I Thank God for You Message given 10/7/07
2Timothy 1:1-14 NLT
1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 It is written to Timothy, my dear son. May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. 3 Timothy, I thank God for you. He is the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again. 5 I know that you sincerely trust the Lord, for you have the faith of your mother, Eunice, and your grandmother, Lois. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8 So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for Christ. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the proclamation of the Good News. 9 It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began, to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everlasting life through the Good News. 11 And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News. 12 And that is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him F1 until the day of his return. 13 Hold on to the pattern of right teaching you learned from me. And remember to live in the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. 14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you."
The Word of God, written for the people of God - Thanks be to God
Let us pray: Most Holy God, you call us into community. Yet so often we fail to invite others into community with us. We are to be Christ’s body working together and our entire world is our community. Help us to enlarge our compassion and caring beyond our boarders and reach out to all in the world. As we celebrate Communion worldwide, we remember how big the table is. We can see it full of people today, just like us, your children stretching around the world. Let us remember our common table in the years to come and seek to treat all our brothers and sisters as if they were sitting beside us. You include and invite all to your table and so must we. Help us O Lord to invite and welcome with open hearts, open minds so that our doors are open to all. I pray that each heart here be open to your word this morning and that my words become truly yours in spirit. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our rock and our redeemer. AMEN (Credit DPS website)
In today’s Bible passage the apostle Paul is writing to his young friend in the faith, Timothy. Paul is Timothy’s mentor, and he is encouraging him in his pastoral ministry. By this time Paul is at the end of his time. Later in this book he will write, “4:6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” NIV Paul might have known this would be his last communication with Timothy. In fact, scholars believe this is actually Paul’s last epistle.
Now when you speak with someone for the last time, you might find yourself getting a little intense. You’d want to make sure you got the most important things said. Paul starts out his letter in the usual fashion. He identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ with a mission to spread the Gospel. Then he identifies the recipient of his message, that is, Timothy, and offers him a blessing in the name of the Lord. That’s pretty much standard protocol for Paul’s letters.
But then he does something unusual. By its very existence in the letter we know that Paul and Timothy had a special relationship. By this time Paul had planted many churches and developed myriad Christian friends in faith. However, only a few would he tell what he tells Timothy next. “Timothy, I thank God for you.” Yes, “Timothy, I thank God for you.” That’s a heavy affirmation.
Think about the times you actually thanked God for someone in your life. Who could have meant that much to you? I remember a woman with whom I used to work. She was single and lived alone with her cat. One night she was getting ready for bed and had turned out the lights in her home. Evidently she forgot something and needed to get back up. As she went to climb down the staircase in the darkened house, her cat got underfoot and tripped her. She tried to regain her balance but again tripped over the cat and went tumbling down the stairs. When she hit bottom, her leg was broken in three places, and she was experiencing the most intense pain she had ever endured in her life. She tried to drag herself to the phone to call for help. She fainted. Then she woke up and continued the excruciating task, wriggling inch by inch to her destination, fainting twice more from the pain before she finally made it. She struggled to make the call to 911 and then went in and out of consciousness as she waited. When the EMTs finally arrived, she thanked God for them with a fervor reserved for only the very most important people.
That is exactly how Paul regarded his friend Timothy. He constantly prayed for him. He longed to see him and anticipated his joy when he got to see him again. Then Paul gives us a few clues how he could have come to love this young man so much. In addition to being a strong fellow believer, Timothy is connected to Paul through his mother and grandmother. It seems that Paul has been familiar with their faith for some time. Perhaps he knew Timothy as a child. There’s something very special about the child of a friend that you have seen grow up. That’s one of the reason I was so glad to come here to Trussville. I was good friends with Jack and Lisa Moseley. I knew their kids, especially Gardner and Danielle. It was like coming home. This past June I had the privilege of leading the marriage service of some of our best friends’ daughter, who was my daughter’s best friend as a child. I believe I understand the degree of love Paul had for his young Timothy.
So what is Paul telling his beloved? What final message does he have? He’s telling him to, “…fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” This piece of advice applies to us as well.
Sometimes when we get saved or join a new church we get all enthusiastic, kind of like when we first dated and fell in love with our spouses or significant others. But Paul is telling us not to let our faith die down the way young love sometimes does as we get older. Instead he’s telling Timothy and us to fan that faith into flames. Paul urges us to get passionate with Jesus!
Now this was a bit difficult for Timothy because back during that time, the Roman Empire was taking a rather dim view of passionate Christians. They had this distressing penchant for crucifying them on crosses or even throwing them into an arena full of hungry lions. Paul’s telling Timothy not to shrink or shirk. “7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8 So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord… be ready to suffer with me for the proclamation of the Good News.” Paul is also telling us the same thing.
A number of years ago at a meeting of my church’s leaders, I asked the group a question. “How many of us are uncomfortable in sharing our faith?” All but a couple said they were indeed uncomfortable. And I was one of them. We pledged that we would make it a project to educate ourselves in how to approach our friends and associates. I’m pleased that I made good on that pledge.
What I’ve found as I’ve shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that my relationships with others have grown closer. Have you had that experience too? Many of our congregation who are going through Disciple and other long-term Bible studies are growing into much closer relationship with those in their classes. Those of you who for years have been involved with your Sunday school classes, circle groups and Emmaus reunion groups have also found the closeness that you can find with people as you share your faith together. For many of us, our closest friends are members of our own congregation.
A matriarch of the last church I served passed away suddenly from injuries sustained in an auto accident. She had enjoyed very close friendship with several of the stalwart church members. Some of those friends worked together to build a garden area by the fellowship hall. They built it in her honor, and right after the worship service on All Saints’ Day we dedicated that spot to her memory. I asked our worship leader, who was a close friend of hers if she would like to speak. She told me, “Oh, I just couldn’t. I’d never make it through it.” I then realized that the bond between true Christian friends can be as close as those among family members.
The love of Jesus Christ is a powerful force indeed. Paul tells Timothy and us, “remember to live in the faith an love that you have in Christ Jesus. 14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you.” But here’s something to consider. Normally what we carefully guard, we hold to ourselves. We protect it. We might even hide it. But the only way we can guard the love of Jesus Christ that has been entrusted to us, is to give it away, to share it with as many folks as we can. We are not to hide our tight under a basket, but we are to hold it up so it can light the whole world!
So who can we thank God for? When we see each other, we are seeing people who are made in the image of God. We are seeing people who have the love Jesus Christ in their hearts. On World Communion Sunday we are celebrating that love with Christians in our church, in this community and around the whole world. We can thank God for each of them. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN
MAY WE PRAY? God of every voice, every language, and every face; you fill the world with wonder. Your love breaks down walls of division; erects bridges of understanding. It reaches beyond oceans, above mountains to the heavens and back again. We come today to share in simple daily elements of bread and juice. We do so, as do Christians all over the world. Guide our footsteps on the pathway of peace so that we may see what you saw when you created the world and called it good. United in our knowledge that your grace will see us through even the darkest of days; we come as your body, broken, wounded and hurting. Be with us now, in Jesus’ name AMEN. (Credit DPS website)
1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 It is written to Timothy, my dear son. May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. 3 Timothy, I thank God for you. He is the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again. 5 I know that you sincerely trust the Lord, for you have the faith of your mother, Eunice, and your grandmother, Lois. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8 So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for Christ. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the proclamation of the Good News. 9 It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began, to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everlasting life through the Good News. 11 And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News. 12 And that is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him F1 until the day of his return. 13 Hold on to the pattern of right teaching you learned from me. And remember to live in the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. 14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you."
The Word of God, written for the people of God - Thanks be to God
Let us pray: Most Holy God, you call us into community. Yet so often we fail to invite others into community with us. We are to be Christ’s body working together and our entire world is our community. Help us to enlarge our compassion and caring beyond our boarders and reach out to all in the world. As we celebrate Communion worldwide, we remember how big the table is. We can see it full of people today, just like us, your children stretching around the world. Let us remember our common table in the years to come and seek to treat all our brothers and sisters as if they were sitting beside us. You include and invite all to your table and so must we. Help us O Lord to invite and welcome with open hearts, open minds so that our doors are open to all. I pray that each heart here be open to your word this morning and that my words become truly yours in spirit. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our rock and our redeemer. AMEN (Credit DPS website)
In today’s Bible passage the apostle Paul is writing to his young friend in the faith, Timothy. Paul is Timothy’s mentor, and he is encouraging him in his pastoral ministry. By this time Paul is at the end of his time. Later in this book he will write, “4:6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” NIV Paul might have known this would be his last communication with Timothy. In fact, scholars believe this is actually Paul’s last epistle.
Now when you speak with someone for the last time, you might find yourself getting a little intense. You’d want to make sure you got the most important things said. Paul starts out his letter in the usual fashion. He identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ with a mission to spread the Gospel. Then he identifies the recipient of his message, that is, Timothy, and offers him a blessing in the name of the Lord. That’s pretty much standard protocol for Paul’s letters.
But then he does something unusual. By its very existence in the letter we know that Paul and Timothy had a special relationship. By this time Paul had planted many churches and developed myriad Christian friends in faith. However, only a few would he tell what he tells Timothy next. “Timothy, I thank God for you.” Yes, “Timothy, I thank God for you.” That’s a heavy affirmation.
Think about the times you actually thanked God for someone in your life. Who could have meant that much to you? I remember a woman with whom I used to work. She was single and lived alone with her cat. One night she was getting ready for bed and had turned out the lights in her home. Evidently she forgot something and needed to get back up. As she went to climb down the staircase in the darkened house, her cat got underfoot and tripped her. She tried to regain her balance but again tripped over the cat and went tumbling down the stairs. When she hit bottom, her leg was broken in three places, and she was experiencing the most intense pain she had ever endured in her life. She tried to drag herself to the phone to call for help. She fainted. Then she woke up and continued the excruciating task, wriggling inch by inch to her destination, fainting twice more from the pain before she finally made it. She struggled to make the call to 911 and then went in and out of consciousness as she waited. When the EMTs finally arrived, she thanked God for them with a fervor reserved for only the very most important people.
That is exactly how Paul regarded his friend Timothy. He constantly prayed for him. He longed to see him and anticipated his joy when he got to see him again. Then Paul gives us a few clues how he could have come to love this young man so much. In addition to being a strong fellow believer, Timothy is connected to Paul through his mother and grandmother. It seems that Paul has been familiar with their faith for some time. Perhaps he knew Timothy as a child. There’s something very special about the child of a friend that you have seen grow up. That’s one of the reason I was so glad to come here to Trussville. I was good friends with Jack and Lisa Moseley. I knew their kids, especially Gardner and Danielle. It was like coming home. This past June I had the privilege of leading the marriage service of some of our best friends’ daughter, who was my daughter’s best friend as a child. I believe I understand the degree of love Paul had for his young Timothy.
So what is Paul telling his beloved? What final message does he have? He’s telling him to, “…fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” This piece of advice applies to us as well.
Sometimes when we get saved or join a new church we get all enthusiastic, kind of like when we first dated and fell in love with our spouses or significant others. But Paul is telling us not to let our faith die down the way young love sometimes does as we get older. Instead he’s telling Timothy and us to fan that faith into flames. Paul urges us to get passionate with Jesus!
Now this was a bit difficult for Timothy because back during that time, the Roman Empire was taking a rather dim view of passionate Christians. They had this distressing penchant for crucifying them on crosses or even throwing them into an arena full of hungry lions. Paul’s telling Timothy not to shrink or shirk. “7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8 So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord… be ready to suffer with me for the proclamation of the Good News.” Paul is also telling us the same thing.
A number of years ago at a meeting of my church’s leaders, I asked the group a question. “How many of us are uncomfortable in sharing our faith?” All but a couple said they were indeed uncomfortable. And I was one of them. We pledged that we would make it a project to educate ourselves in how to approach our friends and associates. I’m pleased that I made good on that pledge.
What I’ve found as I’ve shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that my relationships with others have grown closer. Have you had that experience too? Many of our congregation who are going through Disciple and other long-term Bible studies are growing into much closer relationship with those in their classes. Those of you who for years have been involved with your Sunday school classes, circle groups and Emmaus reunion groups have also found the closeness that you can find with people as you share your faith together. For many of us, our closest friends are members of our own congregation.
A matriarch of the last church I served passed away suddenly from injuries sustained in an auto accident. She had enjoyed very close friendship with several of the stalwart church members. Some of those friends worked together to build a garden area by the fellowship hall. They built it in her honor, and right after the worship service on All Saints’ Day we dedicated that spot to her memory. I asked our worship leader, who was a close friend of hers if she would like to speak. She told me, “Oh, I just couldn’t. I’d never make it through it.” I then realized that the bond between true Christian friends can be as close as those among family members.
The love of Jesus Christ is a powerful force indeed. Paul tells Timothy and us, “remember to live in the faith an love that you have in Christ Jesus. 14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you.” But here’s something to consider. Normally what we carefully guard, we hold to ourselves. We protect it. We might even hide it. But the only way we can guard the love of Jesus Christ that has been entrusted to us, is to give it away, to share it with as many folks as we can. We are not to hide our tight under a basket, but we are to hold it up so it can light the whole world!
So who can we thank God for? When we see each other, we are seeing people who are made in the image of God. We are seeing people who have the love Jesus Christ in their hearts. On World Communion Sunday we are celebrating that love with Christians in our church, in this community and around the whole world. We can thank God for each of them. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN
MAY WE PRAY? God of every voice, every language, and every face; you fill the world with wonder. Your love breaks down walls of division; erects bridges of understanding. It reaches beyond oceans, above mountains to the heavens and back again. We come today to share in simple daily elements of bread and juice. We do so, as do Christians all over the world. Guide our footsteps on the pathway of peace so that we may see what you saw when you created the world and called it good. United in our knowledge that your grace will see us through even the darkest of days; we come as your body, broken, wounded and hurting. Be with us now, in Jesus’ name AMEN. (Credit DPS website)