All right. I'm going to just proceed with the teaching time, and then the rest of the time we're going to break you up. So whenever I see at the end of an epistle, the gut feeling might be to just kind of skim over it because all the theology is done.

Try not to do that, because each of these figures, whether they're obscure or not, they're there for a reason. So with these four individuals, I just kind of make a little chart. I look at Artemis and Tychicus. Clearly, they're not with Paul yet, or they're not with Titus yet.

So my guess is, are they going to pick up the baton? When Titus leaves, are they picking up the baton? Perhaps. Now, Artemis, not to be confused with the Greek goddess Artemis, is an unknown figure. And that's fine. And one thing I like about people who are named in the Bible but you know nothing about, they're pretty cool people.

So my son, his name is Matthias. And anybody know who Matthias is in the Bible? His name means gift. But Matthias is the replacement of Judas Iscariot. After Judas dies in Acts chapter 1, they cast lots, and then Matthias becomes an apostle. He gets elevated to the apostle ship.

That's all we know. And my dad hated that name. He's like, he just filled a number and disappeared. Why are you naming him that? Dad, you named me Peter Pan. You named me after Peter Pan. So Matthias-- but when I was praying for my son while he was cellular, I was asking every day, without fail, I said, Lord, I want him to be like a Matthias where none of us might know what kind of fruit he bears in his life.

His deeds might not be public. His service to God might not be the most visible or memorable. But I want him to be a faithful man. I want him to be a fruitful man. So that's my prayer for him. And so Artemis, we don't know anything about. But clearly, he's a man of God who may take over an eldership training program.

So Tychicus, you see him in other epistles. And in Ephesians and in Colossians, he's the one who carried the letters to the churches. Now, are Zenos the lawyer and Apollos with Titus, presumably? And perhaps they're the ones who brought the letter to Titus. So Zenos the lawyer, we don't know who he is.

Praise God. He has fruit that God knows about. And then Apollos is a very well-known figure. He's mentioned 10 times, Jewish preacher from Alexandria. So I would do this. And then there's a lot of resources available when you have obscure people in the Bible. You can look up a dictionary and stuff and find all kinds of things.

Raise your hands if you did that. Great. Now, Nicopolis-- so Titus is supposed to go to Paul in Nicopolis. He's in Crete in this blue. He's supposed to go to Nicopolis in the red. It's 300 miles-ish, mostly via water. And then I look up. OK, it's a port city in modern-day Greece.

It's in a little bit of an inlet. And then I actually Google searched Nicopolis, Greece, winter temperature or something. And this is what Google said. It's low 60s and high 40s for cool. But you just know that winter, they didn't have heaters back then. So Paul wants-- he's an old man.

He wants to be where it's a little warmer. I look at that. And then I'm good. Now, if you guys look at all the translations, I don't know if you might have noticed. This "make every effort diligently," the verses 12 and 13, they were translated very differently. But the Greek word is the same, spidazo.

And it's a very difficult word to translate. So NASB translates like "diligently, diligently." The other translations even mix it. But spidazo is a very strong word of almost like an eager obsession and a passion. So when I understand the meaning of this word, when I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, do be zealous to come to me at Nicopolis.

And also be zealous in your help of Xenos, Elor, and Apollos. Make it like a non-negotiable. So I'm going to give you another verse that uses the same spidazo. "But on the contrary, seeing that I have been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised, for he who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles." That's God.

"And recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised, the Jews." So Peter, James, and John, right before Paul becomes a missionary to the Gentiles, because the first 12 years of his life, or the first 12 years of Paul's Christianity, he was a missionary to the Jews.

Paul was not a missionary to the Gentiles yet. But in about year 1213, he gets commissioned to the Gentiles. So Peter, James, and John say, hey, you have the call of God to take the gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles. But Paul, please remember the poor. They only asked us to remember the poor.

And the very thing that I, Paul, was spudazzo to do, it's a very strong word, the early church cared about the poor. They were very passionate about the poor. Paul had been, for the first decade, been zealous for the poor. Are taking care of the poor important in the scriptures?

Absolutely. Okay? I'm just going to leave that there. And we need to wrestle with that. What does that mean? Okay? Now, the application that I'm breaking you up, and you're going to discuss, are these four. All right? What were the challenges, difficulties, one and the same, and benefits of studying Titus inductively?

For some of you guys, this is the first time you've ever studied it inductively. And some people hate it in the beginning. They're like, just teach me. Just talk to me about it. Why are you making me do all the work? Okay? I said, the goal of our Bible studies is not for you to come to learn.

The primary goal of our Bible studies is for you to come to share what you've put into practice and learned at home. You guys know that, right? Okay? So, what are the challenges? Okay? Were you guys annoyed with it? Was it a very difficult exercise that proved to be beneficial?

So, share that. And this is something that you're all going to share together. Okay? Secondly, what was the most impactful aspect of your study of the book of Titus? Any particular passage that challenged you the most? Okay, was there something in there that really challenged you? Three, what tangible applications are you moved to make from what you've been challenged by?

So, don't just leave it at, oh, I really thought it was cool when he said, be subject to rulers and authorities. Why? And how are you going to apply that? Okay? And the fourth question is, as you prepare to study 1 Peter, which begins January 19th, which is five weeks from now, and by the way, please sign up so that we can start putting people in groups.

Okay? What adjustments will you make to glean more from it? Remember, Titus, we did a 12-week study of 46 verses, which is an average of about 3.8 verses a week. 1 Peter is going to be 17 weeks, 105 verses, which with an average of 6.2 verses a week. So we're going to be going more verses every week, longer for 1 Peter.

Okay? So obviously, you're going to have to tinker a little bit in your small groups. And if you spent an hour and a half preparing for three verses, one week, you might have eight. Okay? So you might not be able to spend three and a half hours in a prep.

How do you adjust it? Go a little less deep and go broad first, and then if you have more time, go deep again. Okay? But 1 Peter, just as a forewarning, is longer. And for you guys who are in the practice of memorizing books, start now. Okay? So 1 Peter is definitely a very theologically heavy and a dense book.

And so how are you going to prepare for that during the five weeks that you have off? Maybe do one whole chapter a week before we resume, just so that you get a running start into it. Okay? New Year's resolutions are coming up, so maybe you put that into practice.

So whatever it is, go ahead and share. All right? So you're going to be spending the rest of your time praying together and sharing about these four questions. And that's how we will end. Okay? Guess what? I went only 10 minutes. Woo-hoo! (audience applauding) Normally it's like 30, right?

But let me pray for us and then break up into your groups. And today you'll have a lot more time post-discussion to kind of share and glean together. Okay? So spend the bulk of your time going over these questions. Heavenly Father, we're thankful that you gave us this semester of Titus.

I pray that you would cause us to not just forget as soon as we walk out of here the lessons that we learned, but really to help, would you help us just to meditate deeply on the truths that we studied through this past few months, and help us to get a running headstart into First Peter, help us to grow to become students who love your word, who love to practice your word, and who love to lead others in the study and the practice of your word.

So we pray for just good, fruitful discussions for the remainder of this evening, and we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen. (people chattering) (people chattering) (people chattering)