A Study on 1 Timothy
By Rev. Felicia Fox
1 Timothy 1:12-20
Begin by lighting the Christ candle and reminding the youth that it serves as a reminder that Christ is
with us during this time.
Begin by showing a picture of Nadia Bolz-Weber and having the youth describe what type of person
someone who looks like her might be. Then show the following clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM9Y5S3UYi8 - first 5.5 minutes.
Say, “Sometimes the people that God picks to share the love of Christ doesn’t really seem to make a lot
of sense to us. Tonight we are going to look at another unlikely pick that God made.
Have the youth read verses 12 – 17 together. As you read have the youth help you create a chart of
Paul’s old life, what God does, and Paul’s new life.
Old Life
Blasphemer (13)
Persecutor (13)
Man of violence (13)
Acted ignorantly in unbelief (13)
Worst sinner (15)
God does
Strengthened Paul (12)
Judged Paul faithful (12)
Appointed Paul to service (12)
Gave Mercy (13)
Grace (14)
Faith and Love (14)
Save Sinners (15)
Shows patience (16)
New Life
Made an example (16)
Praises God (17)
Ask…
-
Based on Paul’s old life would you have picked him to do God’s will? Why?
Why do you think God picked Paul to do his work?
Who did the most work in this text? Why?
What does this text teach us about God?
Say, “God works in amazing and unusual ways. In this text we are reminded that God often picks
unlikely people to share the love of Christ. We serve a God who picked Paul, a man who made a name
for himself killing those who believed in Christ. That same God picked Nadia, a tattooed recovering
alcoholic to start a church full of unlikely Christians. Sometimes God picks the unlikely to do the
impossible.”
Add your own story to the lesson if appropriate. Many church leaders seem like unlikely picks.
Say, “God is picking you too. When God looks at you He sees more than our sins or your failures. God
sees a person that he loves. God wants to take and mold you into someone that has the power to
change the world. That’s what God sees when God looks at you. No matter what you’ve done, what
others label you as, or how you feel about yourself God loves you and has a plan for you.
Tonight is about looking at our lives and seeing that no matter who we are or where we are in our faith
journey that God loves us and can offer us a new life. God loves you so much that Jesus was sent to
make a way for you to have a relationship with God. You can’t earn that new life. It is a free gift from
God. It is grace given to you freely out of love.”
Give each youth some play dough and have them go somewhere in the room where they will be alone
and focused. Tell the youth that you are going to play a song that lasts about 10 minutes. During the
song you want them to think about their life now. To think about where they are in their relationship
with God and where they want to be. Have them make an object that represents where they are now.
Then they should pray about where they want to be or how they want to grow in their faith. After they
pray they can take the old object and form it into something new that represents where they want to
be.
Use the song “We Will Run” by Gungor.
Bring the group back together to share and then end in prayer.
1 Timothy 2:1-14
Begin by lighting the Christ candle and reminding the youth that it serves as a reminder that Christ is
with us during this time.
Begin by dividing the students into two groups. Each group will watch a different clip from a movie. I
used the Hunger Games from 1:05 – 1:06:30 for group 1 and 1:46 – 1:47:30 for group two. The youth’s
task is to write a movie review of the whole movie only based on the clip they see. They are to pretend
they know nothing else about the movie or the plot. Have the groups report back and share their movie
review with each other. Write down the important elements from each review and compare them to
one another and the movie as a whole.
Ask…
-
Why were the reviews so different from the real movie?
Was it hard to pretend you didn’t know the whole story of the movie? Why?
Why is knowing the whole story better than simply knowing only a part of it?
Say, “Knowing as much information as possible helps us better understand issues and topics. Tonight
we are going to look at 1 Timothy 2 and use it to help us understand the issue of women in ministry and
talk about the way the Bible should be studied.”
Have the students turn to 1 Timothy 2 and read the verses as a group. Use the following commentary to
point out important information found in the text.
Background: We are not sure but we think this letter was written to Timothy from Paul. Paul was
Timothy’s mentor. They worked together to spread the message of Christ. Timothy was probably in
Ephesus (coast of Turkey today). This letter was intended to be read out loud to different churches in
the area. Churches met in homes and some may have had as many as 100 to 200 members. 1 Timothy
is like a manual on proper church tradition. It was written around 65 CE.
Verses 1 – 4 – This chapter starts with instructions on prayer. It lists a few different types of prayer
(requests, intercessions, and thanksgivings). It even suggests that the believers should pray for the kings
and leaders. Emperor Nero was in power at this time. Paul was martyred around 67/8 by Nero. Paul
also points out that God desires everyone to be saved and understand the truth about Christ.
Verses 5 – 7 – One of the reasons Paul writes this letter is to address false teachers that are causing
problems in the local churches. These Gnostic teachers were most likely preaching that Jesus wasn’t
really human, didn’t die, and was not resurrected. They were basically undercutting the foundation of
the Christian faith. Some of the false teachers had been church leaders. Many in the local churches
believed them and some of the churches were being destroyed by these teachings. Paul is trying to
confront these teachers. He reminds the churches of his authority.
Verses 8 – 10 – Paul then shifts back to proper worship behavior. He addressed the way men should
pray and the way women should dress. The point is to remind the churches that the focus should be on
God and not on putting on a show with flashy behavior or flashy dress.
Verses 11 – 15 - Paul is addressing women in worship now. He says that women should learn in silence
and not teach. He also refers back to the moment sin entered the world through the deception of Eve
and Adam.
Below is what I said to my students about this text it is based largely on my own experiences as a woman
minister. Feel free to adapt as needed to fit your group. The focus of this lesson is the importance of
looking at the whole Bible instead of only picking and choosing.
Say, “This lesson was hard for me this week because of the last section of verses we just read. Those
verses have been used against me as a woman to devalue what I do as a minister. I really wanted to
just focus on the first section of verses. However, when we treat the Bible like a buffet, where we only
pick the verses that we like, we do a hung injustice to the Bible. The Bible is more like a seven course
meal that is meant to be savored where all the parts are meant to be used together to give us a picture
of who God truly is. So, tonight I want to talk quickly about how we should read the Bible.”
Say, “When we read the Bible it is important that we do it in a responsible way that helps us fully
understand what it being taught and how it applies to us. We need to look at the context of the verses
we are trying to understand. An example of this is knowing that Paul is writing to churches that are
being divided over the issue of Jesus truly being human or knowing that Nero was in power and
persecuting Christians. Knowing those bits helps us better understand why these verses were important
to the people then. It also helps us know what the verses might truly be about. Paul maybe saying we
should pray for our enemies or those who may want to hurt us.”
We need to also look at the verses in the context of other scripture. A hand out with other scripture on
women leaders is included to use with this lesson. I used it as an example of what happens when we pick
and choose Scripture.
“For example here’s a list of text that say something affirming of women in ministry and those that tell
woman to be silent in church. When we see this list we begin to understand that the few verses about
women being silent were driven by the circumstances that were happening in the churches the letters
were intended for and not as a rule for all churches. Then we can focus on what the text is saying to us
and how to apply it to our lives.“
Have the youth think about lessons the text from tonight might have for their lives.
End with prayer.
For Women in Ministry
Against Women in Ministry
Genesis 1:27 – male and female
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 – women
were created in God’s image
should be silent in church
Exodus 15:20 – Miriam (prophet)
1 Timothy 2:8-10 – women
Judges 4:4 – Deborah (judge)
should learn in silence and
2 Kings 22:14 – Huldah (prophet)
not teach
Mark 16:9-11 – Mary Magdalene the
first to tell of risen Christ
Luke 2:36-38 – Anna (prophet)
Luke 8:1-3 –Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Susanna, & others follow Christ
Acts 2:17 – 18 – God’s Spirit will be
poured out on your daughters
and sons to prophesy
Acts 18:26 – Priscilla (co-worker w Paul)
Acts 21:9 – Philip’s 4 daughters
(prophets)
Romans 16:7 – Junia (prison, Paul’s coworker)
1 Corinthians 11:5 – woman should
cover their heads when they
prophesy
Galatians 3:28 – There is no longer male
or female in Christ
Philippians 4:2-3 – Euodia and Syntyche
(co-workers of Paul)
Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible
1) What is the context of the text?
2) What does the rest of the Bible say about this?
3) How does this scripture apply in my life?
1 Timothy 3:1-13
Begin by lighting the Christ candle and reminding the youth that it serves as a reminder that Christ is
with us during this time.
Divide the students into groups. Give them supplies like poster board, markers, glue, old magazines,
and scissors. Have them make a billboard that represents what their faith is about. When they are done
have them share with the larger group. Point out common themes you see in the billboards and ask
students why those themes are so important.
Divide the students into two groups. You may want to use the same groups from above. Assign each
group one of the following text. They should read over their text and make a list of good qualities a
leader in the church should have.
When the groups are done have them report back to the group. There list should look like this.
1 Timothy 3:1-7 - Overseers
Above reproach
Married to only one person
Temperate
Self – controlled
Respectable
Hospitable
Able to teach
Not given to darkness
Not violent but gentle
Not quarrelsome
Not a lover of money
Manage his family well
Not a recent convert
Good reputation with outsiders
1 Timothy 3:8-13 - Deacons
Worthy of respect
Sincere
Not indulging in much wine
Not dishonest
Hold to deep truths of faith
Be tested
Only married to one person
Manage his family well
Ask…
-
Why do you think Paul picked these qualities for the church leaders?
What do these lists reveal about the church?
What lessons can we learn from these lists?
Say, “The church Paul is writing to is under attack from false teachers. They are working hard to destroy
these new communities of faith. The leaders of the church had the important job of protecting against
these attacks, serving as examples of what real faith is about, and teaching others in the church how to
live. It was a big task. Therefore, the way they treated others and lived their own lives was important.
They were basically walking billboards for how Christ.
You may not be a leader but you basically have the same job. As a follower of Christ you are serving as
his billboard to show those around you what faith in Christ is really about.”
Share the following quote from St. Francis of Assisi with the students and have them share their
thoughts on it. Share your own thoughts on what this quote means. Remind students that actions
speak louder than words.
“Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi
Ask the students to brainstorm ways they can personally represent Christ to the people they encounter.
Spend time brainstorming ways your youth group can be a representation of Christ. Perhaps you want
to pick one of the ideas to do as a group. Spend the remaining time making a plan to do it.
1 Timothy 4
Begin by lighting the Christ candle and reminding the youth that it serves as a reminder that Christ is
with us during this time.
Begin by showing the following clip of Shawn Johnson about her faith. Ask the students to listen for
something that sticks out to them about the interview and to share their reactions afterwards.
http://m.video.christianpost.com/cp-interview-shawn-johnson-on-how-faith-helped-her-in-olympicswinning-balance-memoir-3678/
Say, “Shawn Johnson is 22 years old. She won her first Olympic medal at the age of 16. She spent years
and years training to be the best athlete she could be. But that’s not what defines her. Faith is really
her driving force and her inspiration.”
Use the following to go over the verses with the students.
Verses 1 – 5 – Paul is writing about the false teachers who are attacking the churches in this area. He
holds nothing back and calls them what they are – hypocritical liars. They are so far into their lies that
their very conscience has been deformed. They are relying on the old system of kosher laws instead of
grace. Paul points out that everything is good because it comes from God.
Verses 6 – 8 – Paul is writing these words to Timothy. Paul was his mentor and had placed him over the
churches in the area. These verses contain Paul’s advice to Timothy. Paul compares faith to physical
training. It takes work to grow your faith like it takes work to grow your muscles or your skills. You
practice and you work at it because it is important to you. Your faith will only be as strong as the
amount of time you devote to it. Your faith is the only thing that will last forever.
Verses 9 – 11 – Paul includes the foundation of the Christian faith in the verses. There is a living God
who loves all people and came to save them and that is where our hope is. That’s the message that Paul
and Timothy and each of us are working to share with others.
Verses 12 – 14 – Paul encourages Timothy to devote every aspect of his life to being an example of God.
When our relationship with God is the focus of our lives then the other aspects of our lives begin to look
more like God wants them to. It’s like in any sport. If your fundamentals are not on point you will never
be a great player. You don’t just jump in the middle of a game and expect to be awesome. You spend
time mastering the basics of the sport and then take that knowledge to the game. Paul tells Timothy
that the Scripture is key and using his natural gifts is important too.
I had a lot of softball players in the class and used the fundamentals of batting like proper grip, hand
position, stance, stride, swing, contact, and follow-through to help connect them with this point.
Verses 15 – 16 – It is important for Timothy to be an example of a Godly life not only for his own benefit
but also for the benefit of others. You have the same ability to impact those around you.
Have students brainstorm together ways they can live out their faith and be examples to others in each
of the areas listed in 1 Timothy 4:12 – life (actions), love (emotions), faith, and in purity. Make a list on
the board. Invite them to pick one or two to focus on that week.
Give them a ball with 1 Timothy 4:12 written on it or have them
write. Have the students also write their commitment to be an
example on the ball. This will serve as a reminder for them of this
lesson.
You can also use wooded disks painted like different sports balls
for them to write on. Glue a soda tab on the back to use to hang
on the wall.
End with prayer.
1 Timothy 5:1-8
Begin by lighting the Christ candle and reminding the youth that it serves as a reminder that Christ is
with us during this time.
Divide the kids into two or three groups. Each group is to come up with a public service announcement
to try and convince people they should love others. Give the group a few minutes to work on their skits.
Have the groups come back together and perform their skit.
Ask…
-
What about love were you tying to show in your skit?
Is the way we treat others really that important? Why?
Say, “In 1 Timothy, Paul is telling Timothy and his churches how they are supposed to be different from
others. Their faith is supposed to guide the way they treat others especially their own families.”
Use the following as you explore the verses together.
Verses 1 – 2 – Paul warns against the way we are supposed to talk to others. He names four groups –
older men, younger men, older women, and younger woman (everybody). We are to think of them as
family when we talk to them. Our words are important and can be a representation of our faith.
Verses 3 – 4 – One of the ministries of the early church was to care for widows. Women were seen as
second class citizens or property. Having a man relative like a husband, son, brother, or father was
important to a woman’s survival. Those who had none were at the mercy of others.
Caring for our own families is also an expression of our faith. Since Paul has already told Timothy to
treat everyone like family he is also reminding us to take care of others.
Verses 5 – 6 –Those who are in need often have great faith because they understand that they need
God’s action in their lives. The widows were like this. They had to rely on God to take care of them. We
are called to be God’s hands and feet in the world. Helping those in need is a way we can show our
faith. Those whose focus is only in pleasing their selves are already spiritually dead.
Verses 7 – 8 – Those who do not take care of their families are sinning. They are denying their faith
because they are refusing to live it out.
Say, “There is a direct link between your faith and how you treat others. As Christians we are required
to threat others with love and respect like they are family. 1 Timothy is about how true Christians live
their faith out and look different than those who are not Christians. The world wants us to be selfish
and only care about ourselves. God comes in and says that we are to care about others as much as we
do ourselves.”
Draw the following on the board.
Say, “One of the words that sum up
Christianity is relationship. It is about a
horizontal relationship with God and
vertical relationships with others. The
more I invest in my relationship with
God the easier it becomes for me to love others. I can look at the girl at school who is an outcast and
say you are important to God and you are important to me. I can see the teacher that everybody thinks
is a jerk as a brother or a sister because Christ loves them. Being a Christian isn’t easy. It isn’t supposed
to be. It is supposed to be radical, life changing, and make you live a different kind of life than everyone
around you.”
Share the following illustration.
“Dorotheos of Gaza, a sixth-century teacher, once preached a sermon for the monks in his monastery
who were grumbling that they were unable to love God properly because they had to put up with one
another’s ordinary, irritating presence.”
I don’t know about you but I can so relate to where these monks are coming from. I’m pretty sure they
were taking about some of the people I know.
But “Dorotheos told them, they were wrong. He asked them to visualize the world as a great circle
whose center is God, and upon whose circumference lie human lives. ‘Imagine now,’ he asked them,
‘that there are straight lines connecting from the outside of the circle all human lives to God at the
center. Can’t you see that there is no way to move toward God without drawing closer to other people,
and no way to approach other people without coming near to God?” (From Memories of God by Roberta
C. Bondi, page 201).
Have all of the students stand in a circle with a cross in the middle. Ask each student to share one way
they can be more intentional about their relationship with God and then take a step closer to the cross.
Be sure to point out that with each step closer to God they are in fact stepping closer to one another.
End with prayer.
1 Timothy 6:7-19
Begin by lighting the Christ candle and reminding the youth that it serves as a reminder that Christ is
with us during this time.
Give each student one of the following quotes about money and have them draw a picture to
represent what is being said about money. After everyone is done have them report back to
the group their quote, their drawing, and what lesson does the quote teach about money.
Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce
happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants. ~ Benjamin Franklin
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money. ~ John
Ruskin
Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.
~ Ayn Rand
There are people who have money and people who are rich. ~ Coco Chanel
All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy. ~ Spike Milligan
A good reputation is more valuable than money. ~Publilius Syrus
Friendship is like money, easier made than kept. ~ Samuel Butler
It is more rewarding to watch money change the world than watch it accumulate. ~ Gloria
Steinem
Anybody who thinks money will make you happy, hasn't got money. ~ David Geffen
A man with money is no match against a man on a mission. ~ Doyle Brunson
If God has allowed me to earn so much money, it is because He knows I give it all away. ~ Edith
Piaf
If the money we donate helps one child or can ease the pain of one parent, those funds are well
spent. ~ Carl Karcher
Go over the following verses as a group.
Verses 7 – 8 – The material things we devote our time to on earth are really not important. They stay
here when we move on. As long as our needs are provided for we should be content.
Verses 9 – 10 - Focusing on getting more then you need, can lead you to trouble. Some people have
begun loving money more than they do God. That leads to trouble and destruction.
Verses 11 – 12 – Christians are to be different. Instead of focusing on being rich in money and material
things we must focus on the things of God like righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and
gentleness. Once we become a Christian our focus shifts from this life to the next.
Verses 13 – 16 – Because of what God and Christ has done for us we are to keep his commandments.
Paul ends by reminding us of who God is. He is the only Ruler, King of kings, Lord of lords, is immortal,
and lives in unapproachable light.
Verses 17 – 19 - Paul gives advice to those who are rich. They are to not put their hope in wealth but in
God. They are to do good deeds and share their blessings with others. This will give them treasures
where it matters in heaven. By doing these things they will truly being living.
Ask…
-
Does the lesson behind your quote differ from the lesson the Bible is teaching? Explain.
How is what the Bible says about money different from what the world says?
Divide the students into two or three groups and have them make a new poster that shows what the
Bible says about money in this chapter. Afterwards have them report back to the larger group about
their new poster.
End with prayer.