1 Timothy 3 -- Leadership Qualities

The opening discussion starter question are on the Jr. Staff 2014 facebook page this week. Hopefully, having things in two places isn't too confusing.

Digging in:

Read 1 Timothy 3.

Now, I want to think about it this way: this is a list of traits that are important for a "servant-leader".  This person does not look like a rock-star. They might not have a huge following. They might even do their work unnoticed. But they have integrity. They do their work honestly. They can be trusted. At least one job that the deacons had was to distribute food to the orphans and widows. This might seem like a simple job, or even an un-spiritual one, but it was very important that it was done faithfully, and without favoritism.

And Paul tells Timothy, and God tells us, that the person who has this job must “keep hold of the deep truths of faith with a clear conscience.” We might think that anyone can work at a soup kitchen, or a food pantry. But the truth is that God wants to work through his Spirit to move his people to serve in this way. When someone does this, they are acting as God’s hands. And hopefully, they are also delivering the good news of a savior in the process.  Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of the one who brings good news, who proclaim salvation.” (Isaiah 52:7)

The chapter ends by saying “the mystery of godliness is great:” and then there is a quote from what may be a hymn of the early church. The hymn describes some of the wondrous things about our God and Savior. This again is a good reminder that if someone is a pure servant, doing good and faithful work, that it is really God doing the work.

I was very pleased when I read the list and I remembered that this is not a list of the traits of the people who get to go to heaven. Not everyone who believes in Jesus Christ and trusts in him has this consistent or faithful of a life.

But again, this is not a list of demands. It is a list of directions for what a church leader should live like. I want to follow this model, but I do not need to measure up to this standard in order to feel acceptable to God.

He loves me and you, even in all of our unacceptableness.

Reflecting:

Now look at 1 Timothy 3 again.

What things on the list seem the most important?

Are there any important traits of a great Christian leader that are missing? -not necessarily missing from the Bible, just missing from this chapter, and worthy of our consideration.

Answer these questions in the comments section, so that we can get a conversation going.

Devotion - September 24th, 2014

Hello friends.

In addition to the studies that Joel is posting, I (Justin) am going to post a biweekly devotion. It will be rather short and will resemble the devotions we have at camp. Here’s what I want you to do: 1. Read the devotion. 2. Share the devotion on Facebook and Twitter. The studies Joel is writing, currently on 1 Timothy, are for the junior staff. But, these devotions I write are for you to strengthen your faith and share with others. So, put it out onto your social networks so that others can read it. I will try and get three up before the teen retreat. I’ll ask you guys about them there.

_______________________

There was no way this was natural. They were everywhere. The king looked around his war camp. His army was decimated. All was lost. How could this have happened? They had the city besieged, right where they wanted it. They were so close to its capture. Everyone would mock him for this. He was the king of great Assyria! How could they lose 185,000 troops in one night? Hezekiah was like a bird in a cage! He was going to crush Jerusalem, flay their king alive and impale him for the world to see. How could he do that without an army? How could this have happened? There was nothing left to do, but go home. It was time to head back to Nineveh.

Many years before this a man named Jonah sat outside of that same city, pouting. More than that, Jonah was indignant. Not because he was in a nation that would one day bring the Lord’s vengeance on his beloved fatherland. No, he burned for another reason. It was the fire kindled within Jonah the moment God’s call came to him. “Go to Nineveh, Jonah.” Rather than follow God’s command, he took off, like a spoiled child with his parents. Jonah tried to get as far away from Nineveh as possible, like he was saying, “God, if you won’t give me what I want, then nobody can get what they want.”

Jonah’s problem with God went even deeper than that, though. On the sea, Jonah and the sailors found themselves pitted against menacing waves and mysterious depths. When Jonah tells the sailors about the God he serves, they believe him. It was a small miracle to foreshadow the great one that was coming. They threw him in the sea, and instantly the storm was silenced. Jonah was swallowed. From the literal depths of life, Jonah finally finds humility. But, it’s not to last. Jonah knows he still has a job, knows his grief with God hasn’t gone away.

Covered in fishy goo, he reaches the shore again, and sets for Nineveh. He drags his feet the whole way. His heart is only half in his message to the Ninevites, but it doesn’t matter. The Holy Spirit overcomes Jonah’s pitiful “sermon.” The city is converted. The city is converted. His preaching converts a city, and he is remembered mostly with a giant fish. But, Jonah is hardly jubilant. This is exactly what he didn’t want.

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:5-11)

Can you sense Jonah’s problem? It isn’t that plant or worm. It isn’t the sun or the wind or his lack of water. It isn’t even Jonah’s melodramatic attitude. Jonah’s problem was in his heart. He saw the cruel Ninevites—a people who delighted in violence and genocide, and he hated them. But, even that wasn’t his greatest problem. Jonah didn’t think that this city deserved God’s mercy. He thinks that God has been too patient with them and they should just be wiped out. Can you sense Jonah’s problem? Jonah can’t see how patient God has been with him. Jonah doesn’t see the mercy God has shown to him, again and again and again and again. In his self-righteousness, Jonah believes he is entitled to God’s mercy, but that Nineveh could never deserve it.

He was partly right. Nineveh didn’t deserve God’s mercy and grace. But, neither did Jonah. Neither do you. Avoid the trap Jonah stumbled into. When you see mercy in others’ lives, don’t be jealous or covet what they have. If you wonder, why them? Wonder instead if you aren’t just like Jonah, sitting under a doomed plant hating the grace of God. God has been merciful to you, too. You have a greater vision of it than the Ninevites. They believed without ever seeing salvation completed in Christ. Consider the mercy God has given to you to know that you’re forgiven. His destructive wrath stood against you and the Ninevites, but God redirected it. Jesus was destroyed instead. Consider that mercy.

There’s two things you can do to keep yourselves from under Jonah’s plant. First, pray that you learn to hate your own sin more than the sins of others. Read that sentence again. Treasure that concept. Second, choose one instance of God’s mercy each day and thank him for it.

Prayer: Merciful Father, teach me to hate my own sin more than the sins others. Your mercies are new each morning; teach me to see that in my life. In Christ's name. Amen.

Jonah picture from here.

1 Timothy 2 -- Instructions on Worship

Opening Thoughts:

Paul is writing to Timothy to give direction for him about how to lead a congregation. It makes sense then, that he would give instructions on the way we should worship. He starts by defining the heart of the attitude that people should have.

It is probably interesting to us that he so intertwines the actions of the people and the attitude of their hearts. Consider what special things that we do to make our worship special.

Go ahead and list some of the things in the comments. Reflect on the outward actions and traditions that we have to outwardly put into practice the attitudes that God would ask us to have.

Digging In:

Now go ahead and read 1 Timothy 2.

He starts off by saying that there is ONE God. There is only one mediator; one person by which we can talk to God, as well as be accepted by him. Let’s praise that person—Jesus Christ! And he says everyone should be prayed for. This might seem obvious. But it is important when we think about the purpose of the church to think of the two parts, God and Everyone, that are being connected. Too often we think of ourselves, or our family, or our friends.

Then, there are directions specifically for men and women. “But I want men everywhere to raise up holy hands in prayer.”  This word does mean men, and it should be contrasted with the directions for women. Men are being told that though they find themselves easily angered, or fall into arguments with others, that this is not the way of God’s people. At the heart of God’s people is lifting up holy hands.  The men are penitent, and humble. They have repented of their faults and they are wearing Christ’s righteousness, as they pray together for everyone.

Then for women, he describes the importance of inner beauty that shows up in Christian actions, and reminds them that it is important to dress modestly and avoid putting too much importance on the outward appearance.

Focus on “the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,”(1 Peter 3:4) as opposed to the self-obsessed, vain spirit shouting “Look at me!”

Then he reminds Timothy that it is the role of a man to lead and have authority in Christian teaching, and that it is not the place for a woman to do that.

When Paul brings up what happened in the garden, he is reminding them that in the garden, during the fall, both Adam and Eve failed to fulfill their role. Eve stepped out of her role as helper, and Adam did not do his job as head.  It sounds like in these verses that Eve is responsible because she was the one who was deceived. But we know that Adam, as the head, is held responsible for both of their acts. (Romans 5:12) “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin.”

If you are troubled by the wording of verse 15, know that there are people who have had a great deal of difficulty fitting the phase “women will be saved by childbearing” together with the rest of Scripture. The word saved is sometimes translated: restored, cured, made whole…. You could argue that he means that women are restored to their role in God’s creation when they do the important and difficult job of being a mother, if they continue in faith, love , and holiness as they do so. What it cannot mean is that by bearing children a woman gains salvation by her actions.

So we are reminded that “head” and “helper” are both difficult jobs. Adam’s curse was that his word would be hard, and so the woman’s curse was that there would be great pain in childbearing. Here is seems like there is another struggle. One where men may have a difficult time doing the hard work that is leading as the head, and taking responsibility over the actions of their entire family. And women may have a hard time submitting to the role that God has assigned them.

But also, continuing in faith, love and holiness, is a good description of the life that each of us want to lead in Christ.

And pray together. To the One God. For everyone.

Reflecting:

I truly hope that this section of Scripture functions as a good reminder of some things to do and to avoid, as it was to Timothy. But I also recognize that when gender issues come up at all, there can be confusion and hard feelings.

Please do not be afraid to ask any questions that you have here, or explain any doubts or confusion that may accompany this topic for you.

To avoid it becoming a negative topic, I will also ask you guys to answer this question:

What part of the role that God has assigned to your gender are you thankful for? In what way are you thankful for the differences between men and women?

Or, answer this:

What attitudes for worship that are listed here do you especially want to cultivate?

1 Timothy 1:12-17 Worst of Sinners

Opening Thoughts:

This week's opening question is:

What is a time that you had to be honest about a mistake, even though it was embarrassing or scary? How did the experience of admitting your mistake go?

Go ahead and answer this questions in the comments. Don't be shy. We won't hold your mistakes against you. And we might learn something from each others' stories.


Digging In:

Paul talks about the fact that he was offered mercy, even for some very horrible sins. He explains that he acted in unbelief. Paul started out an unbeliever, and became a believer later.

But he doesn’t say, “I was the worst of sinners.” He said, “I am the worst.”

We are so often embarrassed by our sins, so we hate to admit them. But here Paul shows us that Jesus' mercy and patience can be glorified when we are honest about our wrongdoing.

In your life, when you take the time to confess your sins to God, (this is a great practice to do each day) I pray that you find delight in the fact that God loves you, even though your actions have not been lovely.

But, we must also be careful not to use Paul’s status as the worst of sinners as an excuse to live in sin ourselves.

We want to pray with the father of a boy whose son is possessed by an evil spirit. He says to Jesus in Mark 9; “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief!”

Even more, we want to follow this advice:

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

-Hebrews 3:12-13

Paul doesn’t say, “Since God has forgiven me of so many things, so you also ought to go sin.” Instead, in 1 Timothy 1:18-19, we hear an encouragement to fight the battle, hold onto faith, and have a good conscience.

We are to confess our sins and fight, with God's help, the battle that he has already won. Let us not give in to doubt, or unbelief.

 

Reflecting: 

The opening question asked you to talk about a mistake. The word “mistake” is not the same as a sin. But sometimes the world acts like there is no such thing as a sin, and that we only make mistakes.

How can this cause problems in our lives?

How have you seen that way of thinking cause problems?

1 Timothy 1:1-11 -- Reflecting

After looking at the section of Scripture, now it is time to look at our hearts and see how we compare.

The goal of the message that Timothy is to pass on is one of Love.  Love “which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” That doesn’t sound like my attitude. How about yours?

How have you thought or acted like these false teachers this week? What have you shown to be more important than Christ’s love? Trying to look good?  Trying to get what you want? Trying to be comfortable? Or what else?

What is one way that God has worked to nurture your heart, conscience, and faith to love?

1 Timothy 1:1-11 -- Digging In

Paul wrote the letter called 1 Timothy as a pep-talk. It is a letter of encouragement and teaching. As we read it, we can consider what Timothy learned, as well as how it is helpful for us in our lives as Christ-followers.

Read 1 Timothy 1:1-10. Leave it open in a different tab, or use an actual paper Bible. :-)
 
This letter is from Paul to Timothy. He call Timothy his “true son in the faith.” He had the chance to train timothy in a knowledge of the true doctrines of God, and they served together to spread that message before Paul left timothy in Ephesus to help them get through the problem of the false teachers there.

How can you tell that Paul knows Timothy’s faith really well?

After reading verse 3-8, what would you say is Timothy’s job in Ephesus?

Since Timothy is called to defend the false teachers there, it is important to understand what the false teaching is that he is surrounded by.  What can you tell about these false teachings by reading this section?

1 Timothy 1:1-11 -- Coffee Cup

We will start each week with a few "coffee-cup" discussion starter questions to begin sharing on the topic.

Please post in the comments here your answers to any or all of these questions:

Share a meaningful “pep-talk” that you have been given.  When did you get the pep-talk? What made it a good one? Have you ever tried to give a pep-talk? When?

Sometimes God calls us to do very difficult jobs. Can you think of a job that you would rather not do? What is it about that job that you would find most difficult?

When there is a disagreement in your family, what is the way that you seek to deal with it? What happens when it is a dispute between your parents? What about when it is between children in the family, how do your parents handle that?