Partiality

Beginning Scripture

I Timothy 5:21 - I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

Definitions

• Strong's 4346 - Greek "prosklisis" - means "a leaning toward, i.e. (fig.) proclivity (favoritism).
• A favorable bias or predjudice (Dictionary.com, 1)
• The preferring of one person or side more than another (Dictionary.com, 2)
• An inclination of temperament or outlook; especially : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment (MiriamWebster.com, 3b)
• Partisan - one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance (MiriamWebster.com, 1)

Body Scriptures

Deuteronomy 1:16-18 “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him. You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’ And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.

Offeratory

Use the scriptures in Daniel 2:26-28 and 30 to explain our role in conveying the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the the world. Like Daniel, we have no more power or ability than anyone else in the world to interpret and explain the deep questions people have about what life means. Also like Daniel we can only convey the message and hope we've been given.

Use Tim Allwine's offeratory again and take it one step further:

1. We go to work and exchange a portion of our lives for money
2. Receiving the money does not make the portion of our lives that we exchanged for it useful; when you receive the money, you are only partly there.
3. What we do with the money determines whether that portion of our lives will have been useful
4. The offerings that we give ensure that the portion of our lives that we exchanged for that money will indeed have been worthwhile

Isaiah 55:2 - Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.