𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Share some old photos you have of your parents and family. What are the similarities and differences between you and those older than you?
• Think of one of your good habits that you developed as a child. Who taught you this or how did you develop this habit?
• Have you ever been coached by someone in a sport or line of work? What do you think they saw in you that you didn’t?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟱

(Read also 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟭𝟲:𝟭–𝟱.)

As the gospel was preached to both the Jews and Gentiles, the early church grew in number. More importantly, the church grew in godly character and a heart to preach the gospel. This set the foundation for Christian families and would be the basis for generations to follow. Today, we will look at how Timothy and his family nurtured a multigenerational lifestyle of faith that would make an impact beyond their home and in the world.

𝟭. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟱

Paul’s greeting in his letter to Timothy began with the starting point of Timothy’s faith—the home. Paul saw how setting a God-honoring culture in the family is important. This is still true today. As followers of Christ, it is the primary responsibility of every parent to raise up their children to have a right understanding of who God is and to believe in Him. Children need to hear the gospel and see it lived out at the home first before they hear it from others. This will lead to a progressive discipleship journey in the family. What does Paul say about the importance of grounding children in the word of God in 2 Timothy 3:14–15?

𝟮. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟱

While Paul addressed his greeting to Timothy, he also credited Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice for setting the foundations of faith in the family. We can surmise that Lois raised and discipled Eunice, who then passed her values on to Timothy. Because of this, Timothy had more than one person who guided him and helped nurture his faith even before his ministry with the apostle Paul started. Whether in a young child or a parent wise in age, God’s word can and will do its redemptive work in the hearts of those who love Him. How do you think a sincere faith is passed on from one generation to another?

𝟯. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘓𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮. 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬. . . . 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟭𝟲:𝟮–𝟯, 𝟱

The impact that discipleship in the home had on Timothy was not only limited to his family. It greatly affected his ministry. The values instilled in Timothy that were cultivated generations before helped him advance God’s kingdom and led to the expansion of the early church. Paul, a prominent figure in the early church, was able to preach the gospel in many cities, and Timothy was influential in this, too. This is why we value family. When we actively disciple the next generation in our home, the communities we are in will be blessed as well. Why do you think Paul mentored a young man, rather than someone more experienced?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• How does your society view raising families? What is the difference between families who follow the world’s standards and those who follow God’s ways?
• Who are some of the people who discipled you in your values and beliefs? How may you show your gratitude to them this week?
• Think of someone who doesn’t know and believe in Jesus yet. How can you reach out to him or her and preach the gospel?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Praise God for raising godly families and communities. Thank Him for the opportunity to be discipled and to disciple others.
• Thank God for your family. Thank Him that despite your imperfections as a family, your family helped you become who you are today.
• Ask God for the heart to reach the next generation in your home and your community. Pray that He would give you a clear vision of how He intends to be at the center of your family.