I invite you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 3, and I'm going to share verses 14 to 16. Would you hear God's Word? These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. I grew up in a church-going family. In fact, I don't think I have missed more than two Sundays of church my entire life. But there was a time when I was a teenager and I really didn't want to go to church very much. The church was dead, formal But when I started going to a Baptist Church with some of my friends that changed I Couldn't wait until Sunday would roll around when I would hear and sing good gospel music And I would hear the preaching of God's Word And I want to tell you who else loves the church God loves the church. He founded the church He has great plans for the church. And even though we have failures and problems, God still loves the church. The church will always be His plan for reaching this world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And on this homecoming Sunday, I want to encourage us to renew or strengthen our own commitment to God's Now my text calls the church the church of the living God 30 times in Scripture God is called the living God God is not some dead lifeless idol he is the living God and his church should be a a living, vibrant church in the community. And I want to share this text of Scripture to strengthen our resolve to be just that, a living, vibrant church. First of all, note from our Scripture the nature of the church. What is the church? Is the church a building? No. Is the church just another service or social club in the community? Is the church an entertainment venue? No. The church is the church of the living God. And in this text of Scripture, Paul indicates three things about the nature of the church. First of all, the church is a called-out assembly of believers. That's the meaning of the word ekklesia in Greek, a called-out assembly. Now, in the original language, it could be used of a religious assembly or a secular assembly, but our focus is on the fact that we are an assembly of believers that is called out to worship God, to disciple believers to fellowship in Christ and to go out and serve the Lord. And so the fact that we are a called-out assembly of believers means that we are first called to salvation. If you are a true member of God's church, You have heard the gospel call to believe in Jesus, and you answered that call, and you became a born-again Christian. And the true church is made up of born-again believers who have answered the gospel call. In 2 Thessalonians 2.14, it says that God called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only those who have responded to the gospel call are true members of His church. When I was nine years old, I first sensed that call to believe in Jesus, but I wasn't ready yet. But when I was 12 years old, I saw a movie on television about Jesus. And I was especially touched by that scene of Christ suffering and dying on that cross. I had heard enough of the gospel to know what to do. I went to my bedroom, I knelt by my bed, and I asked Jesus to be my Savior. And He came into my heart. I answered the gospel call. Are you among those that have answered the call? Are you a member of the true called-out church of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, you can be if you haven't answered that call. You can answer it today. But we are also called to a symbol on a regular basis. Believers are to gather each Sunday in His name. and we gather to worship the Lord. Hebrews 10.25 says that we are not to forsake the assembly of ourselves together as the manner of son, but we are to exhort one another. All many churches today have streaming of their services. And you can watch worship right from your home with drinking your coffee and in your pajamas, and you can really enjoy that, can't you? But you know what? It's not the same as being in the assembly of believers. We are called not just to watch worship, we are called to assemble. with believers to worship. It's not just about you. It's also about how you can encourage other believers, how you can fellowship in Christ and pray for each other. And so we are called to gather for worship, for discipleship, for fellowship and for service. But verse 15 also says that the church is the household of God. Now, my translation says It's the house of God. And indeed, there are a number of times in the Bible where the temple of God was called the house of God. But there are many times in Scripture where the word house actually means a household, a family. And I think that's the meaning here. that the church is the household of God. It's not a building. It's the people who gather in the building that is the family of God. That means that God is our Father and we are brothers and sisters in the Lord. And you know, we need to treat one another like family. We need to love one another. We need to care for one another. The church is the household of God, and who's the head of the family? It's Christ. He's the head of the church, and we are to obey him. But thirdly, the church is also the church of the living God, as he says in the last of verse 15. And if we are the church of the living God, then we ought to manifest the life of God. We should be a vibrant, living body of believers, especially when we gather together. Jesus said in John 14, 19, Because I live, you shall live also. We are the body of Christ if we're truly saved. And we receive life from Christ who is the head. And so when we gather for worship, there ought to be life in this place. There ought to be vibrancy in this place. We ought not to be a dead church, but a very much alive church. Do you know what Jesus said to the church in Sardis in Revelation chapter 3? Jesus says, You have a reputation that you're alive, but you're dead, spiritually dead. May that not be true of us. You know, it's sad. And I'm so glad that Skin Quarter Baptist Church has been worshiping in this location for almost 250 years. And a lot of churches this old have died and closed its doors, but this church is still worshiping, it's alive, and may it always be true of this church. We are the church of the living God. It's a bad testimony when a church dies and closes its doors when we're the church of the living God. You know, if you find church boring, If you're unresponsive in worship, perhaps it's not the problem with the church, perhaps it's the problem with yourself. The Bible says in Ephesians 2 that you are dead and trespasses and sins. If you're spiritually dead, of course church will be boring. Of course there'll be something you're not interested in. Of course you'll be unresponsive. But when Christ makes you alive, you want to hear the Word of God. You want to worship Him. You have life in Christ. And so we read about the nature of the church, but we also see in this text of Scripture the conduct of the church. You know, when you're in a family, there's certain Expectations of conduct, if you're going to be a part of this family. When you go to school, there's expectations of conduct. If you're at work, there's certain expectations of conduct. And when you are with the gathered church, Paul indicates here that there are certain expectations of how you are to conduct yourself in the household of God. Now one general principle is this, that God is holy, and when we gather in His name, this gathering is a holy gathering. You know what the word holy means? It means special, separate, different from other gatherings. And so when we gather for worship, you need to regard this as a holy, special gathering. We come here to worship. Our focus should be on worship, not on secular things. You don't need to be scrolling through your social media on your smartphone while the worship of God is taking place. You don't need to be texting your friends while the worship of God is taking place. This is a holy gathering. You need to recognize it as such. Parents need to teach their children how to behave in church to have reverence in church Boy in the old days if you misbehaved in church, you know, what would happen to you? Oh mama would grab that knee and tighten it up, you know And she'd let you know that you're not supposed to misbehave in church And so he said I write that you may know how to conduct yourself in the household of God You know, if we back up into 1 Timothy, he says, I write these things. And so if we back up into 1 Timothy, note some of the things that he talked about. First of all, we are to engage in peaceful, godly, reverent living. In chapter 2, verse 1, he says we're to pray at the church. And the last of verse 2 says that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. A peaceable life. We're not to be troublemakers. We're not to be agitators as we gather in God's place. Of course, there's going to be times when we disagree, but we need to do it properly, not in a wrong way. Likewise, in 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 11 and 12, make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. and attend to your own business and work with your hands so that you may behave properly toward outsiders. The church is not to be a society of political agitators perceived as an enemy to national security or peace. Instead, Christians are to be model citizens of quiet, peace-loving people. I know of a church right here in Virginia They had a business meeting where it got so bad that people were literally fist fighting in a church business meeting. It got so bad they had to call the police to try to bring peace and order to that church. That is not the way to conduct yourself in the church of the living God. And then he talks secondly about dressing properly in worship. I will just review it in case you weren't here. Verses 9 and 10 says, and like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but what is proper for women professing godliness with good works. Basically, Paul is simply saying that your dress, to be appropriate and sensible and with modesty and moderation. You're not to dress in such a way that flaunts your wealth or flaunts your sexuality. But our purpose when we gather is not to draw attention to ourselves, but to turn our attention to God and the worship of God. Suppose you have a birthday party for your daughter. and as is appropriate for the birthday party, she dresses up in a special way. It's her birthday. But somebody comes in and they dress even more like it's their birthday and they draw attention to themselves away from who the party is for. That's just not appropriate. And so when we gather for worship, let it not be about us, let it be about the God that we worship. And then he talks about proper behavior in chapter 3 about electing leaders. We elect leaders based not on how good-looking they are or how successful in business they are, or other worldly qualifications, but based on their Christian character. And pastors have the added requirement of being able to teach. That's it. That's what guides us in how we are to vote on nominees that are presented to us. We need to conduct ourselves properly in the church of God. And of course, pastors and deacons are to maintain the qualifications in our daily lives. That is part of how we conduct ourselves properly in the church of God. And so we've seen the nature of the church. We've seen the conduct of the church. But finally this morning, we see the work of the church reflected here. What is the work that we're to do? We gather for worship, but we also are to serve the Lord out in the community. Well, foundational to everything is what Paul says in verse 15, that we are to preserve and uphold the truth of God. The last of verse 15 says that this church of the living God is the pillar and ground of the truth. We have the truth given to us by God, and we are the pillar and ground of the truth. Now let me tell you something about our society. Our society has jettisoned the ages-long understanding that truth is objective. We live in a society where truth is relative. It depends on the individual. They talk about your truth or my truth rather than the truth for all people and all generations. But that's the kind of truth that the Bible talks about. That's the kind of truth that we are entrusted with. You see, truth is objective because it is rooted in the very nature of God. God who changes not. God is truth. Jesus said, I am the truth. Ephesians 4.21 says the truth is in Jesus. And since God is truth, His word is truth. Jesus said in John 17, 17, Your word is truth. And again, God's truth is always true for all generations and for all people. Peter affirmed that God's Word endures forever. God has entrusted us, the church, with His truth, and we are to uphold the truth, lift it high for all to hear and to see, and we are to stay true to the truth of God. And Paul uses a picture here of how we are to relate to the truth. He calls the church the pillar of the truth. The pillar of the truth. Think of a temple. Think of a big building with a big column, a big, as it says there, a pillar. It upholds the roof of the building. And we are to lift high and uphold the truth of God for all to hear and for all to see. And he is also the ground of truth, the foundation of truth. You know, when Peter confessed to Jesus, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus responded by saying, you are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my Indeed, Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 20 says that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, the teaching of the Word of God. And so, that being the case, We are to uphold the truth. We are to hold fast to the truth. We are to always proclaim the truth. This truth that we have in the Word of God, our Baptist forefathers, our Christian forefathers, many of them have died and shed their blood in defense of this truth. Oh, this truth has been costly to deliver to us, to our present generation, and we are to hold fast to the truth. And so what are we to do? We are to hold fast to that truth. Paul said in chapter 6 verse Timothy, O Timothy, guard what was committed to your trust. Regardless of how this world changes in its beliefs, its morals, its values, we must remain true to the Word of God. If we do not believe and defend the truth of the Word of God, nothing else will really matter. And so we need to be ready in all ways to stand against false doctrine. In chapter 1 verse 3, Paul told Timothy to remain in Ephesus that he may charge that some teach no other doctrine. In chapter 6 and verse 12, fight the good fight of faith. Yes, we will be opposed. They will oppose the truth of the Word of God, but we must stand firm on the Word of God. Jude 1, 3 says that we are to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. I wonder what's going to happen. We stop standing firm to the truth and just let the world change us into their way of thinking. May it never happen. May God always raise up generations of believers who will stand true to the truth. But we must not only stand firm on the truth and uphold the truth, but we must share the truth. What good is it to have the truth if you don't share the truth? Jesus says, don't put your light under a bushel, but be the light of the world. And so we are to share the truth with unbelievers. 1 Timothy 2.4 says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Right here in chapter three and verse 16, I shared last week, we have some truths about Jesus that we must share with this world. that Christ was Son of God manifested in human flesh. And though they said He was a blasphemer, a revolutionary, a sinner, He was justified by the Holy Spirit when God raised Him from the dead. He was seen of angels. as they came to announce His resurrection. He was preached among the Gentiles. Yes, believers so much believed that Jesus was Lord and Savior that they went to many nations within 30 years of His resurrection to proclaim that Jesus is the Savior. He's alive. And He was believed on in the world and received up in glory and great victory. And Paul says in verse 16 that these are truths that we confess. We confess these as true. And if you believe these truths about Jesus, would you say amen as your confession? Amen. He is what the Bible says he is. And so let us continue to proclaim the truth. Proclaim the gospel. But we not only share the truth of God with unbelievers, but with believers as we gather together. Pastors are to teach the truth. Lay people are to teach the truth. In chapter 5, verse 17, it says that pastors are to labor in the Word and doctrine. Chapter 4, verse 6, we are to be nourished in the words of truth as he indicates there. We are to grow in our faith as we stand on the truth. And finally, the work of the church is to pray. I close with this, chapter 2, verse 1. Paul says, I exhort first of all that prayers and supplications and intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men." We are to be a praying church. Jesus said, my house shall be called a house of prayer. And so I challenge you to make this even more of a praying church. Pray with us on Sunday mornings when we gather. Pray with us on Wednesday night as we gather for prayer meeting and Bible study. Pray with the Saturday morning group that comes to pray on certain Saturday mornings of the month. Pray with the men's monthly prayer gathering that we have and that is sponsored. If we will be a praying church, we will be a powerful church. Our church is almost 250 years old. Are the best days behind us? or are the best days even in front of us? You know what's going to make the difference? You and I. It's up to us. It's up to us whether we'll be a praying church. It's up to us whether we will proclaim and be faithful to the truth of God. We serve a living God and His church should be a living church. And if we will recommit ourselves to the work of the church, then God has great things in store for this church. For some of you, your first step is to be saved, to be born again. And if you heard about Jesus this morning, both in song and in preaching, then you're ready to answer the call to be saved when we invite you to be saved today. Or if you need a church home and you want to be a part of this church family and help us here as we serve the Lord and worship the Lord, You come as we sing this song of invitation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that we can gather in this place and we can experience your life. We can worship you. We can hear the truth. And I pray, Lord, that this church will always, always be a witness in this community as we stand for your truth, I pray and ask you will lead and guide and prompt people that need to make decisions. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.