Sermon Notes + 6.29.2025
Sermon Notes
Set the Believers an Example
1 Timothy 4:12
Tyler Van Horssen, Director of Student Ministry
Overview: In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul is writing to his protégé, Timothy, challenging him to be faithful in rebuking the false teachers in Ephesus and shepherding the flock he had been entrusted with. Culturally, this would have been a difficult thing for Timothy to do because of how age was viewed in the culture. Timothy would have experienced difficulty garnering the respect needed to shepherd the flock well and to rebuke with authority since he was a pastor younger than many of his church’s members. To counteract this difficulty, Paul urges Timothy to set the believers in his church an example that would have prevented him from being looked down upon because of his age. The example Timothy was called to set can serve as a model of Christlikeness that we, too, ought to strive for, regardless of age.
Outline:
Set an example in speech
Set an example in conduct
Set an example in love
Set an example in faith
Set an example in purity
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & DISCOVERY
1. When you think of youth or youthfulness, what typically comes to mind? Is it generally positive or negative?
2. How would others describe your speech? What are some characteristics of “live-giving” (godly) speech?
3. When you look at your conduct (the fruit of your life), what does it reveal about where your heart is rooted? What are some ways you can set an example in conduct this week?
4. In your life, why are certain people easier to love than others? How does this reveal a tendency within you to treat love as an emotion rather than an affection?
5. Look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Which characteristic of love is the most difficult for you to embody and why?
6. When have been some of the times in your life that God has challenged you to cling to him in faith? Looking back on those times, how did God reveal himself to be holding tightly to you as well?
7. What desires lie beneath the impurities of your heart? When you have impure motives, what are you hoping to gain? When you have impure thoughts, what are you ultimately seeking?