Believe Well, Be Well, Live Well

Titus 2:1 March 22, 2026 Pastor Ricky Alcantar

Thesis Sound doctrine—biblical teaching rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ—is the critical but often overlooked factor that determines whether our lives, families, and churches move from unwell to well, and this doctrine must be embraced, defended, and applied to every area of daily life.

Series

Titus

Type

Textual

Tone

didacticpastoralprophetic

Method

grammatical-historicalcanonicalapplicatory

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

57 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #50

"Applies the teaching mandate directly to Cross of Grace Church with concrete examples of informal theological conversation: texts, home groups, early morning meetings, late-night Bible reading. The self-deprecating aside ('we have no Grudems, but we have some fine guys') deflects pastoral ego while emphasizing that even excellent preaching is insufficient—health requires saturating the congregation's informal communication with Scripture."

Doctrinal loci· 13 surfaced

Bibliology · 22 Sanctification · 12 Ecclesiology · 6 Christology · 5 Soteriology · 5 Ethics / Moral Theology · 4 Anthropology · 3 Hamartiology · 3 Providence / Sovereignty · 3 Theology Proper · 3 Eschatology · 2 Pastoral Theology · 2 Pneumatology · 1

Bible citations· 22

Illustrations· 9

historical example · unit #5 — Extended historical illustration establishing the sermon's controlling metaphor: contaminated water source causing widespread sickness. The narrative builds dramatic tension (hundreds dying, prevailing theory fails, skeptical authorities must be convinced) to emphasize the critical importance of identifying the overlooked source. Functions analogically—the water pump is to cholera as doctrine is to spiritual health.
personal story · unit #13 — Personal testimony establishing credibility for the forthcoming doctrinal framework. The self-deprecating humor about forgetting his own sermons humanizes the preacher while elevating the source he's about to cite—if this message endured when thousands of others didn't, it must be profoundly important.
personal story · unit #26 — Extended personal narrative making the upstream metaphor visceral and humorous. The story's arc—overconfidence, gradual realization, desperate paddling—mirrors the Christian's experience of underestimating cultural drift. The punchline ('if you're standing still, you're drifting somewhere bad') crystallizes the principle into a memorable axiom.
personal story · unit #29 — Sets up the first Grudem narrative by establishing the cultural logic of careerism: stay where the influence is, sacrifice personal needs for professional advancement. The story builds tension between worldly ambition and pastoral responsibility, preparing for the counter-cultural decision that illustrates upstream movement.
personal story · unit #30 — Delivers the payoff: Grudem's career-damaging move to Phoenix was upstream paddling motivated by Ephesians 5—sound doctrine applied to marriage. The humor (imagined seminary confusion) lightens the tone while the closing line ('Sound doctrine means you paddle upstream') makes the doctrinal principle explicit. This is the first of three Grudem stories woven through the sermon.
cultural reference · unit #36 — Extended humorous illustration using the 'Save the Wheel' campaign as cultural analogy. The absurdity of reinventing a perfect technology (the wheel) mirrors the absurdity of reinventing perfect gospel truth. The narrative dramatizes generational pressure for novelty and the church's counter-cultural insistence on preserving what has been delivered.
personal story · unit #38 — Second Grudem narrative, this time illustrating the sufficiency of 'unoriginal' biblical truth in crisis. The Parkinson's diagnosis and Grudem's response ('Romans 8:28 was still in the Bible') demonstrate that in the moment of greatest need, what sustained him was not new insight but old truth. The story validates the claim that we need 'something true, not something new.'
personal story · unit #42 — Contemporary personal anecdote providing the metaphor for disconnected doctrine: the HVAC system is installed and the power is available, but a tripped circuit prevents the power from flowing where it's needed. The problem is not absence but disconnection.
personal story · unit #45 — Third and final Grudem narrative, this time illustrating that even Bible translators need the Bible to work on them. The story humanizes Grudem (sinful anger over translation disagreement), demonstrates genuine repentance (public confession before the committee), and models what it looks like for sound doctrine to 'go to work' by producing behavioral change.

Theological claims· 16

Overlooked sources—whether contaminated water or unsound doctrine—determine whether communities experience health or sickness, life or death. unit #6
Scripture contradicts our intuition by teaching that doctrine, not external circumstances like income or politics, is the true determinant of whether our lives flourish or fail. unit #7
The questions that actually govern daily life are inherently theological and doctrinal, whether or not we recognize them as such. unit #12
The four questions that determine how every person lives—who am I, why am I here, what's wrong, how can it be fixed—are inherently theological questions requiring doctrinal answers. unit #14
The gospel of substitutionary atonement and imputed righteousness is the only answer to humanity's ultimate crisis—standing before God in judgment. unit #20
God cares intensely about correct belief because doctrine determines how we live every ordinary day, not just how we score on theological exams. unit #21
Paul's opening words 'But as for you' signal that sound teaching requires intentional opposition to the dominant currents of false teaching in the surrounding culture. unit #23
No one drifts naturally toward sound doctrine; remaining passive means drifting away from it. unit #24
Sound doctrine is not generic good teaching but a specific, definite body of apostolic truth delivered once for all. unit #31
The church's perennial temptation is to treat the gospel as insufficient and seek novelty, when what every generation actually needs is the unchanging truth of Christ. unit #37
Sound doctrine is not merely intellectual knowledge but must be applied consistently to every area of life—gender, work, government, relationships. unit #40
Orthodoxy without orthopraxy is incomplete; sound doctrine must be actively connected to life circumstances to produce its intended effect. unit #41
Many Christians possess gospel truth but fail to connect it to specific life challenges; pastoral ministry involves closing that circuit so gospel power flows where it's needed. unit #43
If even the scholars translating Scripture need it to work transformatively in their lives, every Christian without exception requires the same. unit #46
The Christian life requires sound doctrine in the head, gospel identity in the heart, and transformed practice in the hands—all three connected and functioning together. unit #47
The responsibility to teach sound doctrine is not restricted to pastors but extends to all Christians through mutual encouragement and mentoring relationships. unit #49

Quotations· 4

"Dear Sir, I am" — G.K. Chesterton (unit #18)

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" — Paul (unit #30)

"O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is false and called knowledge" — Paul (unit #35)

"the last time I looked, Romans 8:28 was still in the Bible. God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes" — Wayne Grudem (unit #38)

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Full transcript

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0 · Signals a structural shift in the sermon series—from working through larger sections to slowing down for detailed analysis of a single verse

Titus chapter two, Titus, Chapter two. As we continue our study in the Book of Titus. Now, as we work our way through the Bible, there are times where we take big chunks of scripture and work our way through them. And then there are times that we slow down and pause and work very slowly through particular verses. And so this is going to be one of those times. Today we're gonna spend our entire time on Titus 2, verse 1.

1 · Provides contextual scaffolding by summarizing previous sermon content—Paul's church-planting strategy and the threat of false teaching—to orient listeners new to the series and refresh those who have been present

Now before we read it, I want to let you know what's before and after this. So if you're just joining us today. Previously in the Book of Titus, Paul has talked about his goal to help the island of Crete and meet the deepest need of the island of Crete by planting gospel centered churches with gospel shaped leaders throughout the island of Crete. And then last week he talked about there being a particular threat, the threat of false teaching interrupting and destroying that work.

2 · Establishes Titus 2:1 as a structural hinge between theology and application, foreshadowing upcoming sermon topics while also announcing a liturgical pause for Holy Week

And then Titus 2, verse 1 is the hinge because after this we're going to begin to get in a lots of practicals about life. He's going to talk about masculinity, he's going to talk about femininity, he's going to talk about work, he's going to talk about government, he's going to talk about a lot of things. But this critical verse, Titus 2, verse one is where we're going to spend our time today. And then we're going to pause for Holy Week as we start next week with Palm Sunday and continue on to Easter Sunday. But today I believe the Lord has something unique for us in Titus 2, verse 1.

3 · The public reading of the primary text, delivered twice for emphasis

Let's read remembering. Even if it's only a few words, this is God's word 2, verse 1. But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine, this is God's word.

4 · Brief pastoral prayer invoking God's blessing on both the delivery and reception of the sermon—acknowledging dependence on the Spirit for effective communication and understanding

And Lord, I pray for your blessing over the preaching and the hearing of your word today. Amen.

5 · Extended historical illustration establishing the sermon's controlling metaphor: contaminated water source causing widespread sickness

Well, In August of 1854, during a time of severe cholera outbreak, there was a particular area in London called Broad street that was particularly hard hit by the outbreak. The situation was dire. Within a few days of the outbreak, hundreds had already died, just left and right, and hundreds more had been sickened. And while the rest of London was dealing with this outbreak, this particular area was particularly devastated. And the prevailing theory at the time was that cholera was spread and perhaps caused by bad air. And the solution was ventilation. We need more ventilation. There's bad air in London, we need to get better air in. So windows were open, ventilation was kind of spread throughout the area. And yet it was having no effect. But one particular doctor noticed something. He mapped out the addresses of the cases that were occurring. Then he noticed something unusual, that they clustered around a particular and overlooked spot in the area. In particular, the cases were clustered around a particular water pump where people would go and get fresh water for their day. And he convinced, and it took some convincing, as you can imagine, he convinced the area government to take a simple action to remove the handle from the water pump so that it could not be used. And so, unable to use it, the people went to other sources of water. And within days, the outbreak on Broad street stopped. It was later discovered that a cesspit was leaking into the well, into the water supply. And that is what was sickening everyone in the area. Everyone is going there, drawing bad water, getting sick. Sick people called for more water and just kept going. And it became a founding case in the study of epidemiology, the study of the spread of disease.

6 · Bridges from illustration to theological assertion by drawing the explicit parallel: just as an overlooked water source determined physical health in 1854 London, an overlooked doctrinal source determines spiritual health in churches and families

And it taught us an important lesson that sometimes something easily overlooked can mean the difference between life and death. Sometimes something easily overlooked can be the difference between well and unwell that affects everything around us. Now, this verse, Titus 2, verse 1, tells us the same thing. It tells us that sometimes a simple overlooked thing is what turns whole churches and families and people well or unwell. Sometimes an overlooked thing that's easily looked past can be the difference between life and death.

7 · Establishes the sermon's central polemic: the congregation's intuitive answers to 'what will make my life well' (income, politics, talent, location, job) are categorically wrong according to Scripture

And I'm not being dramatic there, that's what Titus is saying. Titus and the rest of scripture tell us that the thing that we often believe will turn our lives well or unwell is not actually the thing that does it, meaning income. We think, okay, if we just had enough income, it would turn my life from unwell to well. Right. If we could fix the political climate, it would go from well to unwell. If we could dial up our talent, dial up our smarts, dial up how many people like us or respect us. If we could just live in the perfect place, if we could have the right job, then we'd go from unwell to well. And that's not at all what Titus says. In fact, Titus says, the thing that often turns our lives from unwell to well or from well to unwell is our doctrine. Our doctrine.

8 · Announces the sermon's structural method: isolating and defining key words from the single verse

Now, what we're going to do today is slowly work through this text. And the prologue I want to lay out here is focuses in on first that word doctrine. We're going to kind of pull words out of that sentence to understand them. So the first word I want you to sort of pull out of the text is that word doctrine.

9 · Defines 'doctrine' accessibly by first surfacing and deflating the common perception that doctrine is only for specialists or 'theology nerds

Now you may think, okay, well, doctrine, that's something for theologians. I don't know exactly what that is, but it's something that theology nerds like to talk about. The guy in my home group that really likes that, loves to talk about it. Right. I'm not picking on anybody, but maybe you have somebody like that and maybe it was me at age 20. Right. Doctrine simply means a collected summary of what the Bible says about any particular topic. So the doctrine of God is what does everything the Bible say about God? The doctrine of man. What does the Bible say about man?

10 · Deepens the definition by returning to the Greek semantic range: 'doctrine' is simply 'teaching

Now you might think, okay, well again, that still is something that only a few people really need to worry about. But not so if you understand the context, that word doctrine actually just means, it's, it literally means teaching. Sound doctrine here means healthy teaching or well teaching. Teaching that makes you well and is well. Right? Paul wants Titus to teach what is in line with healthy teaching.

11 · Positions Titus 2:1 within Paul's larger strategy for the Cretan churches: establishing leaders, warning against false teaching, and addressing church life

And the reason he is so intent on this. Remember that Paul is being very intentional. He's setting up these churches on the island of Crete. He's trying to make sure that they, they have godly gospel shaped leaders. Then he's trying to warn them about false teaching and then he's going to talk about all the aspects of church. But this critical, and you can sense, pump this critical lever on which the church turns is nothing less than sound or unsound doctrine.

12 · Anticipates and directly addresses the listener's likely objection ('doctrine is for other people, not for me') by asserting that doctrine already governs the listener's daily life whether they realize it or not

Now here is what I want to say. Even if you think, well, theology is for other people, doctrine is for other people, not for me. Let me suggest to you that the most important questions that run your life day to day are actually doctrinal and theological questions. You may not see it at first.

13 · Personal testimony establishing credibility for the forthcoming doctrinal framework

This struck me 20 years ago. I don't remember a lot of messages from 20 years ago. I don't even remember as I was talking to somebody this morning. I don't even remember my own messages from 10 years ago. I have no idea what I taught 5 years ago or last year sometimes until I really think about it. And yet this one particular message from 20 years ago at a Desiring God pastors conference has stayed with me my whole, you know, last couple decades as a pastor.

14 · Introduces the four fundamental questions framework borrowed from the Desiring God conference

Because one of the things the brother was bringing was that every major question, the major questions that run your life are doctrinal and theological. And he gave four examples, four questions that determine and run your life whether you realize it or not. As an illustration, the four questions are, who am I? Why am I here? What's wrong with the world. And how can it be put right? Those. You might think, well, those aren't theological. Yes, those are profoundly theological questions.

15 · Unpacks the first question ('who am I?') by contrasting three competing doctrinal answers: secular materialism (random atoms), cultural identity (resume/status), and biblical anthropology (created by God)

If you think, who am I? That fork in the road you start with is either going to be, okay, you are just the product of a random chaotic universe trying to make something of your brief existence, right? That's going to lead to a certain kind of life, isn't it? Or maybe you're going to think, okay, well, I want to. Who am I Is defined by my resume or my bank account or my relationship status. All of that's going to lead you down particular paths. Or if you receive the Bible's truth that who you are is defined in relationship to God, it changes everything. It means that you are not some random collection of atoms that look like you. You are made by a creator and you have inherent meaning and value.

16 · Addresses the second question ('why am I here?') by cataloging common secular answers (things, relationships, money, self-expression, validation) and contrasting them with the biblical answer: participation in God's restorative purposes

Second question, why am I here, right? Everybody has to answer this question, don't they? They go after things, they go after relationships, they go after money, they go after self expression. They go after having other people affirm and validate them. And yet the Bible says none of those will actually answer the deepest need of your human heart. The Bible says that you are here for a much bigger reason. The reason is that God made you, as Titus will tell us, to do things, to be participants in his purposes in the world, in his plan to restore all things, and he brings you into that. And so it means that every day you live is not just another day. You're not just living for Friday. You are living with a divine purpose.

17 · Sets up the third question ('what's wrong with the world?') by accumulating a rapid-fire catalog of how different people would answer—each identifying different external circumstances as 'the problem

Third, what's wrong with the world? Everybody thinks about this, don't they? They think, I bet you if any, if we polled everybody, what's the biggest problem in your life? Everybody would have a different problem, right? Everybody out there in El Paso would have a different problem. You think, okay, the problem in my life is my income, right? The problem in my life is this person doesn't like me back. The problem in my life is that I'm living in the wrong place. I've got the wrong job. The problem in my life is that I need this kind of validation from this person. The problem in my life is this parent never loved me. The problem in my life, right? And all of those could be problems, but the Bible says none of them are the problem. The problem underneath all other problems.

18 · Delivers the Bible's 'hard truth' about the human problem by citing Chesterton's famous four-word answer: 'Dear Sir, I am

And the Bible has a hard truth. The Bible says the big problem is not out there somewhere. It's actually much closer home. Writer G.K. chesterton once answered a newspaper ad. The newspaper ad was Asking the question, what's wrong with the world today? Just think about how you'd answer that. This or that. This politician. That thing. Chesterton wrote back with four words that the paper published. Dear Sir, I am meaning that the problem is not out there. The problem is in here. We carry the problem around us. We with our sin nature that has wrecked and destroyed the world.

19 · Addresses the fourth question ('how can what's wrong be made right?') by showing logical dependency: wrong diagnosis of the problem (Q3) produces wrong prescription for the solution (Q4)

And then that leads to the fourth question. Fourth question. How can what's wrong be made right? Do you see how important that third question is? The way you answer the third question affects your answer to the fourth question. Because if you think it's political, you're gonna have a political solution. If you think it's poverty, you're gonna have a financial solution. If you think it's affirmation, you're gonna have some kind of affirmation solution. But the Bible says, listen, your problem is way bigger, way deeper, way broader, and way more eternal than you imagine. And yet it also gives us the solution. The solution is not that you and I dig ourselves out of the pit or we get enough people to like us, or we finally make enough money. The solution is that the deepest need of our heart is for God himself, the God who made us, and Jesus Christ restores us to the God who made us.

20 · Brings the four-question framework to its eschatological climax: the judgment seat of God

The biggest moment of our life we are all heading toward is the moment we stand before our Creator and must answer for our lives. And in that moment, the Gospel provides the only solution that can be found, which is that Jesus stands in front of us and says, their sin is on me and my righteousness is on them. Right? Do you see how these problems are? These questions, rather, are profoundly theological. Who are you? Why are you here? What's wrong with the world? How can it be fixed? All of those are doctrine.

21 · Delivers the payoff of the extended four-question argument: belief matters not because theology is an abstract academic discipline but because doctrine governs 'you tonight and tomorrow morning when you get up and you go to work

That's why the Lord is so concerned with what you believe. Because what you believe doesn't just, you know, gonna matter to some theologian scribbling out a problem in a seminary somewhere. No, these questions affect you tonight and tomorrow morning when you get up and you go to work, right? That's. That's what's at stake here. That's why Paul is so intent on saying, titus, you better teach what accords with sound doctrine.

22 · Announces the sermon's main body structure: three principles derived from key words in Titus 2:1

Now, I want to give you three principles from this text that. That draw from some of the language here in that verse. Three principles from Titus about how to. If teaching. If doctrine shapes our whole lives, how can we make sure it's healthy and sound and good?

23 · Introduces the first principle ('sound teaching flows upstream') by exposing the contrastive force of 'But as for you' in Titus 2:1

First, sound teaching always flows upstream. What I mean by that is those first four words. But as for you. But as for you, this is an intentional contrast with the false teachers in Titus 1:10. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. And Paul continues to go on about the false teaching. What Paul is concerned about is that a lot of the teaching that is influencing the church is unsound. So first, Paul gives a contrast, and he says, titus, you and the elders that you appoint, they better be sound and they better be going upstream.

24 · Uses the Phoenix airport moving walkway as an analogy to refute the assumption that spiritual growth happens passively

Look, in the New Testament, no one drifts happily toward sound teaching, right? It's not like you just stay still and you're just like, okay, like those. Have you ever been to the Phoenix airport? Those escalators that just go straight, right? They don't go up, they just go over because the airport's so big. And so you just stand there, and you're kind of just. You just get moved, right? And you're like, cool. That's the Christian life, right? No, I just stand there and I just get moved towards sound teaching. Oh, this is so great. No, Paul is saying, but as for you, you need to do something different.

25 · Supports the 'upstream' metaphor with Jude 3, which calls believers to 'contend' for the faith—a combative verb implying active resistance

Jude 3 has a great verse that I love. It says, beloved. Although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Look, the reality is that we are in a stream of teaching. Every single day. Every conversation you have, every show you watch, every post you see, it is pulling you somewhere. And the predominant streams of culture are pushing you away from the Lord, not pulling you closer to Him. And so Paul is saying, titus, you better head upstream.

26 · Extended personal narrative making the upstream metaphor visceral and humorous

Now, last. Last year, I went to Grindstone Lake in Ruidoso. Anybody been to Grindstone? Right? That's a fun spot. If you've got kids, especially, right? They can go. There's all kinds of fun stuff to do out on the lake. And I decided, you know what? My boys need to have the experience. We're gonna get out there on, like, a kayak, and we're gonna paddle around. And the guy said, hey, are you sure you want to get the kayak? It's pretty windy today. And I'm looking at him, and I'm going like, sir, you underestimate me. I don't think you know who you're talking to here. And so he's like, okay, if you want to do it. I mean, he's like, just be careful, because the wind's coming across the lake. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay, I got it. I got it. So I get out there, and of course, I've got one of the kids. So I have a total of one paddler. And, like. Because I've got. Actually, I have less than one paddler. Because anybody who knows, they take a kid on a kayak, the kids do a negative work with the kayak, right? They're splashing around, going the other way. And so I'm out there, I'm enjoying the beautiful creation. Like the lakes there. There's this. You know, the wind is rustling all the trees and leaves, and I start to notice something. I start to notice that the big concrete berm behind me seems to keep getting closer. And I'm thinking, that's weird because I'm not moving. Except I was right. Except the wind is pushing me. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to start paddling a little bit. One or two strokes. Hey, buddy, look at this. Look at that. And I'm realizing, yeah, that's so. Pretty soon I am, like, sweating and going to work, right? And at one point, I'm like, I told one of my. I forget which side it was. But, son, just pull your paddle in. Please stop trying to help. I'm just. I'm trying to get us out of here. And of course, you know, that guy from the boathouse is just looking at me like, yeah, that guy. But the thing I didn't realize is I thought. I assumed if I'm standing still, I'm either standing still or I'm drifting somewhere good. Nope, if you're standing still, you're drifting somewhere bad.

27 · Applies the kayak illustration directly to the Christian life with imperative force: 'you need to paddle upstream

And Paul is saying, but as for you, Christian, but as for you, you need to paddle upstream. Look, here's the reality, friend. If you're not paddling in your Christian life, you are flowing downstream with the culture. And for you to make progress, you've got to paddle upstream. Now, the good news is this sound doctrine is that paddle that pushes you upstream, if you know how to use it.

28 · Announces a shift to a multi-part extended example from Wayne Grudem

And I want to introduce you to a particular illustration. I've got a few illustrations from a particular professor that's influenced me a lot over the years. If you've been part of the church, you know this brother, Dr. Wayne Grudem, and he is. He's a guy that I was privileged to learn under for a season.

29 · Sets up the first Grudem narrative by establishing the cultural logic of careerism: stay where the influence is, sacrifice personal needs for professional advancement

And one of the things about Dr. Grudem that was notable is that he wrote what became often the defining systematic theology for a lot of seminaries. So A lot of seminaries will use his textbooks. But after he had written it and found a lot of success, he was teaching at a prestigious seminary in Chicago. And it seemed like for his career, the best thing to do would be to stay planted right there, keep getting a lot of students, keep gaining notoriety. Except his wife developed a chronic health condition, a chronic pain condition, and her condition was worsened by. By humidity and cold in particular. Now, I know we've got some brothers in Chicago, and you would probably say, yeah, that's probably not great. It's not a great combination. If cold and humidity aren't good for you, Chicago is probably not your city, is it? And yet the way the world would go, the way the world would think about it is, hey, you're gaining notoriety, you're at a place of influence. Tell your wife to tough it out and take some Advil and let's go. Let's see what impact we can make. If what matters to you is accolades and notoriety and students and all of these things, this is the way you would go.

30 · Delivers the payoff: Grudem's career-damaging move to Phoenix was upstream paddling motivated by Ephesians 5—sound doctrine applied to marriage

But Wayne Grudem paddled the other way because he believed in Ephesians 5, which says, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. And so he went from there to. He was basically like, are there any seminaries in the desert? And there was one. There was a seminary in the desert, a tiny, tiny seminary in the city of Phoenix that he called and basically cold called and said, hey, is there any chance you're hiring? And they were using his textbook. And. And he was like, I'm the guy from the textbook. And they're like, sir, this is a serious seminary. Please stop. You know, I'm just kidding. You didn't do that. But they were essentially that. They were like, but you want to move here? I don't understand. How is this good for you? How is this good for your career? It wasn't. But he was paddling upstream, right? Sound doctrine means you paddle upstream.

31 · Introduces the second principle ('sound doctrine is profoundly unoriginal') by making a grammatical-theological argument: 'sound doctrine' in Titus 2:1 is not generic but definite—'the sound doctrine

Second thing to learn sound doctrine is profoundly unoriginal. That that set of words together, teach what accords with sound doctrine should, in a sense, have capitals attached to the S and the D. Because it's not just teach what accords with some kind of a sound doctrine. Whatever sound doctrine is good. Whatever sound doctrine you find. No, it's sound doctrine, meaning a definite body of delivered doctrine.

32 · Grounds the 'definite article' claim exegetically: Paul uses 'sound doctrine' language exclusively in the Pastoral Epistles—the letters instructing pastors to guard and transmit a specific deposit

Sound doctrine is profoundly unoriginal. One way to think about it is that there could be a word the. in front of sound doctrine. Teach what accords with the sound doctrine. Because in the Pastoral Epistles in first Timothy, second Timothy and Titus, where Paul is instructing pastors, he that's the only place he uses this packet of words, sound doctrine, or similar related phrasing, because he's referring to a specific delivered body of sound doctrine.

33 · Cites 1 Timothy 6:3 to specify the content of 'sound doctrine': it is 'the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ'—gospel doctrine rooted in Christ's teaching and work

Okay, so it's a specific body. First Timothy 6, verse 3 says it like this. Paul warns against anyone who teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Meaning that this sound doctrine is gospel doctrine. It's rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in what Jesus said and what Jesus did. That's the sound doctrine.

34 · Cites 2 Timothy 1:13 to reinforce that sound doctrine is not individually determined ('whatever you think is sound') but received from apostolic witness ('the sound words that you have heard from me')

Or second Timothy 1:13, Paul says this, follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. So this isn't just general doctrine. It's not just. Okay, whatever you think is sound. No, Paul is saying, teach what accords with the sound doctrine that flows from what Jesus said, from his interpretation of the Old Testament, and from his life, death and resurrection.

35 · Cites 1 Timothy 6 to establish the metaphor of sound doctrine as a 'deposit' to be guarded, not a project to be updated

Paul will plead with Timothy in first Timothy 6. O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is false and called knowledge. What Paul is saying is, look, there's a lot of knowledge out there. There's a lot of doctrine out there. But you, Timothy, you, Titus, you, church, I want you to hold on to the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ because it doesn't need to be refreshed, it doesn't need to be reinvented, it doesn't need to be rebooted.

36 · Extended humorous illustration using the 'Save the Wheel' campaign as cultural analogy

One of my pet peeves is all of my favorite movies from my childhood. They keep rebooting like there's something wrong with them. And I'm like, no, leave them alone. They're good, right? Just leave it alone. Doesn't need reinvention. I remember years ago, a conference I was working for that was aimed at young adults had a particular slogan that I still remember. And the particular slogan was very kind of tongue in cheek and aware that young people in particular are always like, I don't want my parents religion, I don't want my grandparents religion. I want something new, I want something fresh, I want something mine. I want something rebooted. I want something for my generation, right? And so they often will gravitate, unfortunately, into streams of false teaching, looking for those things. And so this conference was like, we're not going to give you anything new. Nothing reinvented, just the old stuff once we're all delivered to the same. So the tagline for the Conference was tongue in cheek. Save the wheel. Save the wheel. And they did a whole stunt where they went out to a college campus and they had people hold up signs that said, save the Wheel. And the college students, I was there for one of these. The college students are, like, utterly perplexed. And people were like, save the wheel. We don't need to reinvent it. And, you know, and then there's always people on every college campus that are just up for whatever protest, right? And so there's some people coming over, they're like, yeah, rk, what are we protesting? And they're like, the wheel needs to be saved. And they're like, what? Like. And they even had one guy had even made like, see this square? That's. That. We don't want that. There's a triangle wheel. We don't want that either. We want the regular wheel. And people are going like, I'm sorry, who's trying to destroy the wheel? And they're like, you don't understand. We want to reinvent everything in our culture, but something shouldn't be reinvented. And they're like, okay, like the wheel. Okay, right. That's just. That was the campaign. So we had all these shirts that said save the Wheel. And it was hilarious and fun.

37 · Applies the wheel analogy directly to the church's temptation toward doctrinal innovation

But I love the point, because while as it is obviously ridiculous to try to reinvent something as perfect as the wheel, that is exactly what the church too often does with sound doctrine. Rather than going, here's where we live in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Too often what we do is we go, I see it, but what else you got? I want something new, something fresh, something reinvented. And Paul is pleading with Titus and pleading with us, teach what accords with the sound doctrine. Because some things don't need to get reinvented. They don't need to get rebooted. They don't need to get refreshed. What we need, church in our day is the same thing we need in every day, which is not something new, but something true, something lasting. Amen.

38 · Second Grudem narrative, this time illustrating the sufficiency of 'unoriginal' biblical truth in crisis

A few years ago, Dr. Grudem was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. And when he informed the world of his scaling back of his writing projects and speaking projects, he wrote a blog post to let everybody know what had happened. But the title of his blog, I still remember, was I Am at Peace. And he went on to share that he really was. Despite the discomfort, despite the reduction in productivity, he really was at peace. And one of his friends, Dr. John Piper, texted him asking how he was really doing, because they're personal friends. And Dr. Grudem responded, well, the last time I looked, Romans 8:28 was still in the Bible. God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes.

39 · Direct application drawing the lesson from the Grudem illustration: in crisis ('moments like that'), novelty fails and enduring gospel truth sustains

In that moment, in moments like that, friends, what we need is not something new, not something reinvented. We need something true. We need the sound doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

40 · Introduces the third principle ('sound teaching must go to work') by focusing on the phrase 'accords with' in Titus 2:1

Third principle and last principle. Sound teaching then must go to work. Here I'm focusing in on the what accords with what accords with sound doctrine. That phrase also can mean what is consistent with or what is in line with. And Paul is about to hit a bunch of topics that will start hitting after Easter. He's going to hit masculinity and femininity and work and service and government and change and counseling and all of it. And Paul's. Paul's driving concern is that Titus teach what is consistent with what accords with sound doctrine.

41 · Diagnoses the problem of inert orthodoxy: correct belief that remains disconnected from daily life is incomplete

Now, this is important because you can hold sound doctrine as a body of doctrine of Jesus, life, death, and resurrection, but not then instruct and link it to daily life. Sound doctrine needs to be connected in order to have its effect on us. Sound teaching must go to work. Paul in his letters often lays out, here's the doctrine, here's the area of life. Now make the connection. Here's the doctrine, here's the life. Make the connection. Here's the doctrine, here's the life. Make the connection.

42 · Contemporary personal anecdote providing the metaphor for disconnected doctrine: the HVAC system is installed and the power is available, but a tripped circuit prevents the power from flowing where it's needed

Now, this week, we had an H Vac problem at the church building, and we had an H Vac guy come out and look, I think it was at the coolers in that side of the building. And he said, well, essentially, good news is it's all hooked up, it just won't turn on. And realizing, okay, well, that's not great. And he says, yeah, somewhere the electric circuit is tripped, but we just can't find where the trip is. And so they had to do a bunch of work figuring out, okay, where is that circuit?

43 · Applies the HVAC metaphor directly to the Christian life

And here's the reality, right? We had all the wiring, we had everything set up, and here's the power, and the power is on. And yet it wasn't flowing where it needed to go until we tripped the circuit back. And, friends, that is the Christian life. There's so many areas in which, okay, I know the truth, I know the gospel, I know the Bible. It's right there. And that here's this area of my life, this parenting challenge, this marriage challenge, this work challenge, this feeling of loneliness, this feeling of isolation, this Season where I just don't have as many friends as I would hope for. Whatever it is the season of financial struggle. And I have this. And I have this. And Paul is saying, titus, your job is to connect them, to hook up the power of the gospel to the daily life around us.

44 · Passionate pastoral exhortation with visible emotional overflow ('Sorry, I got too excited')

Sorry, I got too excited. Ah, man. Because, man, if you will get this, Christian, if you will get this, it will change everything in your life. Because that power of the gospel needs to flow into those areas of your life in order for it to go to work on you and for them to receive the power that you need to change.

45 · Third and final Grudem narrative, this time illustrating that even Bible translators need the Bible to work on them

Now, I want to end with one last story about Dr. Grudem, because here's the thing. You might think, okay, well, Dr. Grudem, he seems like a godly guy. He probably doesn't ever need to change. Well, he told this great story when I was with him for a week learning ethics, and he talked about how when they were on the translation committee for the ESV Bible. So, like, who in here has an ESV Bible? Okay, a lot of people have ESV Bibles, right? So Grudem was one of the main guys on the translation committee. And so he was sharing the story that one of the days, as they were working through a particularly thorny passage where they're trying to figure out what's the best English equivalent for this ancient word, what's the best way to capture this. Grudem and another guy began to have a disagreement. And as you could tell, well, like, okay, well, I'm sure it was fine. You know, it's great. But Grudem was sharing that in his heart as he left the meeting. He just left kind of going. And you have to understand this guy, he's so soft spoken, but he kind of left in his heart going, that guy. I am just not happy with that guy, you know, and he's going to bed, eating, thinking about it, like, that guy can't just believe he said that, but, you know, and he. He wakes up the next morning and he's about to go back into the translation committee. And he's like, oh, that guy, he's probably going to be there. He's wanting to say this. And so he. And thankfully, Dr. Grudem had a quiet time that morning. He spent time in the Word before translating the Word, which is always good. It's a good practice, right? And so he's reading the Scriptures, and as he's reading, the Lord convicts him that he's being sinfully angry at this other member of the translation committee. So as they're about to get started, anybody's like, hey, anything before we begin? Dr. Gruden basically goes, yep, I got something. I need to repent. I have become sinfully angry in my heart towards this brother. And. And he is a brother in Christ. The Lord died for him. I'm grateful for his ministry. The Lord loves him. I love him. I'm sorry for being impatient yesterday. And then he went on to translate the Bible, which is good.

46 · Extracts the theological lesson from the Grudem story via a fortiori reasoning: if even Bible translators need Scripture to transform them, how much more do ordinary Christians? The preacher's self-deprecating comparison ('I know way less, and I have way more needs') models humility and personalizes the application

And here's the point of that, okay? The point of that story is even the people translating the Bible in your hands need that word to go to work on them. And if that's true for them, friends, isn't it true for you and me, too, man? Look, I know way less, and I have way more needs, I think, than Dr. Grudem. And I need this word to go to work on me.

47 · Summarizes the entire sermon via the three-fold structure announced in the title: believe well (orthodox doctrine), be well (gospel-shaped identity), live well (transformed practice)

And so if I could summarize this passage, here's the summary I wanna leave you with. Titus 2, verse 1, calls us to believe well, to be well and to live well, to believe the right things, to believe sound doctrine, to hold on to to sound doctrine, and to apply that to who we are, to be well, to our identity, and then to let that shape the way that we live. What I'm saying is essentially the doctrine in our heads should be Gospel doctrine, connected to our hearts and connected to our hands. That's what we most need.

48 · Shifts from exposition to corporate application by addressing the word 'teach' in Titus 2:1

Now, I want to end with one last encouragement, which is that word teach. Teach what accords with sound doctrine. Now, obviously, Titus is called uniquely to teach in a foundational way for the churches of Crete. But Paul, what he's requiring Titus to do in his role as a pastor is only, in a sense, embellishing and drawing on what every Christian should do.

49 · Argues that the teaching mandate extends beyond pastors to the whole congregation via mutual instruction

In other words, what Titus must do, all Christians should do in terms of instruction. We're going to learn very soon in Titus 2 that. That older and more mature men are to encourage the younger men. The older and more mature women are to encourage the younger women. Those who are strong in one area are to encourage those who are weak in another area. And so this isn't just for you, friends. This is for all of us.

50 · Applies the teaching mandate directly to Cross of Grace Church with concrete examples of informal theological conversation: texts, home groups, early morning meetings, late-night Bible reading

Look, the reality is this Cross of Grace Church will only be strong, not only in the sense that sound doctrine is expounded on from the pulpit, but Cross of Grace will only be healthy if sound doctrine is spoken and whispered and texted throughout the church throughout the week. Because the reality is this. We could have the most faithful, sharpest, smartest pastors in the world. I think we have some fine pastors, we have no Grudems, but we have some fine guys. But look, we can deliver the Word once. But friends, the word needs to be shared and reshared in text messages and in home groups. And early morning We've got one home group where the guys get up at like 4, 5:30 to get together like at 5:30 in the morning. We need the Bible read late at night when you're going through things. We need the Bible texted, friends. That's the only way that cross of grace is going to be truly healthy. Amen.

51 · Announces an unplanned (but Spirit-led, according to the preacher) closing move to Psalm 1

And here is. I want to end with one thing. If you would please turn in your Bible with me to Psalm 1, because I just felt led to do this at the end here because I want you to see something. This is not a new idea from Titus 1 that, okay, what's in the Bible should affect our lives. No, no, no. This has been the pattern of God's people for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. Titus and Psalms are of a piece.

52 · Reads Psalm 1:1-2 and explicitly connects it to Titus 2:1: 'But as for you, you go the other way' parallels the upstream principle

And I want you to see the very first psalm that sets the trajectory for the whole book and how it very much reinforces the exact same things. Psalm 1 says this. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. Do you see that? But as for you, you go the other way. But his delight is in the law, or the instruction or, or the word of the Lord. And on his law he meditates day and night. Friends, that's the charge. That's the same charge in Titus 2.

53 · Reads Psalm 1:3 and connects it back to the sermon's opening cholera illustration via contrast: contaminated water brings death, but the tree planted by 'streams of water' flourishes

And then here I want you to see is the effect. Paul wants Titus to ensure that the churches flourish. I as a pastor, want to see your lives flourish. The Lord desires the lives of his people to flourish. So that verse three he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither in all that he does. He prospers. Oh friends, just like we talked about how an unwell source of water can sicken an entire city. Do you see the opposite picture here?

54 · Closing charge applying Psalm 1's promise to the congregation

This friend, this brother or sister, is what God desires in your life. And so here's what I want to encourage you believe. Well, get yourself in the stream of healthy Bible intake. Spend time with the Lord. Spend time with God's people around the world. Spend time soaking up the truth of this sound doctrine that you might be well and that you might live well for the flourishing of your life, your family and your church until Christ returns. Amen.

55 · Signals the transition from sermon to closing prayer by inviting the congregation to stand—a postural shift marking the move from hearing to worship

Would you stand and let's pray.

56 · Pastoral prayer applying the sermon's controlling metaphors to two audiences: the unconverted (drawing from contaminated sources, needing to drink from the fountain of living water) and the church (called to be 'profoundly and happily unoriginal' by receiving rather than reinventing God's word)

Oh, heavenly Father. Lord, I want to pray this over our church as we close today. Lord, may you. May you make this true of us. Lord, I pray for anyone here who does not know you as Savior and Lord, and may in this very moment realize that the place they've been trying to draw their life from, bring up water from, has been unsound. That it's not been your truth, God, that its effects on their lives are not actually positive, they're negative, they're leading to sickness. Lord, I pray that they would hear your voice saying that you are the fountain of living water. May they come today, receive you as Savior and Lord, and drink deeply of the truth of the gospel, that their lives may be made well, their marriages, their families may be made well. And, Lord, I pray for all of us. Pray over us as a church, God, that we would be a church that is profoundly and happily unoriginal, that does not reinvent your word, but rather receives it, rather drinks deeply from it, that we might hear your voice and live. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Mar 1, 2026

Your Truth, My Truth, God's Honest Truth

The church must ground itself in God's objective, eternal truth rather than the subjective, personalized 'truth' of contemporary culture, allowing that truth to reshape identity and priorities around the gospel's eternal significance.

Titus 1:1-4

Mar 8, 2026

A Quiet Revolution of Leadership

Biblical leadership begins with private faithfulness in home and character, proceeds through gospel-shaped virtue rather than cultural dominance or passivity, and culminates in simple, courageous ministry that holds firm to Scripture, teaches it clearly, and defends it faithfully.

Titus 1:5-9

Mar 15, 2026

Have You Seen This Person?

The church must vigilantly identify and resist false teaching that adds anything to the gospel, because syncretism robs believers of God's good gifts, sidelines them from kingdom fruitfulness, and ultimately turns them away from the sufficiency of Christ.

Titus 1:10-16

March 22 · This sermon

Believe Well, Be Well, Live Well

Sound doctrine—biblical teaching rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ—is the critical but often overlooked factor that determines whether our lives, families, and churches move from unwell to well, and this doctrine must be embraced, defended, and applied to every area of daily life.

Titus 2:1

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

In the sermon, Ricky compared unsound doctrine to contaminated water in 1854 London—people were getting sick without knowing why. What speci…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week, we walk through five theological claims that anchor sound doctrine: its hidden power to determine spiritual health, its counterintuitive primacy over circumstance, the theological questions embedded in daily life, the gospel's sufficiency, and the call to apply doctrine everywhere we live.

Prayer

Father, Root Us in Sound Doctrine

Father, we come before you acknowledging that you care intensely about what we believe—not because doctrine is abstract or merely academic,…

Family table

What Doctrine Does in Your Daily Life

This card invites kids to see that the true-and-false beliefs they hold actually shape how they live every day—not just what they believe in…

Couples

Sound Doctrine, Shared Life

What area of your life—work, parenting, a relationship, a struggle—did you realize needs to be shaped by sound doctrine rather than by what…

Memorize

Titus 2:1

This verse is the hinge of the entire sermon—it establishes that sound doctrine is not optional theological decoration but the critical determinant of whether churches, families, and individuals move from unwell to well. Memorizing it anchors the conviction that doctrine must be actively embraced and applied to every area of life, not passively drifted away from.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

In the sermon, Ricky compared unsound doctrine to contaminated water in 1854 London—people were getting sick without knowing why. What specific ways have you noticed unsound teaching or false beliefs affecting the spiritual health of people around you, even when they didn't recognize the source of the problem?

→ How did you eventually recognize it as a doctrinal problem rather than just a personal struggle?
Ricky said that four questions govern how every person lives: who am I, why am I here, what's wrong with the world, and how can it be fixed. Take one of those four questions—whichever one you're wrestling with most right now—and describe what answer the culture is offering you.

→ Now, what does sound doctrine say is the answer to that same question?
Read Titus 2:1 aloud together. What does Paul mean when he says 'But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine'? Why do you think he uses the word 'But'—what is he contrasting with sound doctrine?

Titus 2:1

→ What does that contrast tell us about the kind of resistance or opposition we should expect when we try to teach and live by sound doctrine?
Ricky emphasized that sound doctrine is not generic good teaching but a specific body of apostolic truth 'delivered once for all.' Why does it matter that the gospel is unchanging rather than something we get to update or customize for each generation?

Jude 1:3

→ Where do you feel pressure—in your own thinking or from the culture—to treat the gospel as insufficient or outdated?
The sermon made a crucial claim: many Christians know the gospel intellectually but fail to connect it to their actual life struggles. Describe a specific area of your life—maybe work, relationships, suffering, or identity—where you haven't yet connected sound doctrine to what you're actually experiencing.

→ What would it look like to close that circuit and let the gospel power flow into that specific struggle?
Ricky said that moving toward sound doctrine requires intentional effort—no one drifts naturally upstream toward it. What would it look like for your small group, your family, or your individual life to actively 'paddle upstream' against the cultural currents this week? What's one concrete step you could take?

Psalm 1:1-3

→ Who will you invite to help hold you accountable to that step?

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday Psalm 1:1-3

The psalmist paints a stark contrast: the person who avoids false counsel flourishes like a tree planted by water, while the wicked are like chaff the wind drives away. Just as John Snow traced cholera to contaminated water, we trace spiritual sickness to contaminated doctrine. Where we drink matters. What teaching we absorb—what we believe about God, ourselves, and the world—flows through everything we become.

Tuesday 1 Timothy 6:3

Paul ties sound doctrine directly to a godly life: 'If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and godly teaching,' that person has wandered from what produces life. The culture tells us our circumstances determine our wellbeing—our income, our status, our external wins. But Paul says no: what you believe about Christ determines whether you actually live well. Sound doctrine is the invisible root system that produces visible fruit.

Wednesday 2 Timothy 1:13

Timothy is told to 'follow the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me.' Every person lives by answers to four questions, whether they know it or not. Who am I? Why am I here? What's wrong with the world? How can it be fixed? These are not optional reflections for philosophers—they govern how we work, parent, spend money, handle conflict, and respond to suffering. Sound doctrine gives us true answers to these questions that shape us from the inside out.

Thursday Jude 1:3

Jude urges us to 'contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.' The gospel is not a new thing to be invented each generation. It is the faith—the definite, apostolic proclamation of Christ crucified and risen—handed down to us. In a culture that treats truth as personal and malleable, Jude reminds us that the gospel is fixed, given, unchanging. We don't improve it or repackage it; we receive it, defend it, and pass it on.

Friday Ephesians 5:25

Paul tells husbands to love their wives 'as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.' Sound doctrine about Christ's substitutionary love is not academic trivia—it transforms how a man treats his wife. It reshapes work, marriage, money, how we raise children, how we vote, how we grieve. When we connect the gospel to the concrete places we live and struggle, the power of Christ's death and resurrection actually changes us. Today, ask yourself: where in my ordinary life do I need to connect what I believe about Christ to what I'm actually doing?

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Father, Root Us in Sound Doctrine

Father, we come before you acknowledging that you care intensely about what we believe—not because doctrine is abstract or merely academic, but because the truth we hold determines how we live every ordinary day. We confess that we are easily swept downstream by the currents of our culture, by false teaching that promises freedom but delivers emptiness, by the temptation to treat your gospel as insufficient and chase after something newer, shinier, more original. We have sometimes failed to connect the sound doctrine we claim to believe with the actual struggles we face—our confusion about identity, our broken relationships, our work, our suffering. Forgive us for this disconnect, and forgive us for the passivity that has allowed us to drift.

But here is the good news: you have given us in Christ the only answer our hearts require. Through his substitutionary atonement and imputed righteousness, you have settled our ultimate crisis—we stand before you no longer in judgment but in grace (Titus 2:1). The gospel is not insufficient; it is the power that transforms everything. And you have given us your unchanging word, delivered once for all, to guide us into life and health in every area—our gender, our work, our relationships, our families, our daily choices (Jude 1:3).

Grant us the courage to paddle upstream against the dominant currents of our age, holding fast to the apostolic truth that has been handed down to us. Give us wisdom to connect sound doctrine not just to our minds but to our hands, to our marriages, to our work, to the moments when we are most confused and most broken. Raise up among us teachers and mentors—not only in pulpits but in living rooms and workplaces—who will help us see how the gospel flows into every circumstance we face. And by your Spirit, transform us from the inside out, so that what we believe shapes how we live, and how we live demonstrates the sufficiency of Christ to all the world.

We commit ourselves this week to the uncool, unoriginal, deeply countercultural work of believing well—so that we may be well, and live well, in every area you have called us to steward. To you be the glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

What Doctrine Does in Your Daily Life

For the parent

This card invites kids to see that the true-and-false beliefs they hold actually shape how they live every day—not just what they believe in their heads. Listen for moments where your child connects a belief (about who they are, what matters, why they exist) to a choice or feeling they experience.

Ricky said that the questions running your whole life—who am I, why am I here, what's wrong, how do I fix it—are actually doctrine questions. Think about one choice you made today or one way you felt today. What belief about yourself or God was behind it? How would that choice or feeling change if you believed something different about Jesus instead?

works for ages 8+; younger kids (6-7) can listen and share one sentence about a choice they made

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Sound Doctrine, Shared Life

What area of your life—work, parenting, a relationship, a struggle—did you realize needs to be shaped by sound doctrine rather than by what the culture around us is saying?
Where in our marriage have we drifted downstream by staying passive about truth, and what would it look like to paddle upstream together toward sound doctrine applied to that part of our life?
What is one specific burden or question your spouse carries right now that the gospel speaks directly to, and how can we pray that doctrine would move from their head into their heart this week?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

Titus 2:1

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Why this verse: This verse is the hinge of the entire sermon—it establishes that sound doctrine is not optional theological decoration but the critical determinant of whether churches, families, and individuals move from unwell to well. Memorizing it anchors the conviction that doctrine must be actively embraced and applied to every area of life, not passively drifted away from.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Cross of Grace Church

About us · What we believe

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# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Your Truth, My Truth, God's Honest Truth (Titus 1:1-4, 2026-03-01)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/03/your-truth-my-truth-god-s-honest-truth)
- [A Quiet Revolution of Leadership (Titus 1:5-9, 2026-03-08)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/03/a-quiet-revolution-of-leadership)
- [Have You Seen This Person? (Titus 1:10-16, 2026-03-15)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/03/have-you-seen-this-person)
- [Believe Well, Be Well, Live Well (Titus 2:1, 2026-03-22)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/03/believe-well-be-well-live-well)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

The page itself ships with Schema.org Article + Church markup, Open Graph + Twitter cards for share previews, and a canonical URL. Transcripts are server-rendered HTML — no JS dependency for the readable body.