Church of The Open Door

“Strength to See Through Suffering”

2 Timothy 2:3-7

1. Suffering tempts us to:

a. Feel isolated

b. Focus on the pain

c. Fall away

2. How should we endure suffering?

a. Like a soldier… don’t get caught up

b. Like an athlete… don’t escape the difficulty

c. Like a farmer… don’t forget the harvest

3. Don’t look to suffering, look through suffering

a. In the midst of suffering, it matters where I focus

b. When I focus on Christ, I find the strength to endure

When I am in the midst of suffering, I will look to Jesus

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Our Life

1. In 2 Timothy 2:3-7, Paul uses three different analogies: soldier, athlete, and farmer. Which of these three analogies connects the most with you? Why?

2. What lessons do you glean from the three analogies that Paul uses?

3. Are you willing to do what is necessary to follow Jesus? Do you consider following Christ a sprint or a marathon? How do you follow Jesus over the long haul so that you endure?

4. In verse 7, Paul calls Timothy to “reflect on what [he] is saying, for the Lord will give [Timothy] insight into all this.” Do you build in time to think about and seek what the Lord is saying? How can you do that more and more?

5. In Clay’s sermon, he said that when we are suffering, we should look to Jesus. How does looking to Jesus help us to endure?

6. What are some specific ways that we can look to Jesus this week?

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Spirit-Led Servant/Living Surrendered

Strongsville

“Strong Enough to Disciple”

2 Timothy 2:1-2

1. Unaddressed weakness leads to increasing decay.

When you ignore the Bible, you are ignoring God.

2. Repeated strengthening counteracts decay.

Becoming strong is never an end in itself.

3. We are strengthened by God to disciple others.

Generation 1: From Christ to Paul

Generation 2: From Paul to Timothy

Whatever you learn, share with others.

Generation 3: From Timothy to ‘reliable people’

Generation 4: From ‘reliable people’ to ‘others’

Are you strong enough to disciple?

Are you a part of the ‘reliable people’ or the ‘others’?

4. Ongoing discipleship is trustworthy stewardship.

God is entrusting you to share what you’ve heard.

Discipleship isn’t effective until it extends into multiple generations of disciples.

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Our Life

1. People have become increasingly interested in learning about their heritage in our culture.

Have you ever sought out your ancestry through a DNA test or by any other means (a family

tree, asking a relative, etc.)? What did you discover?

2. In the beginning of 2 Timothy, Paul remembers his ancestors, past generations of God-

fearers who lived before Jesus came to the earth (1:3), and also Timothy’s mother and

grandmother who had a “sincere faith” (1:5). How many generations back can you trace

your “spiritual heritage”?

3. As a young Christian, what did it look like, or what does it look like, for you to be discipled?

Has anyone ever sat down with you and formally discipled you? If so, share about this

experience. What was helpful? What was unhelpful? 

4. What do you think and feel when you hear that “Christianity is only one generation away

from extinction?”

5. Paul talks about a faith that is “entrusted” to believers in this passage. If someone came to

check on the investment of faith given to you, what would they find? How are you

stewarding the faith that has been passed down to you?

6. What are some specific ways that we can be the “reliable people” that Paul is talking about?

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Intentional Evangelism/Loving People

Strongsville

“Living in Strongsville”

2 Timothy 2:1

1. When I’m weak, I need to be reminded of God’s grace.

               We’re not only saved by God’s grace, we’re also sustained by God’s grace.

2. When I’m weak, I need to be strengthened by God’s grace.

              What does it look like to be strong in my own strength?

              What does it look like to be strong in the grace of God?

              The only way to get to Strongsville is by taking Grace Avenue.

3. I am weak; I need to keep being strengthened by God’s grace.

              Keep feeding on the Word of God

              Keep breathing in the Spirit of God

You can live in the strength of God as you learn to access the grace of God.

Your weakness is the platform for God’s strength.

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Our Life

Describe a time in your life when you felt weak and helpless. Or, share a time when you felt strong and invincible.  Take your pick; tell your story!

Read Joshua 1. What similarities are there in God’s message to Joshua and Paul’s to Timothy?

What do you tend to turn to when you are feeling weak?

Read 2 Chronicles 17:1-11. What happened here that is a picture of what Paul is charging Timothy to do in the early church?

Give some specific situational examples of what it looks like in your life to “be strong in your own strength.”

What would it look like in those same areas to “be strong in the grace of God”?

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Connected to God through the Word and Prayer/Loving God

Choosing Courage

“Everyone but one”

2 Timothy 1:15-18

Abandonment happens

Abandonment is spiritual, not physical

Abandonment is a plague

Love is the cure

Faithfulness is the formula

Courage is the key

Mercy is the reward

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the teaching to Our Lives:

Do you have a special letter you’ve kept from a parent, child or friend that means a lot to you? Why did it impact you so much?

How has the plague of abandonment touched you or your family?

Paul pointed to Onesiphorus as a model of a faithful friend. Go around the room and share an example of a faithful friend in your life.

Read Philippians 4:8. List the virtues Paul tells us to think about. Now, discuss how you seen these displayed this week in the world around you.

How does our thought life and what we meditate on affect our faithfulness?

Are you a faithful friend? If not, what needs to change?

Application: Who could you write a short, hand written note to this week to encourage and remind them they are known by you and by God? Make a list and hold each other accountable to send them out.

Christ-like Characteristics: Relates with Other-Centered Love. Spirit led Servant.

“Courage to Preach the Truth”

2 Timothy 1:13-14

What was Paul’s legacy?

It takes courage to hold on to the truth

Follow it

Remember it

Keep it

Possess it

How do we hold on?

     In the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus

It takes courage to guard the truth

Keep watch over it

Keep it safe

To take care of it

Why do we guard it?

Because it is a treasure

Because it is entrusted to us

How do we guard it?

By the Holy Spirit who dwells in us

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Our Life

How many generations in your family do you know? Do you have a family motto?  Or what would you say the pattern of your family has been?

How does your family religious history influence your decisions today?

Read Deuteronomy 31 as a group. What similarities are there with Moses and Joshua that you see in Paul and Timothy? What is each successor being entrusted with?

What is the “pattern of teaching” your life displays?  Is the gospel seen and heard in your daily life?  Why or why not?

What are you guarding? What is your treasure truly?  What needs to happen to make Jesus central in your life?

End your time together calling for the Holy Spirit to move with power in each others lives so that Jesus can be what is most important and for His empowerment to courageously share the Good News in word and action.

Core Christlike Characteristic: Living Surrendered/Spirit-led Servant/Trustworthy Steward of God’s Resources

Choosing Courage

“Courage When Shamed”

2 Timothy 1:8-12

1. Fear has the power to shame us

• Afraid of what people may say

• Afraid of what consequences may come

2. Shame has the power to silence us

• It lies to us

• It isolates us

• It condemns us

3. God has the power to save us

• From guilt and shame and death

• God loves you; there’s no shame in being you.

• Jesus has taken our shame upon himself and broken its power.

4. Jesus has the power to sustain us

• Knowing and focusing on Jesus develops courage within us.

• Jesus gives us the power to choose courage when we are shamed.

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Our Life

1. Read 2 Timothy 1: 8. If you were in Timothy’s shoes (sandals), how might you react to Paul’s invitation to “join with [him] in suffering for the gospel?”

2. During the sermon, Pastor Jim shared a scale that lays out different levels of suffering for the Gospel. Where do you find yourself on the “Scale of Suffering?”

3. Timothy was tempted to feel shame because of Christ’s crucifixion and Paul’s imprisonment. What aspects of the Gospel or the Church or Christianity cause you to feel social pressure to distance yourself from Christ?

4. In a culture where it is unfashionable to be an on-fire Christian, how do you decide when to share your faith and when to keep quiet?

5. Read 2 Timothy 1:9-10. In Paul’s encouragement to Timothy, he begins recounting the truths of the Gospel as a comfort during difficult times. What truths of the Gospel comfort you in the midst of difficulty or suffering?

6. It's been said, “it's not what you know, it's who you know.” How does our belief in the person of Christ ground us to such a point where we can entrust everything to him? What would you say to a person who said they believed in Jesus but didn't actually trust him?

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Intentional Evangelism/Loving People

Choosing Courage

“Courage to Love”

2 Timothy 1:7

1. The Presence of Fear:

• is real

• is powerful

• is overcome by courage

Courage isn’t something you feel, it’s something you choose.

2. The Power of Fear:

• paralyzes us so we shut down

• poisons us and ruins our relationships

• pollutes our thinking and decision making

3. The Presence of God’s Spirit:

• fills us and gives us power to love

• fills our hearts with His love

• fills us and gives us wisdom to know how to love

God fills us with His Spirit but we must courageously choose to cooperate with His Spirit to love no matter what.

Build your life upon the love of God and you will find the courage to love.

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Our Life

1. What’s your earliest memory of encountering fear? Was it a dream, a movie, an experience? Share the story.

2. Which example of how the power of fear effects us (paralyzes, poisons, pollutes) do you most struggle with?

3. What is a situation in your life currently where you need the power promised in God’s Word? How might cooperating with the Spirit change your situation?

4. Are you known for being a person who loves people? Would those who know you (neighbors, co-workers, family, facebook) say you have a Spirit of love? If not, what needs to change?

5. Paul shares powerful truths here with young Timothy. Has anyone ever done that for you? Do you need to come along someone younger and encourage them?

6. Which of the 3 gifts of God’s Spirit (from point 3) do you need most right now?

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Relates with Other-Centered Love/Loving People

Unstoppable Hope

“Tending the Fire”

2 Timothy 1:6-7a

1. When your hope is waning, remember:

• God has given His Spirit to you

• The Spirit has lit a fire in you

• Fan that fire into flame

2. When your fire is:

• blazing…feed it

o fuel of God’s Word

o oxygen of God’s Spirit

o heat of God’s people

• fading…stoke it

o evaluate what’s missing

o provide what’s missing

• dying…revive it

o repent of neglecting the fire

o remove what’s quenching the Spirit

o rekindle the fire

The Holy Spirit lights the fire within us but we must tend the fire within us.

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Your Life

1. Rate yourself on the “pyro scale.” (Referring to fires in a firepit or fireplace.)

a. 0: I am afraid of fire and don’t want to have anything to do with it.

b. 1-2: Not interested in fires; see them as somewhat dangerous.

c. 3-5: Meh.

d. 6-8: I really enjoy a nice fire, but I’d rather have someone else start/maintain them.

e. 9-10: I love fires: making them, stoking them, enjoying them, playing with them.

2. Name an area of your life that you have seen a level of success (weight loss, business, marriage, parenting etc.). What were some key steps you took to “fan the flame” in that area?

3. Which of the three words used to describe the fire in a person’s life best describes you: blazing, fading, dying? What are some of the causes of the flame of faith to begin to fade in a person’s life?

4. Suggest ways and means by which we can fan the flame of faith when it is fading or dying.

5. What areas of God's grace have others affirmed in you? Do you know the spiritual gift(s) that God has given you? How are you using them?

6. Paul reminded Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God. Who is someone that you remind (encourage) to stay on fire in their walk with Jesus? What has been their response?

7. The idea of fanning a flame is motion, activity. As we have moved through our discipleship series in what way has reading/studying the Word moved you to action? Be specific.

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Spirit-led Servant/Living Surrendered

Unstoppable Hope

“The Gift of Mothering”

2 Timothy 1:3-5

1. God has gifted mothers to be homemakers.

• Never confuse being a homemaker with being a housekeepers.

• A homemaker is one who creates an environment in the home where each person feels loved, safe, valued, and free to be themselves.

2. God has gifted mothers to be faithmakers.

What is a “sincere faith”?

• A faith that’s real

A faith that is real is a faith that will endure.

• A faith that trusts

The home can be a great place to learn how to trust God.

• A faith that loves

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

3. God has gifted mothers to be disciplemakers.

• Talk about Jesus

• Talk about the Scriptures

• Talk about your faith

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Teaching to Our Life

1. Every mother excels at different things. Of all the things your mother did well, what did she do best?

2. Read the definition in the sermon for homemaker. What do you think about it? Is there one quality that could be left out? Is there anything you would add?

3. Someone has said “moms are the most influential people in society.” Do you agree or disagree?

4. Acts 16:1-2 implies that Timothy’s dad had not yet come to Christ. How can a Christian mother with an unbelieving husband teach her kids to follow Jesus and respect their dad and not the other way around?

5. Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Deuteronomy 6:4-7. How do you or can you talk about the Scriptures in your home to fulfill the mission God has given mothers (and fathers)?

6. Being a mom is an honor; God is the one who allows women the privilege of being a mom. Whether you are a mom, or are one who has a mom but no children of your own, take time to pray for each woman in your group and their unique design, knowing each is created and uniquely loved by God.

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Relates with Other-Centered Love/Loving People

Unstoppable Hope

“Where Hope is Found”

2 Timothy 1:2

Unstoppable hope comes from:

1. Living out of the grace of God

• Receiving grace from God

• Giving grace to others

• Learning to breathe God’s grace

2. Being wrecked by the mercy of God

• Realizing the heinousness of our sin

• Grasping the magnitude of God’s love

3. Walking in the peace of God

• Peace is obtained through Christ’s death on the cross

• Peace is maintained through prayer and surrender

Grace, mercy and peace become ours at the cross.

LifeGroup Questions: Applying the Truth to Our Life

1. Do you have any letters or cards that you have kept and that you pull out and read from time to time? If so, why?

2. Read 2 Cor. 6:1. What are some ways we “receive the grace of God in vain”?

3. What is the difference between “being saved by grace” and “living out of the grace of God”?

4. Why do some people say that “the longer they walk with God the more aware they are of their sin”?

5. Have you found that to be true in your life? Why or why not?

6. What hinders you from taking your sin seriously?

7. Why are people willing to say “I’m sorry,” but more hesitant to say “will you forgive me”?

8. How do you stay connected to the life-giving grace of God?

Core CHRISTlike Characteristic: Connected to God through the Word and Prayer