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Overview
- Cover the entire book of 2 Timothy in 8 lessons
- Equip yourself to lead a Bible study
- Imagine the Bible’s historical world
- Study word origins and definitions
- Explore thoughtful questions on key themes
- Go deeper with optional projects
- Add your notes with extra space and wide margins
- Find the flexibility to fit the time you have
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780891099956 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tyndale House Publishers |
| Publication date: | 03/06/2018 |
| Series: | LifeChange , #10 |
| Pages: | 96 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.25(d) |
About the Author
The Navigators is an interdenominational, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people "know Christ and make Him known” as they look to Him and His Word to chart their lives.
Navigators have invested their lives in people for more than seventy-five years, coming alongside them life on life to study the Bible, develop a deepening prayer life, and memorize and apply Scripture, The ultimate goal is to equip Christ followers to fulfill 2 Timothy 2:2—to teach what they have learned to others.
Today, tens of thousands of people worldwide are coming to know and grow in Jesus Christ through the various ministries of The Navigators. Internationally, more than 4,600 Navigator staff of 70 nationalities serve in more than 100 countries.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
LESSON ONE
OVERVIEW
Second Timothy is at once two extraordinary things: it is the last preserved words of one of the Church's greatest men; and it is God's Word to us, revealing who He is, who we are in Him, and what He desires from us. For the moment, take it as a letter from a man to his trusted friend. Approach it as you would a letter to yourself, not stopping to wrestle with individual phrases, but looking for the overall message.
First Impressions
1. Read 2 Timothy at one sitting. How would you describe the mood (tone, emotion) Paul conveys? In other words, what seem to be Paul's attitudes or feelings toward his subject matter and toward Timothy? (Is Paul formal, intimate, angry, joyful ...?) If you think his mood changes, note where and how it changes. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
2. Repetition is a clue to the ideas that are most important in a book. What words and ideas are repeated in each of the following sets of verses?
1:3,4,5,6 _______________________________________ _________________________________________________
1:8,12; 2:3,9; 3:11,12 __________________________ _________________________________________________
1:8,12,16 _______________________________________ _________________________________________________
1:11; 2:2; 3:10,16; 4:2 _________________________ _________________________________________________
other ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________
3. What background information do you learn from the following verses concerning ...
Timothy (1:5, 3:15)? ____________________________ _________________________________________________
how Paul feels about Timothy (1:2-4, 4:21)? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Paul's circu mstances (1:8,12,15-18; 4:6-18)? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Paul's feelings about Timothy, as shown in an earlier letter to a ch urch (Philippians 2:19-22)? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Broad outline
If your impression of 2 Timothy is vague after one reading, a broad outline can help sharpen it.
4. Reread 2 Timothy, preferably in a different version. This time, think of a short phrase or sentence that can serve as a title for each paragraph. It may help you to include key words from the paragraph . Write your title below . (There is no one right answer; the first title is given as an example. Your Bible's paragraph divisions may differ, so feel free to alter those given here.)
1:1-2 Apostle to Son ____________________________ 1:3-18___________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 2:1-13 __________________________________________ _________________________________________________
2:14-26 _________________________________________ _________________________________________________
3:1-9 ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________
3:10-17 _________________________________________ _________________________________________________
4:1-8 ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________
4:9-18 __________________________________________ _________________________________________________
4:19-22 _________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Theme/purpose
People usually write letters in response to a particular situation in their own or their readers' lives. They normally have reasons for choosing the topics they cover in their letters. Although it is often not possible to reconstruct the exact circumstances that prompted a letter, any insight in this area will help us to understand the writer's message.
Our own purpose for studying the letter will often differ from its original purpose, but how we understand and apply a writer's words should be influenced by how he and the Holy Spirit meant them to be understood and applied in the first century.
5. From your first readings of 2 Timothy, what seem to be Paul's chief aims in writing this letter? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
6. If you have not already done so, read the historical background on pages 9-13. If you feel that additional background information would help you to better interpret Paul's letter, you might write down your questions here. Some of your questions may be answered later in this study guide. The sources on pages 81-85 may help you answer others. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
7. Your overview of 2 Timothy may have suggested questions you'd like answered as you go deeper into the book. If so, jot them down now while your thoughts are still fresh. Your questions can serve as personal objectives for your further investigation of the letter. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
8. From what you have read so far, do Paul's words seem to apply to any areas of your life? If so, what are some of those areas? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
For the group
This "For the group" section and the ones in later lessons are intended to suggest ways of structuring your discussions. Feel free to select what suits your group. The main goals of this lesson are to get to know 2 Timothy as a whole and to get to know the people with whom you are going to study it.
Worship. Some groups like to begin with prayer and/or singing. Some share requests for prayer at the beginning but leave the actual prayer until after the study. Others prefer just to chat and have refreshments for a while and then move to the study, leaving worship until the end.
Warm-up. The beginning of a new study is a good time to lay a foundation for honest sharing of ideas, to get comfortable with each other, and to encourage a sense of common purpose. One way to establish common ground is to talk about what each group member hopes to get out of your group-out of your study of 2 Timothy , and out of any prayer, singing, sharing, outreach, or anything else you might do together. If you have someone write down each member's hopes and expectations, then you can look back at these goals later to see if they are being met. Allow about fifteen to thirty minutes for this discussion.
Reading. It is often helpful to refresh everyone's memory by reading the book aloud before discussing your overview . Second Timothy should take about fifteen minutes to read. Have a different person read each chapter, asking those people to read with the tone or mood they think Paul was trying to convey, so that the letter sounds like the work of a living person.
First impressions. Ask the group to share first impressions of 2 Timothy — its style, mood , content, and so on. If members don 't understand the question, you might ask them how Paul's letter is like and unlike letters they write , or like and unlike a sermon, a graduation speech, or advice from a father. The point of question 1 is to help the group see 2 Timothy as a real letter from one person to another person for a specific occasion. However, don't belabor this question, especially if it doesn't help your group.
The setting of a letter is an important part of the context of what it says, so question 3 helps you look for clues to the setting. The background on pages 9-13 may also help. See how much you can piece together from clues in the letter, without wild speculation, about why Paul wrote to Timothy and what was going on in their lives at the time.
Looking for repeated words and ideas (question 2) should help the group see themes and main ideas in Paul's letter. You might ask members to name as many repeated phrases and ideas as they can, and then move to the letter's themes (question 5). Then share your outlines (question 4). Remember that there is no one right way to outline 2 Timothy; a glance at a few commentaries or study Bibles will show you how widely the outlines of scholars differ.
Questions. Give everyone a chance to share questions about the letter or the way you are studying it. It is good to clear up confusion about the book, the group, or the study guide as early as possible. You may want to leave some questions about the book until later in your study; they may answer themselves as you go deeper if you are looking for the answers. You could point out the list of references on pages 81-85 or encourage members to seek answers from their pastors or other Christians they respect.
Application. Question 8 ties in with the expectations and objectives you discussed at the beginning of your meeting, but you may want to address it briefly now, after you have looked the letter over together. If some group members are unfamiliar with how to apply God's Word to their lives in specific ways, this might be a chance to think of some sample applications together. You could do this next week if you are running out of time.
Wrap-up. The group leader should have read through lesson two and its "For the group" section. At this point, he or she might give a short summary of what members can expect in that lesson and in the coming meeting. This is a chance to whet everyone's appetite, assign any optional questions, omit any numbered questions, or forewarn members of any possible difficulties.
You might also encourage any members who found the overview especially hard. Some people are better at seeing the big picture or the whole of a book than others. Some are best at analyzing a particular verse or paragraph, while others are strongest at seeing how a passage applies to our lives. Urge members to give thanks for their own and others' strengths, and to give and request help when needed. The group is a place to learn from each other. Later lessons will draw on the gifts of close analyzers as well as overviewers and appliers, theoretical as well as practical thinkers.
Worship. Many groups like to end with singing and/or prayer. This can include songs and prayers that respond to what you've learned in 2 Timothy, or prayers for specific needs of group members. Many people are shy about sharing personal needs or praying aloud in groups, especially before they know the other people well. If this is true of your group, then a song and/or some silent prayer and a short closing prayer spoken by the leader might be an appropriate ending.
Study Skill — Cross-references
Other passages of Scripture can often shed light on the passage you are studying. These other passages are called cross-references.
Study Skill — Different Versions
The more times you read a book of the Bible, the better your understanding of it will be. Reading a different translation can help you notice new things and can make a confusing passage clearer.
Study Skill — Application
The last step of Bible study is asking yourself, "What difference should this passage make in my life? How should it make me want to think or act?" Application wm require time, thought, prayer, and perhaps even discussion with another person.
At times, you may find it most productive to concentrate on one specific application, giving it careful thought and prayer. At other times you may want to list many implications a passage of Scripture has for your life, and then choose one to concentrate on for prayer and action. Use whatever method helps you to remember application when you finish your study time.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "2 Timothy"
by .
Copyright © 1996 The Navigators.
Excerpted by permission of NavPress.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
How to Use This Study, 5,
Background — Paul and Timothy, 9,
Map of the Roman Empire, 9,
Timeline of Paul's Ministry, 10,
One — Overview, 15,
Two — Unashamed (1:1-14), 23,
Three — Endurance (1:15-2:13), 33,
Four — A Workman Approved (2:14-26), 43,
Five — Rejecters of Truth (3:1-9), 51,
Six — Timothy's Guides (3:10-17), 59,
Seven — Passing the Mantle (4:1-8), 67,
Eight — Personal Needs (4:9-22 and Review), 73,
Study Aids, 81,