An Expositional Sermon
2 Timothy 4:9-22
“Safely in God’s Kingdom”
Theme/Big Idea: Prepare well for your death with your hope that Jesus Christ is with us always, to the end of the age.
Aim/Appropriation/Application: Cultivate a realistic expectation for Christian ministry and the Christian life. Pray that God would help you to prepare spend your life well even in the face of difficulty.
Outline:
(1) Be prepared for loneliness (2 Timothy 4:9-12)
(2) Be useful for ministry (2 Timothy 4:11-13)
(3) Expect Opposition and Relational Difficulty (2 Timothy 6:14-22)
(4) Set your hope on Christ and not men (2 Timothy 4:17-18)
Questions for Further Study and Application:
(1) What was the context that Paul was writing this letter? (hint…Nero)
(2) How will you combat loneliness at times in the Christian life? If you are in gospel ministry, are you ready for opposition and abandonment?
(3) What are some ways that we can fight the temptation to abandon God’s people because of an inordinate love for the world?
(4) As God speeds ministry and as we have to leave each other for the sake of the gospel are you prepared for the difficulty of parting? How might this phrase from the hymn “Soldiers in Christ in Truth Arrayed” be an encouragement to us: “We meet to part, but part to meet.”
(5) Do you think sitting in a prison is to be useful for ministry? How might Paul’s circumstances shape a right expectation for what is “successful” and “faithful” when it comes to the Christian life and Christian ministry?
(6) What does Paul’s 3 requests – (1) Luke, John Mark, Timothy (2) a Cloak (3) Books – indicate he he intends to use the end of his life? What ministry is Paul able to do chained to a soldier in a hole in the ground waiting his death sentence?
(7) What could these 4 men (The Apostle Paul, Luke, Mark, and Timothy) be doing with books/parchments in a prison cell before the death of the Apostle Paul? What are these men known for that has been useful for gospel ministry during the time of the Apostles and through history to today?
(8) How can we pursue reading to be used by God to edify and encourage others? How can we read the Bible and other books not with the goal of personal entertainment, but for the building up of others in Christ?
(9) How can we prepare for opposition in Christian ministry or in the Christian life? Why can’t we use relational difficulty in the Christian life as a justification to stop loving others? Are you quick to avoid relationships because of the fear of opposition? Are you quick to abandon relationships when things get hard or you face conflict?
(10) How can we pursue reconciliation and love in the midst of conflict, disagreement, even when it would be wise to separate and go in different directions? Even though things and relationships may be different as we face conflict how can we pursue to forgive others well?
(11) If being a Christian is so hard why should I have anything to do with believers?
(12) Where is our hope set?
(13) Do we love each other in the church because Christians are easy to love? No. Then why? Why are relationships a “mess worth making”?
(14) Are you willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel?
(15) How can you spend your life well for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ in your family, community and in your church?