2 Timothy 4:9-22 The cost of living has been on everyone’s minds in recent months. This passage is about the cost of living as a disciple of Christ, and how to respond to it. The apostle Paul was imprisoned, opposed, deserted – but he responded in a godly way. We are to learn from his example.
2 Timothy 4:1-8 On 9/11 in 2001, within 10 minutes of the first plane hitting the tower, over 1000 phone calls were made from people in the buildings or on the other planes. And they all said the same three words – ‘I love you’. What would your last words be to your loved ones? Here we have the apostle Paul’s final message, which he sums up in another three words: preach the Word.
2 Timothy 3:1-17 This past week the government declared a national emergency, issuing a severe weather warning. With temperatures hitting 40, life has been a struggle. This Bible passage is the spiritual equivalent – a warning about extreme spiritual heat ahead for the true believer, and instruction about how to cope with it.
2 Timothy 2:14-26 What this country needs more than anything else is good leadership. The health of the nation depends on it. I’m referring of course to good leadership in the churches. That was the big need in Paul’s day, and so it is in ours today. This passage tells us clearly the kind of leaders we need, and the kind to avoid.
2 Timothy 2:1-13 ‘No pain, no gain’. It’s true, whether you’re following an exercise programme or diet, learning to play an instrument, or cultivating a healthy marriage. They all require effort, discipline, and hard work. And what is true in life in general is true spiritually as well. The call to discipleship is a call to present pain for eternal gain.
2 Timothy 1:1-18 ‘Our aim was to show that we were proud, not ashamed’. So said the activist Peter Tatchell about the first Gay Pride march in the UK in 1972. How about us as Christians? Are we proud of belonging to Jesus, or ashamed? Why are we tempted to be ashamed of the gospel? How serious is it if we are? What can we do about it?
2 Timothy 3:10-4:8The world has a Saviour, but it needs proclaimers who will tell them what the Word says.
2 Timothy 2:20-3:9There is honourable ministry and dishonourable ministry. It’s important to know the difference, so that we might be useful to the Master.
2 Timothy 2:1-19God calls us to guard the gospel by passing it on to others. And that means that the training agenda needs to be the agenda of the local church.
2 Timothy 1:3-18This letter of 2 Timothy is all about two gospels, two loves, and two models of ministry.
