Titus 2 for Life

Helping ourselves and others transform the culture.

We always have hope in Jesus Christ!

Opportunities to Build Hope

 Opportunities abound for women to offer hope in the “mission field” of family, congregation, and community.  Here are a few:

•  Celebrate Womanhood

•  Rejoice in the High Calling of Motherhood

•  Build your House on a Firm Foundation 

•  Practice Generational Mentoring

•  Be a Titus 2 Woman

•  Welcome Children as God does

•  Raise Sons to Chivalry and Daughters to Purity

•  Love the Life that God Created and Redeemed

•  Welcome Those who Mourn for an Aborted Child

•  Encourage Men in their Practice of Biblical Manhood

Celebrate Womanhood!

Then the Lord God formed a woman from the rib that He had taken from the man.

 Genesis 2:21

•  Rejoice in being created female!  Pass this joy to the next generation of women!
•  Find your identity -- not in being a woman of the world -- but in being a daughter of God.
•  Build a Titus 2 accountability group.  Surround yourself with other daughters of the King and remind one another to turn a deaf ear to rebellious feminism.
•  Take time to build relationships – in a coffee house or tea room, while quilting, in a mother’s group, during Bible study, in a time of “crisis” or difficulty, or at a mother/daughter retreat.
•  Ask your local Christian bookstore to take a selection of Titus 2 for Life booklets, devotions, and Bible studies on consignment.  (See Resources Authored by Linda in the “Resources” section)
•  Set up a display of Titus 2 for Life resources in your church (See Resources)
•  Purchase Titus 2 mentoring resources for your local Caring Pregnancy Center.

Rejoice in the High Calling of Motherhood!

Adam named his wife Eve (Life) because she became the mother of every living person.

 Genesis 3:20

•  Be a home-maker (not a housewife).  This noble vocation impacts the culture for generations to come.
•  Trust God’s Word as you instill faith, raise standards of behavior, connect fathers to children, nurture moral character, and prepare children for the world.
• Start a “Titus 2 Mothers” group.  Be sure to include “older” and “younger” moms.  See the Resources section for study and discussion helps.
• Show loving support for the single moms in your congregation and community.  Not Alone, a devotional for single moms (#901B - $2), may be order from Lutherans For Life by calling (888) 364-LIFE or e-mailing Lutherans for Life

   

Build Your House on Firm Foundation!

The wise woman builds her house, but with her hands the foolish one tears hers down.  (Proverbs 41:1)

•  Use the Bible study Men, Women, and Relationships: Building a Culture of Life Across the Generations in your women’s or men’s study group.  It is appropriate for single or married, college age or mature teens.  Order (#901BS - $10) from Lutherans For Life (888) 364-LIFE or Lutherans for Life
•  Visit www.titus2-4life.org for a variety of Biblical articles, resources, and thought-provoking topics on Biblical manhood and womanhood.
•  Married or single, a woman has a sphere of influence that leads others to – or away from – God.  How are you mentoring Biblical womanhood in your home?  From your office?  At school?  In the Church and community?
•  Do all that you do to the glory of God as a woman, wife, sister, mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, neighbor, or citizen.

Practice Generational Mentoring!

He gave His teachings to Israel.  He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children so that the next generation would know them.  Children yet to be born would learn them.  They will grow up and tell their children to trust God, to remember what He has done, and to obey His commands.  They will not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation [who were] not loyal [or] faithful to God.  (Psalm 78:5-8)

•  Do not be intimidated by the world; take up the Sword of Truth and stand where you have been placed by God.
•  Encourage parents, pastors, youth leaders, and pro-life Christians to build a bridge between generations.  Use Generations of Hope for Generations to Come as a gift booklet or discussion guide.  Order #906B from Lutherans For Life (888) 364-LIFE or view their on-line catalog at Lutherans for Life
•  Concerned about the dress of young women in your congregation and community?  Host Dressing for Life: Secrets of the Great Cover-up, a unique style show focusing on modesty and what God says about clothes, behavior, and loving others as ourselves.  The event is easy to host because table hostesses decorate their own tables and bring a dessert for the “sweet buffet.”  Lessons are taught in etiquette and femininity.  For more information on this educational fundraiser, call Judy at (712) 425-3328 or e-mail Judy or Linda
•  Equip daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and young friends for the battle of worldviews.  Ask: How does God want us to live?  To dress?  To treat others?  How does God’s worldview differ from our present culture’s worldview?  Which one provides a future of hope?   Use the brochure, Dressing for Life: Secrets of the Great Cover-up, as a mini-discussion guide or Bible study (together or separate from the style show) ($.25 each).  Or, order the Bible study, Dressing for Life, by calling or e-mailing Judy or Linda  (Available winter 2005)  
•  Host a small Titus 2 “tea” mother/daughter/grandmother event.  Be sure to include young women whose mothers live far away or who have no relationship with their mother.  Build nurturing relationships for life!

Be a Titus 2 Woman!

[Older women are to] teach young women to show love to their husbands and children, to use good judgment, and to be morally pure . . . to be homemakers, to be kind, and to place themselves under their husbands’ authority.  (Titus 2:2-8)

•  Expose the lies of humanistic feminism.  Contrast trendy ideas with God’s ideas.
•  Help young women recognize that “equality” does not mean that male and female are the “same.”
•  Help young women recognize that responsibilities are more important than “rights.”
•  Train young women in purity, kindness, and home-making.
•  Start a Titus 2 Book Review Club!  Search bookstores and web sites for books that expose worldly philosophies and encourage Biblical womanhood.  (See the Resource section for a few favorites.)
•  Create an opportunity to mentor “older” and “younger” women and practice the gift of hospitality by hosting a Titus 2 “Tea” or Retreat.  For information, call Judy at (712) 425-3328 or  e-mail Linda
•  Host a Titus 2 Training Retreat for women from your congregation who may be interested in leading small mentoring groups.  Or, host a Training Retreat for the staff and volunteers of your local Caring Pregnancy Center.  A Leader’s Guide, Study Guide, and resources are provided.  Call Judy or e-mail Linda for detailed information. 

Welcome Children as God Does!

 Some people brought little children to Jesus to have Him hold them.  But the disciples told the people not to do that.  When Jesus saw this, He became irritated.  He told them, ‘Don’t stop the children from coming to Me.  Children like these are part of the kingdom of God . . . Jesus put His arms around the children and blessed them by placing His hands on them.  (Mark 10:13-16)

• Oppose the world’s view of children (an “inconvenience,” “my body, my choice,” “property,” “a source of stem cells,” “an extension of myself.”)  To develop a Biblical perspective on life issue, order a sample packet from Lutherans For Life or visit www.lutheransforlife.org
• Think of what you can do to encourage stat-at-home moms to confidently practice their noble vocation of motherhood. 
• Think of how you can help make life a little easier for moms who have to work outside the home.
• Purchase copies of the devotional booklet, Not Alone, for single moms in your congregation or for young women at your local caring pregnancy center.  E-mail: Lutherans For Life and request #901B

Raise Sons to Chivalry and Daughters to Purity

Your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit.  You don’t belong to yourselves!  You were bought with a price.  So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.  (1Corinthians 6:19-20)

•  Order a copy of The Failure of Sex Education by calling Lutherans For Life at 888-364-LIFE.  Request #601B.  Instruction in purity is very different from education in sex.  God calls us not to sexy living, but holy living.
•  Bring a small group of parents together for a time of encouragement.  Remind them that God has entrusted children to fathers and mothers, not to schools.  In addition to the booklet listed above, you may order Purity, Mystery and Modesty (#903T), Who’s Trying to Remove My Fig Leaf (#612T), Real Love, Real Life (#615T), Nobody Ever Died From Chastity (#600B), It’s Too Late… or Is It? (613T), or More Than Sex Can Say (#609T) from Lutherans For Life.  Request a catalog of additional materials for teaching purity.
•  Use the brochure Dressing for Life: Secrets of the Great Cover-up ($.25 ea.) as a discussion guide or mini-Bible study with your daughter or the young women of your congregation.  A full Bible study by the same name will be available Winter 2005.  Order by calling Judy at (712) 425-3328 or e-mail Linda
•  Use the curricula Dare To Choose from Lutherans For Life with your youth group or high school Bible class.  Order by calling (888) 364-LIFE.  (#600C - $75)
•  Don’t be intimidated by the worldly philosophy that we have to make our children “comfortable with their sexuality.”  God wants us to protect the innocence of childhood.  He does not want us to “arouse love before its time,” break down the protective barrier of modesty by teaching intimacies to boys and girls together, or teach children about the act of sex created for adult husband and wife in marriage.
•  Don’t be intimidated by your own past.  Confessed sins are forgiven by Jesus Christ and forgotten!  God’s Word gives you everything you need to train your children in righteousness.
•  Sponsor a mother/daughter “Purity Tea” and a father/son “Chivalry Camp-out.”  Teach the girls God’s definition of love, how to live as a “temple of the Holy Spirit,” how to respect themselves and boys by wearing appropriate clothing, and the significance of marriage and motherhood.  Teach the boys the leadership model of Jesus Christ, how to protect the virtue of a woman, and how to trust the Word of God and use it in every situation.  Call Lutherans For Life (888) 364-LIFE or visit www.abstinence.net for resources.

Love the Life That God Created and Redeemed!

“You knit me together inside my mother . . . I have been so amazingly and miraculously made . . . Every day of my life was recorded in Your book before one of them had taken place.”  (Psalm 139:13-16)

•  Help your congregation be a “place of refuge” for unwed, frightened and lonely, pregnant women.  For information on the Place of Refuge project, call the South Wisconsin District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod at (414) 464-8100.
•  Raise funds for your local Caring Pregnancy Center (CPC) or ask your congregation to include the center in their budget.
•  Be a volunteer at your local CPC.
•  Reach out to a family whose child has a disability.
•  Be a companion to those who are lonely, sick, or dying.
•  Be open to “holy interruptions” (someone who calls with a crisis, request for help, or just because they need a listening ear).
•  Remember the parents who have lost the life of a child to miscarriage or stillbirth by giving them Into His Loving Care, a devotional with Scripture.  Order #902B ($2) from Lutherans For Life (888) 364-LIFE.

Welcome Those Who Mourn an Aborted Child

If one falls, the other can help his friend get up.  But how tragic it is for the one who is all alone when he falls.  There is no one to help him get up . . . Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent.  A triple-braided rope is not easily broken.  (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

•  Pray for and help support Word of Hope, the abortion healing ministry of Lutherans For Life.  Donations for this ministry may be sent to: Word of Hope, 412 South Highland Ave., Lombard, IL., 60148.  To speak with Grace Kern, the Executive Director, call toll-free (888) 217-8679.  A brochure describing this healing ministry is available at no cost.  Or, visit Word of Hope
•  Order copies of the devotion, No More Weeping, for your pastor to give women after an abortion, for your local CPC, or for your own personal outreach.  Call toll-free (888) 217-8679.
•  Help your congregation sponsor a “Day of Hope and Healing” to help others become aware of abortion’s pain, it’s impact on family and society, and the hope for healing in Jesus.  Invite pastors, counselors, school nurses, and interested lay people in your community.  Inquiries may be made by calling Word of Hope (888) 217-8679 or Lutherans For Life (888) 364-LIFE.
•  Speak your pro-life convictions in love.   The person who hears our words may harbor a deep pain of his or her own.  Has our manner welcomed them… or turned them away? 
•  Place abortion healing brochures in church restrooms or college dorms.  Make them available to school nurses.  A sample packet of brochures may be ordered by calling 888-217-8679 or visiting www.lutheransforlife.org (See on-line catalog)
•  Place the Word of Hope hotline number – (888) 217-8679 – on church bulletin boards.

Encourage Men in their Practice of Biblical Manhood

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. (Ephesians 5:25)

Encourage young men to be self-controlled.  In everything set them an
example by doing what is good.  (Titus 2:6-7)

•  God is a God of order, not chaos.  Show respect for His created order by understanding your role as a “helpmate.”  Remember, being a helpmate is God’s idea.  It is a good idea.  It is an idea that will build a culture of life.  There is no shame in being a helpmate.  Jesus called the Holy Spirit a “helper,” encourager, and partner in John 14:16.
•  Patriarchy is God’s idea to bring order into a chaotic and sinful world.  Men are held accountable for loving their wives and passing on the Truth of God to their children.  Suggest the Bible study, Men, Women, and Relationships: Building a Culture of Life Across the Generations  (#901BS – Lutherans For Life) for use by your men’s Bible class or on campus.
•  Raise the standard of behavior for men by how you dress, act, and speak.
• Order the Bible study Called to Remember for your men’s study group or adult Bible class.  (Student Guide #302BS(S) - $.75 each)  (Leader’s Guide #302BS – free with student guide)  Lutherans For Life (888) 364-LIFE

Using God’s Word to help ourselves and others transform the culture...