Thank You
Over the past few weeks, YOU gave over 13,000 pieces of candy for kids downtown on Halloween. (that is, 13,000 by Saturday, October 27!) Each piece of candy is a potential opporrtunity to make a connection to a family this week, and invite them in to Christ.
NOT ONLY have SO MANY people brought candy, but Dianne Fowler tells me that we have PLENTY of volunteers to work this important community event! You guys are just awesome. What a privilege to be part of a group that is COURAGEOUS, and outward-focused!
Thanksgiving Dinner
The other big thing we’re doing is serving together at the Thanksgiving Dinner, which is November 17. This is a GREAT opportunity for us to work with believers in multiple churches from across Gilmer County to say “thank you” to God for our neighbors. This Thanksgiving meal is free to anyone and everyone. Your group can do a shift along with me there!
Discussion Questions
What is one physical or character attribute you know you inherited from your parents?
If you have children, what is one characteristic of yourself that you see in them right now?
All of us have inherited something from our parents. Most of these qualities are passed down unintentionally, simply by virtue of our relationship. But the pattern for discipleship, and therefore the completion of the Great Commission, is more intentional. In order for us to complete our assigned mission, we engage in this process of multiplication. (making disciples that make disciples.)
The Apostle Paul challenges his young apprentice Timothy to be courageous. “Be strong . . . suffer hardship . . . remember Jesus Christ.” Those are the words of counsel to Timothy in a fallen world, in an imperfect church, facing many persecutions, and many dangers, as he lives and ministers. It takes courage to lead and courage to follow. These words are not only inspired words for a minister of the gospel, they were suitable for all those in the Ephesian church, and they are suitable words for us today, as we multiply courageous ministry.
2 Timothy 1:1–7 (NLT)
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.
I am writing to Timothy, my dear son.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.
Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.
I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
What do you learn here about Paul and Timothy’s relationship?
Who did Timothy first learn about Christ from? Who set an example for him in how to follow Christ when he was young?
What do you think it means to “fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you”? What does that mean with reference to our relationships with others?
In this letter, Paul wanted to continue discipling Timothy, a ministry Lois and Eunice had started long before Paul had visited their city. Paul began to build on their work of exhorting Timothy. Paul was reminding Timothy that it was time to add fuel and fan the coals of his ministry into an open flame by recalling the passion he had felt at his ordination into ministry and the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life. God’s desire for His people is to demonstrate a strong, enduring lifestyle of faith, even if that genuine faith resembles glowing coals hidden beneath the ashes of long-past victories. Paul’s challenge should encourage us to take seriously the influence we have over the people in our lives and to look for ways to actively point them to Christ.
2 Timothy 1:8–18 (NLT)
So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.
That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.
Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.
As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me—even Phygelus and Hermogenes.
May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me. He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains. When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me. May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ’s return. And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus.
In what way does Paul describe the gospel here?
Why was Paul worried about shame? What kept Paul from being ashamed of the gospel? What keeps you from being ashamed?
Paul was afraid that Timothy and others would be ashamed of the testimony of Christ, and that they would be ashamed of Paul himself because he was in chains. Some may construe Paul’s incarceration as a sign that he was giving up on the gospel, or that he did not believe that he needed to keep proclaiming the truth of Christ. Salvation is through Christ and so is the gospel, it was not about Paul.
2 Timothy 2:1–13 (NLT)
Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.
Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
This is a trustworthy saying:
If we die with him, we will also live with him.
If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.
If we deny him, he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
If you’ve been mentored, what was that relationship like? If you haven’t had a mentor, who has been a spiritual leader or example in your life?
How are you carrying on their legacy of multiplying gospel truths?
Timothy’s ministry would play out much differently than Paul’s, but Paul knew that no matter the scenario, remaining strong in faith was necessary. The more active we are in ministry, the more we realize the need for a source of strength outside of ourselves. Paul used multiple examples of endurance, but the common theme was discipline and sacrifice. The metaphors Paul used bring to mind words like loyalty, commitment, patience, labor, stamina, and selflessness. In each case, personal circumstances and comforts take a backseat to leadership and evangelism.
Why is our courageous ministry important for future generations?
Evaluate your passion for those who do not know Jesus. What are you willing to do for the sake of their salvation? What steps can be taken to endure hardship for their sake?
When we endure, we have the ability to share the gospel. At times we do not share our faith because we fear what others may think. We must remember what Paul says, that sharing the gospel is for the sake of their salvation, not our reputation.
Look again at Paul’s “trustworthy saying.” What were the incentives Paul focused on that allowed him to endure, regardless of circumstances?
If we die with him, we will also live with him.
If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.
If we deny him, he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
How do the above two promises inspire you to courageously share your faith?
The notion of endurance presumes an active, courageous Christian life. No endurance or courage is necessary if we seclude ourselves from the world and don’t spread the gospel. However, the calling to follow Jesus requires activity, and thus, endurance. In this final trustworthy saying, Paul gives Timothy the incentive of enduring in faith to the end of our lives as he had modeled.
What is one area of your life in which you need a greater dependence on the strength and grace of Jesus to live out courageous ministry? How are you going to remind yourself of that need this week?
How are you following the pattern of Jesus and Paul right now in multiplying disciples?
PRAYER
Pray that we would come to understand the biblical multiplication process for making disciples. As a group, pray that you would all be actively engaged in this process, continuing to depend on the grace of Christ, invest in the people of Christ, and repeat the pattern of Christ.