Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.
You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.
Carefully Think
- The passage for this Sunday will be 2 Timothy 3:14-17 on the topic of Scripture. If possible, read the entire book of 2 Timothy which comprises of only four chapters. Focus on Chapter 3 verses 1 through 17 for the immediate context of this passage. Look for the author, audience, and the genre. Many of you may already know this is a letter (epistle) of Paul. What in the text indicates it is a letter, who the author is, and to whom it was written?
- Verse 14 starts with a "but," showing a comparative connection to the verses above. Examine 3:1-13 to determine who Paul is comparing Timothy with, focusing on verses 2-9 and 13.
- What is Timothy to continue in and how is he to do this? (verses 12, 14-15).
- Paul references the "sacred writings" in verse 15 as the teaching tool of Timothy's mother and grandmother. Verses 16 and 17 lists the reasons for this. Examine these verses to determine why "Scripture" is so valuable as a teaching tool and write them out by listing them out by source, methods, and results.
- The Sermon Study equipping class notes are available online for anyone wanting to dig deeper. Please review this week's notes to help study this passage. Click here for the notes.
Prayerfully Meditate
- This is a man near the end of his life passing on his primary and succinct words of wisdom. He was known as an Apostle of Jesus Christ and knew Jesus in such profound ways as to be an author of a majority of the New Testament. How does this shape how you read this letter to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy? How does this shape how we should take in this information for our lives?
- Focusing on the passages above, what else is needed in our lives to live a life of godliness and righteousness? What in the text supports your answer?
- How do you use the Scriptures in living daily life? What parts of life are not encompassed with the Scriptures (refer to the passage again to determine these areas).
- Prayerfully consider how to incorporate the Word of God into your daily life more. Look for areas of your life that you ignore the Word of God repeatedly and don't even give thought to allowing it to penetrate in your life (work, email, driving, shopping, phone conversations, paying bills, disciplining children, preparing food, dining out, text messages, facebook, pictures, studying, sleeping, hanging out with friends, watching TV/movies/videos, etc.).
- Ask God for help in identifying these areas and for seeing the value of His Word in your life. Seek to understand the benefits of Scriptures infiltration into your every thought and deed in light of previous sermons (Hebrews 12, Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 5-6).