” when addressing these things?
Summarize God’s desire for the church in these verses:
8- God wants the church to focus its efforts and attention on what? Why?
9- God does not want the church to focus its efforts and attention on what? Why?
10-11- What are Titus / pastors to do if someone in the church starts stirring up dissension by getting those two things (8-9) backwards? Why?
5. Sometimes we can accidentally slip into thinking of people like Paul and Titus as characters in a story. How can passages like verses 12-15 serve as an endearing reminder that they were real people with real Christian friends living real day to day lives just like you and me? Has it ever occurred to you that, even though you can’t see them, Paul and Titus are – right this very minute – your brothers in Christ, and you are their sister in Christ, just as much as the brothers and sisters in Christ you see every week at church? What are your thoughts about that?
Homework
Verse 1 says: “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities”. Christians submitting to the authority in our lives is a major theme of the New Testament. Do a study of this theme. Type into your concordance words like “submit,” (often, if you’ll type in, for example, “submi,” your concordance will give you all forms of the word: submitting, submission, submits, etc.) “obey,” “authority,” etc., and examine the verses that pop up. Why, in general, does God want Christians to submit to authority? Are there times when we should not submit to particular authorities? How do Scripture and godly wisdom play into this? Who are the authorities in our lives that God wants us to submit to, and why? How does submitting to authority grow us, sanctify us, and make us more like Christ? What does our submission to authority teach a watching world about submitting to God?
1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson. How does that passage carry over to, impact, and set the tone and context for this week’s passage?
2. In lesson 4 (link above, see question 2) we noted that 1:9 and 2:1 bookend the section (1:10-16) on false teachers. Today, note how 2:1 and 2:7-8 bookend the section (2:2-6) on the character and behavior qualities of church members. What aspect(s) of the pastor’s life, ministry, and/or character does verse 1 address? Verses 7-8? How does the spiritual health, doctrinal soundness, and maturity of the church both begin and end with the pastor? How can both a pastor’s teaching (2:1) and his character / behavior (7-8) impact the church toward godliness? How can the pastor’s teaching and character / behavior set a godly example for older and younger men and women (2:2-6)?
3. Compare the exhortation to older women in 3-5 to the exhortation to pastors in 7-8, especially the “so that’s” in 5b and 8b. What differences and similarities do you see? The “so that’s” explain the purpose of each of these instructions. What are those purposes? Review your answers to this question alongside your answers to question 5 from lesson 4 (link above).
4. Why do the character and behavior qualities of bondservants (9-10) seem almost to be added as an afterthought – outside the “bookends” of the pastor in 2:1 and 7-8 – to this section? Is it because they are somehow “second class citizens” in the church? Describe the character and behavior qualities of bondservants in 9-10. Why are more instructions given to bondservants than some of the other church members in 2:1-8? While there are character qualities and behaviors that are unique to, say, pastors and women, how do the character qualities and behaviors of bondservants translate to all of us who are servants of Christ? Compare the “so that” of bondservants (10), stated in the positive, to the “so that’s” of women (5) and pastors (8), stated in the negative.
5. Examine 11-14. What does the word “For” mean at the beginning of 11? Summarize the main points of 11-14. What is the reason(s), in these verses, for the instructions that have been given in 2:1-10, and even since 1:1? Why do we as individual Christians and as the church body comport ourselves as we do and carry out the tasks we carry out?
Carefully study verse 12. What does it look like for…
Christians in general
the members of your local church
you, personally
…to “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age”? What are some specific things each of those groups would do differently in their particular situations if they were renouncing ungodliness, etc.? How does God’s grace “train” (11) us to live the way verse 12 describes? Compare the description of God’s grace “training” us (11-12, 14) to pastors training and teaching the congregation (1:9, 2:1, 15), and to older women teaching and training younger women (2:3-5). Notice how each (God’s grace, pastors, older women) trains in both the positive (“do this”) and the negative (“don’t do that”). How does teaching / training from pastors and older women reflect the way that God’s grace trains each of us?
What is the purpose for which Christ gave Himself to redeem us (14)? How is Christ giving Himself for us to redeem us (14) the impetus for renouncing ungodliness, etc. (12)? Is it possible to live the way verse 12 describes if you have not been redeemed by Christ? Why?
Imagine you have a “Christian” friend whose outlook on life is, “I prayed the prayer and walked the aisle. I’ve got my ticket to Heaven punched, so it doesn’t really matter how I live between now and my death. I can do whatever I want.” How would you correct her with verses 11-14?
6. Who is the “you” in verse 15? How does this verse – and Paul continually circling back to Titus – help remind us that the book of Titus is a pastoral epistle? What is the purpose of a pastoral epistle?
Notice the emphasis on a pastor’s authority in verse 15. Consider the authority of your pastor and other pastors you may know in light of this verse. Why is it important for a pastor to exercise godly authority and oversight over his congregation? Compare verse 15 to these passages. Describe biblical pastoral authority.
Homework
Study the theme of self-control in Titus 2. How many times is self-control mentioned, and in which verses? For which individuals or groups in the church is self-control a required character trait, and why? How does self-control, exercised by each individual and group in the church, lend itself to the orderliness, unity, and spiritual maturity of the church? What specific ways can you personally, and the older and younger women in your church practice self-control?
