We are beginning a new study of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. Part of leading a great study is gaining an understanding of who and what you are going to be talking about. Here are some things that you should become familiar with before you teach this Sunday:
Focus of Studies:
- 1 Timothy focus: Growing in Godliness
- 2 Timothy focus: Passing it On
- Titus focus: Strengthening your Church (this is a great follow-up on Bro Ken's messages, "I Love my Church."
I suggest you read the following to gain an understanding of the relationship between Timothy, Titus, and Paul. You also need to understand what Timothy and Titus were doing and the culture in which they were serving. This will help you connect the context of the past with your group's present day circumstances. Here are some helpful pages to read and some additional thoughts:
- Adult Commentary: pages 6-9. Detailed overview of the books, Paul, Timothy, Titus, and the churches and culture Timothy and Titus pastored in Ephesus and Crete.
- Discovery: Pages 8-9. Very good summary overview.
- HCSB Study Bible Online: Additional detail if needed. Click Here. If you are using PowerPoint you could copy and paste the picture of Ephesus to use as you introduce 1 Timothy.
- Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary: Overview of Timothy: Click Here. Overview of Titus: Click Here.
Focus on what adults should leave knowing, understanding, and doing.
Following Sound Doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3-17)
The goal is to help adults understand that all teachings are to be assessed in light of the Scriptures and the motives of the ones teaching and to identify ways to assess the validity of someone's teaching.
Following Sound Doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3-17)
The goal is to help adults understand that all teachings are to be assessed in light of the Scriptures and the motives of the ones teaching and to identify ways to assess the validity of someone's teaching.
Look Up
Use "Soft Methods" to draw attention to the study as adults are visiting and gathering for Bible study.
There are several good approaches in various resources that will help focus adults on the direction of this session. There are questions in the Introduction of the QuickSource discussion plan (p8 of QuickSource), and there are a series of great discussion questions under "Get Started" on page 20 of the Adult Leader Guide. Consider supplementing the teaching ideas with one of the following options:
Option One: Display the pictures I have provided on the PowerPoint (Click to Open). Several of the pictures are also linked to the advertisement video for that particular product. As adults gather, have the pictures displayed. Once most adults have arrived, enter into a discussion of the products and possibly play the video advertisements. Have some fun talking about product promises and how they are advertised on TV.
Transition into the questions that are provided in the QuickSource guide (page 8, Introduction) and introduce the context of 1 Timothy.
Option Two: Write the following on the marker board: "If you hear something enough times it becomes . . ." As most adults have gathered, ask them to complete this statement. Most adults will complete it by saying "truth." Ask if they believe this is true and to give examples of when that has taken place.
Transition to the questions in the Adult Leader Guide under "Get Started" (page 20) and introduce the context of 1 Timothy.
There are several good approaches in various resources that will help focus adults on the direction of this session. There are questions in the Introduction of the QuickSource discussion plan (p8 of QuickSource), and there are a series of great discussion questions under "Get Started" on page 20 of the Adult Leader Guide. Consider supplementing the teaching ideas with one of the following options:
Option One: Display the pictures I have provided on the PowerPoint (Click to Open). Several of the pictures are also linked to the advertisement video for that particular product. As adults gather, have the pictures displayed. Once most adults have arrived, enter into a discussion of the products and possibly play the video advertisements. Have some fun talking about product promises and how they are advertised on TV.
Transition into the questions that are provided in the QuickSource guide (page 8, Introduction) and introduce the context of 1 Timothy.
Option Two: Write the following on the marker board: "If you hear something enough times it becomes . . ." As most adults have gathered, ask them to complete this statement. Most adults will complete it by saying "truth." Ask if they believe this is true and to give examples of when that has taken place.
Transition to the questions in the Adult Leader Guide under "Get Started" (page 20) and introduce the context of 1 Timothy.
Look In
Ideas for communicating and studying the Word:
Context
Timothy's background:
- Son of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father.
- See Dig Deeper in the Discover Study Guide, page 9, for a good overview.
- Include: Timothy, a native of Lystra, joined Paul during the second missionary journey (Acts 16:1-5).
- Paul later sent Timothy on a number of special assignments (Acts 17:14-15; 19:22; 1 Cor. 16:10; 1 Thess. 3:2; 1 Tim. 1:3).
- Eleven or more years had passed since Paul had begun discipling and working with Timothy.
- Timothy was now serving as pastor of the church in Ephesus.
- Refer to map/pictures as you describe the location, culture, and church at Ephesus (see one of the following: Discovery Study Guide, p99, Leader Pack Map, Leader Pack CDROM PowerPoint Map under Clip Art file folder, or the Personal Study Guide, p115).
- Ephesus was an important political, religious, and commercial city in the first-century world.
- Significant efforts were made to plant and nurture the gospel there (Acts 18:24-25; 19:8; 20:31; Eph. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 1:18; Rev. 2:1-7).
- Advocates of a variety of religions and philosophies spoke regularly in the marketplaces, synagogues, schools, and temples.
- Competing truths were espoused everywhere and secular, fleshly temptations abounded.
- The members of the church included former Jews, former followers of some philosopher, and former worshipers of Artemis or some other pagan deity.
- They came out of a previous way of life and were learning what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.
- The church also had its share of internal challenges--members making bad decisions, behaving badly, disagreements, cliques formed around various leaders, and competing agendas.
Timothy’s immediate task was to focus on certain people who were teaching different doctrine than Paul had taught. Years earlier, the apostle had foreseen and warned the Ephesian believers that false teachers would arise among them (see Acts 20:29-31). This had finally played out. It was Timothy's job to set the standard so people would not mislead the church. We can learn how to evaluate truth from fiction as we look at Paul's advice to Timothy today.
Note: if you want to use a good solid teaching plan for the passages I suggest you use the "Discussions and Points" plan in QuickSource, page 8. It contains some very good questions and learning activities for this weeks study. Below are additional ideas to consider:
1 Timothy 1:3-7 (The Product of Sound Instruction)
Discussion Options:
- As the verses are read, ask the group to identify the product of sound doctrine. (love)
- What kind of love is he referring to? (agape love - sacrificial, wholehearted commitment to another)
- How do Christians grow in love? (pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith) Explain the meaning of each of these using information from the Adult Commentary, page 15.
- Identify ways Paul described in which people had strayed away from sound doctrine. (taught different doctrine, paid attention to myths and endless genealogies, promoted empty speculations rather than God's plan, turned aside to fruitless discussion) . What are some modern day illustrations of these issues? (evolution, homosexuality as normal, providing specific dates for the end of the world) Note: Consider discussing this in groups or with another person; then reporting.
- Explain the term "Fruitless Discussion": A term used to describe "speech" that "lacks truth or purpose." At the very least, engaging in such activity represents a waste of time and energy. When this crowds out things that really matter, real harm is done. Ask the group to provide examples of how this could take place in Bible study. (studying a topic that is not Bible based, studying without any goal, lack of preparation, sitting in a room pooling shared ignorance while looking at Scripture without any thought of sound doctrine, etc)
- When it comes to myths and endless genealogies, how have modern-day false teachers drawn people toward emptiness or a constant search for better answers to life's problems? (Discover Guide, p13)
- What were the motives of these teachers who didn't teach sound doctrine? (wanted to be teachers of the law but didn't understand what they were saying) What caused these teachers to do this? How might this play out in churches today?
- How would you summarize the key distinction between good teaching and false teaching? (Biblical teaching is motivated and produces love. False teaching is motivated by self-centeredness and produces divisions and fruitlessness.)
Summary: Not only should the church be vigilant regarding setting up boundaries so sound doctrine is taught, but we should all take seriously what we take in as a believer. Are we reading the right things? Are we following consistently biblical sound practices in our lives? Or, are we mixing in the secular with the spiritual? We must evaluate if our heart is pure, if our conscience is clear, and and if our faith is sincere. If love is not being produced, it might be because of who we are listening to, what we are reading, and the discussions we participate in.
1 Timothy 1:8-11 (Using Sound Instruction Correctly)
Emphasize: Just because certain false teachers had misused the law (the Old Testament Scriptures, particularly the Ten Commandments), that didn't mean the law should be ignored. Key phrase is "we know." Paul affirmed that the law is good (see Romans 7:7-12).
Discussion Options:
- Based on this passage, what is the purpose of the law? (QuickSource, p8)
- How do we use the law legitimately? If using the Discovery Guide, direct the group to review how the law can be used legitimately as described on the bottom of page 13 and top of page 14. If not using the Discovery Guide, explain how the law can be used legitimately.
- How would you express to a new believer the role of the law for believers?
1 Timothy 1:12-16 (Memories of our Standing as Sinners Should Drive us to Present Sound Instruction)
Explain: Paul's discussion of sin reminded him of his own sins. He was neither self-deceived nor self-righteous. In arrogance and ignorance he clung to his unbelief.
Discussion Options:
- Was Paul any less guilty than the other sinners he listed previously because he acted out of ignorance? (No)
- Describe how Paul described what did save him in verses 14-16. (Only through God's grace, mercy, patience, and love of Christ was he saved).
Option: Display the poster containing the quote from the Leader Pack or prepare a PowerPoint slide of the quote or write it on a marker board.
If we remember nothing else today we must remember this truth. It is the foundation of all we live for and believe in. As we live and teach we must remember that the purpose is to point people to Christ who otherwise would never find Him. If we miss this part of the message we have missed everything.
Look Out
Hitting the target and applying it to daily living.
Ask everyone to turn in their study guide to the final passage, 1 Timothy 1:17. Instruct them to read it aloud and together. Explain how Paul's instruction to Timothy about guarding against false teaching led him to realize how much the teaching of the Word of God had revealed his sinfulness which could only be taken away by trusting in Jesus Christ. This prompted him to praise God for what sound teaching had revealed to him about all God had done in his life.
Remind the group what sound teaching produces--love. Paul's praise was an expression of love. We see the evidence of the soundness of Paul's teaching by the way he loved God,Timothy, and the church.
Application: If you have the Leader Pack, consider using the Commitment Form (Item 4) as your closing activity. If you don't have the commitment form, ask the following questions and instruct the group to write down their responses:
I understand that it is vitally important for me to: build strong biblically based doctrine in my life, expose faulty doctrine, and help develop sound doctrine in others lives. Therefore I will . . .(ask the group to complete the statement)
