Listen in Community
Small Group Study
Overview
Thirteen books of the New Testament are letters attributed to the apostle Paul. We might imagine Paul sitting at his desk alone as he writes these thoughtful letters. Instead, Paul’s letters and his ministry were collaborative efforts. When possible, Paul brought others along to live and work with him. Some of these ministry partners were involved in physically writing several of Paul’s letters. Four other books—1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon—were written to men that Paul had discipled. These men, in turn, discipled others. It’s a pattern established by Jesus, employed by Paul, and passed on to believers today.
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First time leading Listen for Adults? Check out the Facilitator Guide. |
Engage
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QUESTION Have you ever received a hand-me-down item that you particularly liked?
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Most likely it was easier to think of hand-me-downs that you didn’t appreciate instead of one that was special. But have you ever thought about your faith as a hand-me-down? Someone or many people chose to share their most precious possession—faith in Jesus—with you.
In the Bible, the apostle Paul models how to intentionally invest in relationships with others. He not only shares his faith with many, but he also mentors some of them to become leaders. As we look at how Paul mentored Timothy, let’s consider who God wants us to disciple, too.
Watch
As we watch this video, consider this question:
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QUESTION What is a favorite memory you have of someone who guided your early faith journey?
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Consider
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Mandy has always had a love-hate relationship with hand-me-downs. As a child, she remembered looking at the beautiful clothes her older cousins wore and waiting in anticipation for the day when they’d be handed down to her. But she also detested these very same hand-me-downs because they were the reason her parents used for not purchasing new clothes for her.
Most families also have treasured hand-me-downs. To denote their importance, we call them by another name: heirlooms. Around the time of her wedding, Mandy’s father handed down a cherished heirloom: her mother’s wedding jewelry. Since Mandy’s mother had passed away, traces of her life have slowly disappeared from view. Very few things were left that her hands had touched, so these simple ornaments held far more worth than the monetary value the gold-encrusted garnets and pearls might bring. Mandy wears them proudly and fondly thinks of the day when she might pass them on to someone in her lineage as she tells stories of her mother.
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QUESTION When you think about the heirloom of your faith, who do you want to pass it on to? |
What the Bible Says
The gospel is an inheritance. It’s a treasured possession handed down from one member of God’s family to another. From the very first disciples who interacted with the “Living Word,” believers bore His aroma down through the centuries to you and me. This heirloom, handed down over the years, is our most prized possession. Now we have the responsibility to entrust it into the hands of the next generation.
Just as Jesus discipled the Twelve and Paul discipled Timothy, you and I have the responsibility to disciple those who will carry the message until Jesus comes.
A History of Timothy’s Discipleship
Read Acts 16:1–3; 2 Timothy 1:5–6.
When Paul met Timothy in Lystra, he recognized the deposit of faith made in Timothy by his mother and grandmother. We can infer that Timothy’s Greek father didn’t bring him up in Judaism because Timothy was not circumcised at this point in his life. Also absent is any mention that his father was a believer in Christ. Like Timothy, we may have a mixture of influences in our lives. We must choose which influences we allow to shape us.
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QUESTION Who are the crucial people who deposited faith in you like Timothy’s mother and grandmother did for him? |
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QUESTION If the history of your discipleship was summarized in few verses, what might we read?
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Child in the Faith
Read 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2.
Discipleship is spiritual parenting. As parents teach children family values, we teach kingdom values to those we disciple. Paul called Timothy his “true” or “dear son” time and again, indicating this special relationship that transcends physical parenthood. Paul found no one was quite like Timothy in his life. Paul commended Timothy not only for his faith, but for his faithfulness in following God. (See 1 Corinthians 4:17 and Philippians 2:19–22.)
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QUESTION Do you have any “beloved” children in the faith like Timothy?
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QUESTION What stops us from making disciples with whom we share such a strong familial bond?
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Life-on-Life Discipleship
Read 2 Timothy 3:10–17.
Paul lived in such a way that his life was both visible and closely connected to Timothy. It wasn’t just a surface relationship limited to when they went to church or Bible study together. There wasn’t much about Paul’s life that Timothy wasn’t privy to. Timothy was discipled just as much by watching Paul’s sufferings as his victories. He was there when doubts clouded Paul’s mind about the fruitfulness of his work. He watched Paul overcome those doubts to run his race with great endurance. These are the kind of disciples we are called to make.
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QUESTION In 2 Timothy 3:10, pay specific attention to the fruit developed in Paul’s life that follow the word “my.” In verse 11 Paul brings Timothy’s attention to his “persecution and suffering.” Why do you think he shared these two things together? |
Reflect
God has been at work in the lives of the people we disciple long before we come on the scene. It’s important to discover, acknowledge, and make the most of every effort God has already made. We should also be aware of the enemy who may have sown misunderstandings, mistrust, fear, false teaching, and downright sin. We must present an example of godliness as we encourage them to uproot sin and confront wrong ideas.
Throughout Paul’s writings, the believer’s responsibility to disciple others is highlighted. Nowhere is this example more powerful than in Paul’s relationship with Timothy. May we take seriously our responsibility to follow Paul’s example.
Listen to God
The goal of Listen is not only to gain an understanding of God’s Word, but also to pause and listen to what God might want to say to us about what we have read and shared. Be silent for a few moments and reflect on the following questions. Choose the one that most resonates with what God is saying to you now. Then complete the others during Day 1 of your devotion time this week.
Personal Reflection Questions
Record your answers to the following questions in the space provided or in your personal journal.
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QUESTION Many times, simple inconveniences do not allow us to let people into our lives. What gets in the way of you making disciples?
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QUESTION What are some of your personal characteristics that might keep you from being part of a team? Pray and ask God to help you grow in these areas today, so you may make disciples without reservation.
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QUESTION If you do not already have a child in the faith, who in your life could become a beloved child? How can you begin reaching out to them in faith, teaching them everything you know about God?
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QUESTION Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind people in your life who do not know God. As God brings them to mind, ask Him to give you courage and capacity to reach out to one of them with the good news. Who did you pick? When can you start a conversation with them? Is there someone you can take along with you to model personal evangelism?
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Prayer Requests
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Note any requests from the group and remember to pray for them during the week. |
Before next time, continue to listen with the personal devotions.
Did You Know?
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The same Paul who warned against new believers taking a significant church leadership position (sometimes noted as overseer, elder, or bishop) in 1 Timothy 3:6 also admonished Timothy to not shy away from his calling because of his youth in 1 Timothy 4:12. In effect, Paul wasn’t warning about physical age as much as he was spiritual age. We must check for spiritual maturity when we put believers in important leadership positions more than we become concerned about the youthfulness of a church leader or minister.
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Listen on Your Own
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Listening to God is something we need to do every day. Before you begin each devotion, pray and ask God to speak to you through His Word. Record your answers to the following questions in the space provided or in your personal journal.
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Day 1
Read 2 Timothy 3:10–17.
Look back over Listen in Community and complete your responses to the Personal Reflection Questions. If time permits, reread the Scripture too.
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QUESTION What do you sense that God is saying to you about your responsibility to disciple others? |
Listen on Your Own
Day 2
Read Mark 1:16–28.
Jesus spent most of His time with His disciples. The moment they were called, they left behind much of their former lives to follow Him wherever He went. His promise to make them fishers of men was not empty. He began filling their lives with both declarations of the kingdom of God and demonstrations of those kingdom principles.
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QUESTION What were some specific things the first disciples left behind as they followed Jesus?
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QUESTION What are the two things Jesus did immediately after He called the disciples to teach them how to become fishers of men? (See verses 21 and 25.)
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QUESTION Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. If Jesus were to call you in the same way, what would be the hardest to leave behind so you could be His full-time disciple? Would you ultimately be able to leave it, so you could follow Him? |
Listen on Your Own
Day 3
Read Matthew 13:1–8, 18–23.
As disciple-makers, most of our work is involved in scattering the seed of the Word into the hearts of men and women. In this parable, Jesus shares wisdom on how we can help the gospel seed take hold of those hearts we reach with His Word.
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QUESTION What can we do to prepare the hearts of those who don’t understand the Word (the seeds that fall on the footpath) for them to accept the seed of the gospel? As you answer, think about what a farmer would do when he is faced with hard ground before he plants.
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QUESTION How can we help those who receive the gospel with joy, but don’t form deep roots, to not fall away from the Lord? As you answer, think of gardening and what one does when a plant requires room for deep roots.
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QUESTION What can we do to help those we disciple, whose hearts are crowded by worry, to not let worry kill their spiritual growth? As you answer, think about what a gardener does when weeds are crowding a plant they are caring for. |
Listen on Your Own
Day 4
Read John 15:1–8.
Jesus declared in these Scriptures that an identifying mark of His true disciples is fruitfulness. It is not the fruitfulness in one’s spirit alone that produces the fruit of the Spirit. Instead, this fruitfulness is one’s capacity to spiritually reproduce. This multiplication is for our Father’s glory. God expects not just pastors, but every one of His children to participate.
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QUESTION What is the requirement a branch must meet to produce fruit?
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QUESTION What is the effect of pruning in our lives? Could the prospect of pruning be easier to bear now that we know its purpose?
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QUESTION What is the work of God’s Word in us that assists in our disciple-making (verses 7–8)? |
Listen on Your Own
Day 5
Read 1 Timothy 1:18–19; 4:13–16; 2 Timothy 2:2.
At the end of his life, Paul wrote letters to his spiritual son, Timothy. Paul entrusted him with the charge to go and teach others everything Paul had taught him. There is an urgency and desperation in the apostle’s words. The time is short, and many have fallen away from doing good. Because eternal souls hang in the balance, we too must possess Paul’s urgency as we take what God has entrusted to us to the next generation.
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QUESTION How many generations are represented in 2 Timothy 2:2? What does this say about the lasting effect of one’s faith?
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QUESTION According to 1 Timothy 1:18–19, what should we hold onto as we teach others?
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QUESTION What are habits we must form and practices we should not neglect, so that we and those we disciple will not fall away from the true gospel? |
