BIBLE EXPLORE / NEW TESTAMENT / 1 & 2 TIMOTHY

Books of ​1 & 2 Timothy

In these two letters to Timothy, Paul instructs him on how to address these teachers and lead the church effectively. We see that what a church believes will directly shape how its members live and behave. In Paul's first letter to Timothy, Paul shows Timothy how to restore order and purpose to the church in Ephesus which has been disrupted by false teachers. In the second letter to Timothy, Paul is near execution and offers a personal challenge to Timothy to keeping following Jesus no matter the sacrifice and risk.

1 Timothy 1:12-14 (Thankfulness to God)

Activities

Gratitude Stones (Fireflies and Mudpies)
Straw Rocket Thankyou Prayers (Flame Creative Kids)
Lego Blessing Tower (Future Flying Saucers)
Thanksgiving Placemat (June Pfaff Daley)
Gratitude Pick up Sticks Game (The Bump)

The Love of Money (1 Timothy 6:6-19)

Teaching Kids About Money

This passage in Timothy is a great launchpad to talk to your kids about money and finance. As they grow up, they will have choices to make about how they spend their pocket money, who they spend it on (themselves or others) and what they save for. Kids who have a healthy understanding of the value of money will become good stewards with all that God gives them. 
An interesting Infographic from makeuseof.com which looks at how you can help teach your kids about finance. 

Sermons4kids

Sermons4Kids has some resources for the Rich Man and Lazarus See here

Opportunities for giving

As we head towards the end of the year and with Christmas looming on the horizon in a few months time, it could be a good time to think about how you are going to approach the festive season. For some, Christmas can be a financially crippling time of year, when it is meant to be a celebration of God's grace and redemption. 
You might like to think about 'doing christmas differently' with one of the following:
How can we be a church that is marked by our extravagant generosity? 

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 2:22 Dirty Water Object Lesson (Ministry to Children)
2 Timothy 2:21 Toothbrush Object Lesson (Ministry to Children)
2 Timothy 3:1 Bible Verse Game (My Cup Overflows)

Media

Young: Seeds Family Worship
1 Timothy 1-3 (Instructions on Doctrine, Prayer and Leadership): Crosspaint
God's Story (Timothy): Crossroads Kid's Club
2 Timothy 3:16 (All Scripture): The Rizers

Passing on our faith (2 Tim 1:1-14)

Living Faith

Paul talks about the faith that lived in Lois and Eunice and that he is sure is alive in Timothy too. Our faith is a living thing and it grows inside us however small or big, young or old we are. Jesus talked about having faith as small as a tiny tiny seed (a mustard seed) is big enough to make a difference in our lives and to other people’s lives.  Sometimes our faith might feel very small, maybe when we are frightened or when we are lonely. Sometimes our faith might feel bigger, when we are in church perhaps or when we are praying.

Guarding our treasures

Our faith is our treasure and it’s the most important treasure we will ever have. 
Brainstorm ways we can guard that treasure:
  • ​Praying
  • Reading the Bible
  • Coming to church
  • Saying thank you to God
  • Saying sorry to God and to each other and forgiving others and ourselves
  • Talking to another person who follows Jesus

Who was Timothy?

Paul was a man who spread the news about Jesus in many countries of the world and Timothy worked with him. Paul wrote to Timothy to support, help and guide him in his faith.

Handing down your faith

Our family handing faith down to us: by the way they live.
Think of a member of your family who has taught you about/shown you what it is to live as a Christian. 
What was it about them or about what they said that made a difference to you?

Reflective Activity

  • Draw an outline of yourself and colour round the outside in yellow to represent the light of Jesus that surrounds you. 
  • Write the words: grace, love, light, courage, faith, power inside the outline. 
  • These are the things that God gives us and that are inside each of us giving us strength to follow Jesus.
  • Spend some time thinking about how you can share all these things with others. 

Prayers

St Patrick's Breastplate

​The prayer of St. Patrick's Breastplate calls on the protection of Christ in specific ways. This could be good to use as a Communion reflection, or in times of worry.

A guarding prayer
Christ be with me, Christ within me
Christ behind me, Christ before me
Christ beside me, Christ to win me
Christ to comfort me and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend or stranger.

Click this link for a printable of the prayer that you can color and decorate yourself, from Look to Him and Be radiant blog'

The Sarum Prayer

You can make up actions to go with it; there is also a sung version
​God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.

Prayer for our church

God of all people.
We thank you for our church, for all the people who worship here and for all the people who have followed you and passed on their faith to us.
We thank you for the courage of those who have followed you when it has been difficult or dangerous.
We thank you that you give each of us treasure that doesn’t cost anything, that never goes rotten and that we can never lose so long as we hold onto it: the treasure of your love for us and of your son Jesus who gives us light, grace and strength.
Help us to keep following you, especially when we are afraid or sad or tired, knowing that you are always with us.
​In the name of Jesus,
Amen.

Prayer of confession

God of love,
When we forget to pray
Fill us with your love and warm our hearts.
When we are embarrassed about following Jesus
Grant us courage, joy and a sense of God’s presence with us
When we are afraid
Fill us with your love and strengthen our faith.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Activities

Treasure Hunt


What you need
  • Nine containers to represent a treasure of faith
  • Words to go inside each container: Holy Spirit, Love, peace, kindness, courage, life, fellowship, grace, freedom. You need enough words in each box for the number of children in your group. You could print these words on coloured paper, or print them in outline so the kids could decorate the words.
    Download treasure words here
  • You could add some more or adapt them to the age of your group. You could find a prop or image to go in each one if you have time (e.g. a candle for holy spirit, love heart, dove for peace, key for freedom, lion toy for brave)
  • Glue sticks
  • Bright coloured card

​What you do:
  • Put the nine different treasures inside each container, and before the children gather, hide each container.
  • Talk to the children about treasure, and what kind of treasure people look for. (eg. gold coins, valuable things). Talk about how God gives us treasure too -- he gives us faith. While it doesn’t look like treasure and isn’t money, our faith is the most precious treasure we can ever find and hold on to.
  • Explain that hidden around the room are 9 boxes of treasure. Tell them to find each one, open the box and take a piece of God's treasure inside. 
  • When the children have found each piece give each child a piece of brightly coloured card and the children can then glue the words on to make a collage and decorate it. 

Safe People

  • Draw a picture of someone who loves you and with whom you feel safe: it could be someone in your family or it could be a friend.
  • Which colours do you think about when you think about that person? Perhaps you could use those colours in your picture. 
  • Write a prayer or say a prayer in your heart thanking God for them.

Pass The Parcel

What you need:
  • Pass the Parcel! Start by wrapping up enough lolly pops or lollies for every one in the group. You want to have a 'treasure' for everyone in the group when they final treasure is uncovered. Us bright coloured wrapping paper for this layer so you know its the last one
  • Wrap up the parcel with many layers, putting in pieces of paper in each layer with the words: faith, hope, love, freedom, holy spirit, jesus,courage, grace, light. 
  • Music
What you do:
  • Talk about treasure and how you have love playing pass the parcel because you never know what the treasure will be like inside.
  • Get the children to think about what treasures God gives us. Brainstorm different ideas and let them come up with as many as they think of! 
  • Start the music and pass the parcel around the group
  • When the music stops, get the child to open the parcel. Get them to read out the word and think about what this means. Why does God give us love? Why is it a treasure? 
  • Continue until the final layer is exposed, and when the lollies are revealed, talks about how God gives good gifts to all his children. He doesn't only have one present for one person, but the treasure he has (love, freedom, faith, courage, etc) is for everyone. We all get to share in the treasure. 

Leaders

BibleProject - Overview: Colossians video, and Letters to Timothy overview posters. ​Download for free here
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