7.

Understanding how to run different ministries of the new community. P1

1 Timothy 5: 1-16

  • Session: 7
  • Week: 1
  • Day: 7
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Introduction

In this session, 1 Timothy chapter 5: 1-16. We focus on understanding how different ministries of the household of God are run. We will focus on how to restore the sight of the shipwrecked faith leaders and principles of serving different members of the new community, such as widows, serving your pastor, and serving your mentees.

Objectives

By the end of this session, the learner will have:

  • Appreciated the principles of restoring the sight of the church leaders of the living God. In Mark 8:22-26. What do you see? Restoring the sight of the church’s leader and its members.
  • Understood the principles on how a mentor prepares their mentees to overcome evil teaching in the last days.
  • Understood the principles of serving the members of the family of faith by listing the Guidelines for service.
  • Appreciated the Labor of love within the Church members and the community.
  • Understood how to treat Fellow believers, Family members, and those outside the community of faith.
  • Appreciated the need to evaluate and change the way you see other people and the way you serve them. (The need second touch to avoid seeing people as trees).

Outline

  • Worldview change, the lens we use to see people
  • Restoring people’s lens
  • Guidelines for the serving church leaders
  • Guidelines for serving widows

Group Study Time

1 Timothy 5: 1-16

Connecting

  • Gather with two or more people for a community discovery bible study session.
  • Start with a heartfelt prayer, inviting God to guide and bless your understanding.
  • Explore the passage by reading it at least twice, using different Bible versions if available, then retell the story together as a group.
  • Reflect and share the challenges and blessings you experienced from the previous study.

Comprehending

  • What is a worldview? Or a perspective? or perception? What are the lenses through which we see people?
  • Read Mark 8: 22-26. Describe at least 3 levels of how Jesus restored the sight of the blind man. What would have happened if this man, in what level of seeing other people as trees, had become a church leader?
  • What is the meaning of honoring people? what is double honor? What is compassion?
  • Read 1 Timothy 5: 1-2. What are the principal guidelines for emerging leaders in serving their target audience (members of the church, men, women, young, and the community outside the church)
  • Read 1 Tim 5: 3-16. List 5 guidelines used in serving widows in the church? What are the dos and don’ts used in ministering to widows in a hostile environment? (Types of widows, who to serve them, why to minister to them, what to consider to enlist them as widows for help, etc.

Committing

  • Engage with the Bible—read, study, memorize, meditate, pray, listen, and live it out.
  • List three lessons you have learnt as an agent of change that you would like to put into practice and teach others about.
  • Take time and worship Jesus with the attributes revealed about Christ.
  • Use the SPACEPETS model, to assist you in putting God’s word into practice. Look for:
    • Sin to confess
    • Promise to claim
    • Attitude to change
    • Command to keep
    • Error to change
    • Prayer to make
    • Example to copy
    • Truth to obey and
    • Something praiseworthy

Communicating

  • Identify one person you can connect with and share the valuable insights and lessons you gained from this session.
  • Reach out to a new believer—either in person or by phone—and pray with them to support them through their challenges, including any concerns about attending church.
  • Create a new group and guide others through this study to help them grow in their understanding.

Post Lesson Teaching Summary

Great job completing the study! Take a moment to listen to this summary to reinforce your group’s understanding of the text and ensure you’re all on the same page. We’re here to support your learning journey!

Understanding how to run different ministries of the new community. P1

1 Timothy 5: 1-16

1 Timothy 5:1-16

Context

  • Paul, mentoring Timothy in Ephesus, provides guidance on ministering to different church groups, following warnings about leaders who abandon faith.
  • The passage focuses on restoring proper perspective in serving various community members, particularly widows.

Ministering to the Church Community (1 Timothy 5:1-16)

  • Treating Church Members: Treat older men as fathers, not rebuking harshly but exhorting respectfully; younger men as brothers; older women as mothers; and younger women as sisters with absolute purity to maintain godly relationships.
  • Ministering to Widows: Recognize widows truly in need—those over 60, faithful to their husbands, known for good deeds (e.g., raising children, hospitality, helping others).
  • Family Responsibility: Children or grandchildren must care for their widowed relatives, repaying their upbringing, as neglecting this denies faith and is worse than unbelief.
  • Widows’ Conduct: Widows in need should trust God, pray continually, and avoid pleasure-seeking lifestyles, which render them spiritually dead.
  • Young Widows: Encourage younger widows to remarry, raise children, and manage homes to avoid idleness, gossip, or following Satan, thus preventing slander against the church.
  • Church’s Role: The church should support only truly needy widows, allowing believers with resources to care for their own to reduce the church’s burden.
  • Purpose: Proper ministry to diverse groups restores godly perspective, strengthens the community, and honors God’s order.

Application

  • Treat church members as family with respect and purity, support genuinely needy widows, and encourage family responsibility to uphold God’s community.