Don't forget our next training on April 28, 6-7:45pm. Our emphasis from GPS will focus on helping you organize and build ministry relationships with PEOPLE. I expect every adult teacher, co-teacher, and your current/potential class
ministry leaders to attend. We need 100% attendance.
We will include an attendance sheet in your Connect Group box this week for you to indicate how many will be attending from your group.
As I mentioned, this is a very important training and will be extremely interactive. Here are some topics we will cover:
- Organizing your class for ministry. There are multiple ways you can organize for ministry. Care groups can be used in a variety of ways. I will show you multiple ways to organize and use care groups, how to enlist care group leaders, how to minister without care groups, and we will share ideas with one another.
- How to minister ideas. Bro Ken, David, and other leaders will be present to guide questions and help you gather ideas on how to minister during life events.
- Planning with your team. You and your class ministry leaders will have an opportunity to formulate plans based upon what you have heard and learned.
April 21: Be Strong in God's Work
THE TARGET
Focus on what adults should leave knowing, understanding, and doing.
Adults will identify how they
can remain strong in God's work.
can remain strong in God's work.
Resources to Consider Using:
- MyStudyBible.com suggestion: Consider reviewing the following video before teaching and emailing it to your group before the study: http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/QR/GetzBible/1367/
- MyStudyBible.com study: If you came to the training last Sunday you have access to the following information from the Life Essentials Study Bible about 2 Timothy 2:3-7. I would recommend you review this to gain a perspective on suffering: http://msb.to/c/LE?/6/112[56]!/578/1:0
- Word Pronunciations: Although not in the primary text, the following names are listed in verse 17. Click on the name to hear the pronunciation: Hymenaeus; Philetus
- Handout: Strength Assessment I took a different approach to the study this week. Instead of using the verse outline provided in our ETB materials, I broke the verses down into two segments. The first segment deals with 2 Timothy 2:1-2. This segment provides a list of areas Paul focuses on in the remaining verses. I would use the assessment as a guide during the study and for application at the end of the session. I will place a copy in your Connect Group box Sunday. Here is link to the handout for your reference: Strength Assessment
- Don't forget to use the following to supplement your ETB Leader Guide, Discovery Study Guide Teaching Plan (online), or QuickSource. Don't forget to check out EXTRA! too.
- Paul is continuing his discussion with Timothy from chapter 1.
- He is emphasizing to Timothy how to remain strong and how to help others remain strong.
- Listen to video in order to gain a perspective: http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/QR/GetzBible/1366/
Look Up: "Soft Methods" to draw attention to the study as adults are visiting and gathering for Bible study.
Options:
- Option One: Video from Facing the Giants. Emphasize the importance of leading from strength and not giving up. Explain that this is the emphasis Paul gives Timothy and us today in 2 Timothy 2. See Video: http://youtu.be/5fpLjAF9dN0
- Option Two: Write the following on the markerboard: PHYSICAL. Once most adults have arrived, ask the group to share their greatest fear when going to get a physical. Why do so many people avoid physicals? Explain how today's study is "Dr Paul's" suggestions to Timothy about how he can remain strong spiritually. If you really want to make this interesting, consider dressing in medical scrubs as you teach the lesson.
- Read 2 Timothy 2:1-2. Explain the "therefore" relates to what Paul had just finished discussing in Chapter 1 related to our study last week on loyalty.
- In the last few verses of chapter 1, Paul discussed how important it was to not be ashamed of the gospel. He points out his own loyalty and he reminds Timothy of the ministry of Onesiphorus (click for pronunciation).
- He now says to Timothy, "You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."
- Timothy was given, through grace - it wasn't earned or gained through good works - a relationship with Christ. Now he was to remain strong in that relationship.
- After Paul exhorts Timothy to remain strong, he gives another instruction in verse 2 connected to remaining strong. We are to "commit to faithful men (and women, added) who will be able to teach others also."
- How is remaining strong related to verse 2's instructions?
- What would you say, then, is a primary goal of remaining strong? (to pour into others the lessons we have learned as we grow in our knowledge of God's grace.)
- Although we aren't all official "teachers" we all have people we are teaching. We teach by the way we live in the presence of those who are observing our lives.
- Who do you teach? Who observes your life? Who needs you to pour into them the knowledge and experiences of walking with God? Instruct the group to make a list in their study guides of those individuals or groups. Explain that this is the group Paul would exhort you to commit to teaching.
As we continue to look at chapter 2 we are going to learn some important instructions Paul gives that help us remain strong so that we can help others.
Look In: Supplemental ideas for unpacking the text.
Instruct the group to read 2 Timothy 2:3-10; 14-15; 22-26 and to identify the instructions Paul gives to Timothy that will help him remain strong. As adults are reading, distribute the Handout: Strength Assessment (click to view) and use as discussion guide. If you don't plan on using the handout, supplement your teaching with any of the questions as you feel is best.
Use the questions below to guide the group through a discussion of the handout.
2 Timothy 2:3-10
Share in Suffering (v3)
- What does Paul mean by the term, "share in suffering"? (When we avoid suffering, we avoid being a part of a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before, who have sacrificed reputations, security, and life for the cause of Christ; we avoid sharing in the suffering of Christ.)
- In what ways do we avoid suffering?
- How do we share in the suffering? (when we are witness; when we stand for what is right; when we don't compromise; etc.)
- Why is the illustration of a soldier used?
- What is the significance of a soldier getting entangled in the concerns of civilian life?
- What concerns in civilian life might entangle us?
- Who are some athletes you can name who won but didn't compete according to the rules? What were the results of their cheating?
- What rules was Paul referring to?
- What are ways in which we might not compete according to the rules as believers? How can we avoid doing this?
- What does the farmer get to do that no one else can do? (he gets to see the first-fruits of his labor)
- How does enjoying the first fruits relate to living strong?
- Paul was this to Timothy. Who is the person you listen or should listen to?
- Paul used the term " risen from the dead and descended from David" to emphasize Jesus - the man whose lineage is from David, therefore the promised Messiah - and Christ - the Sovereign, Almighty Son of God. He is Sovereign God and the Promised Messiah!
- How can remembering this help us stay focused remaining strong?
- Paul's challenge to remain strong was not just for his own sake.
- What is significant about why?
- What do the three illustrations Paul used teach us about the value and importance of staying focused? Ask your group to discuss with two or three others around them; then share their thoughts.
- How can the examples of the good soldier, the victorious athlete, and the hardworking farmer help you remain loyal to Christ when your faith is challenged by circumstances or by opponents of the gospel? (ETB Personal Study Guide, p72)
Take the high road in arguments (v14)
- What are the "these things" Paul was referring to? (see v11-13)
- How would being reminded of these things help you take the high road in arguments?
- Remind the group that a lot of Paul's conversations in 1 and 2 Timothy related to how to respond to false teaching. Based on Paul's comments, what would you say is the best approach to confronting false teaching?
- Remind the group that, as in last weeks study, Paul emphasized not being ashamed. How does being diligent keep us from being ashamed? (we say the right things and we can confidently stand before God unashamed)
- How does knowing that we are presenting ourselves before God motivate us to be someone who is a worker who correctly teaches the word of truth?
Flee youthful passions (v22)
- How would you describe youthful passions?
- What could cause us to embrace youthful passions? (mid-life crisis; reconnecting with high school or college friends on Facebook; going back to class reunions; etc) Basically it is anything that might trigger memories, thoughts, or actions that relate to youthful passions. Point out that none of this is bad unless it causes us to embrace instead of flee youthful passions; then we should avoid it.
- How would you summarize the qualities we are to pursue in one sentence?
- How much time do you spend pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace with other Christians? (Discover Study Guide, p59)
- Which one of these Godly traits do you most need to develop?
- righteousness - living uprightly
- faith - trusting in God's revelation and character
- love - self-sacrificial living for the good of others
- peace - demonstrating harmonious relations with God and others
- When someone confronts us about our beliefs or disagrees with us, what do we sometimes try to do? (Win)
- When we try to win an argument, what does this lead to? (quarrels)
- Notice Paul uses the word "opponents" to describe indiviuduals we might be talking with. When you see the word opponent, what do you think of? How do you usually respond to an opponent?
- What was Paul's suggestions for talking with opponents?
- What was his hope that these conversations might yield? (salvation)
Option One: If you showed the video from Facing the Giants, remind the group about the coach's words he kept saying to the football player ("never give up"; "just a few more yards", "you can do this") Ask the group to review the list Paul gave Timothy and identify an area in which they have a tendency to quit focusing. Ask them to share their area with a partner and to pray for one another during the week.
Option Two: If you used the physical illustration at the beginning, share the following:
Explain that, much like a physical, the items on the handout should show us what is ideal and reveal to us the areas in which we need to become healthier. Then we need to put together a plan so that we can be as healthy and strong as possible. As you review the handout, how would you assess your spiritual health? Identify one or two areas of concern and list two or three actions that will help you become stronger. Commit to focusing on those areas over the coming weeks.
