Vintage Church: The Message Matters
The Neglect of Gospel Teaching.
The Goal of Gospel Teaching.
The Core of Gospel Teaching.
Sermon Questions for 1 Timothy 1:1-11
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SPECIFIC PRAYER (suggestions)
Pray for your Elders, Pastors, and teachers of God’s Word. Pray their life and doctrine will match. Pray they will abide in Christ and stay connected to their first passion. Pray for their protection and their families. Pray that all of us would plug our lives into Scripture and allow God to change us.
SCRIPTURE AND SHARING
Crawl:
Who invested in your spiritual life when you were new to the faith? Who truly discipled you?
What did you learn early on in your journey that you still have to remind yourself to be faithful to? In other words, what lessons did you learn early that you are still learning today?
If someone at your work began speculating about God’s Word and it was obvious they had a low opinionof the Bible, how would you respond? Has this ever happened to you?
In your mind, what does it mean to be part of this movement called the church and follow Jesus? What is the goal of Gospel teaching? (1 Tim 1:5).
Walk:
Read 1 Timothy 1:1-3
How do you think Paul felt leaving Timothy behind as he went on to minister? What values does Paul show in leaving his protégé but continuing on to minister in Macedonia?
How do you think Timothy feels knowing he has to step into Paul’s shoes and fight against false teachers? Do you think Timothy would rather be leading the Ephesians church or planting churches and being discipled by Paul. Why is it always more comfortable beingdiscipled rather than discipling? Why do so many people choose to never lead?
Timothy was at Lystra (Acts 16:1ff) where Paul was stoned (Acts 14:19). What would motivate Timothy to follow in Paul’s footsteps after witnessing (or at least knowing about) how he was treated? What is Christ asking you to do that seems like a rocky road, an impossible task, or dangerous in one way or another?
How do you correct a false teacher who is among the body as an olderwiserperson (elder), puffed up with pride, and hating authority? What is the godly course of action?
Read 1 Timothy 1:4-11
Whatconstitutesfalse teaching? Is anyone who teaches in this manner a false teacher? Can we separate the teaching of a person with the character of a person?
What is thegoalin correcting a false teacher? What is the aim of theology and correct doctrine?
What was the point of the Old Testament Law?[[1]]
Read Matthew 22:35-40 and 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. In all honesty, how is this group doing in the love department? How can we do better? What is one story of love from this group you can recall that would encourage all of us?
Run:
How can we ensure that this group does not become a group of speculators? How can we ensure sound doctrine? How have we done so far?
Are you living your life like it’s not your own? How can you changerealizingevery single aspect of your life is living for Christ?
The message of the Gospel matters. It matters in thousands of ways, does this group matter? Share those thoughts. How can we live life together better?
Key Words and Further Study:
1 Kings 8:56 and John 5:39, Luke 24:44-49
What were some of the false teachings Timothy encountered? We don’t know exactly. But we can find a few clues. So at least part of this false teaching involved looking at the Hebrew Scriptures,focusing on the genealogies, and coming up with theories,myths and mystical things based on those words (v4) Look for mystical messages and codes in Scripture. Also, Asceticism (v3), a belief that you’ll be more spiritual if you deprive yourself of certain things—like marriage, or certain foods. 1 Timothy 6:5—people were preaching the prosperity gospel. People who say that God’s goal is to make you wealthy. He wants to prosper your businessmaking your dreams come true. And if you’re not getting rich, then you don’t have enough faith, or maybe you’re not giving enough to the church.Thereare lots of people who are drawn into"name it and claim it" Christianity with those kinds of promises.This isjust a total misunderstanding of Jesus and the gospel.
SERVICE (fodder for ideas)
If you have committed to providing a backpack for a Rwandan child on the Cymballi coffee plantation, remember the supplies and $3 is due on November 22nd. Please return your envelope at the Lincoln Park Campus gym.
[[1]] To reveal our sin and how we fall short of God’s standard. See Rom 3:19-25