Small Group Questions
General Discussion & Reflection
- How does the instruction for the church to function as a family impact your view of your fellow church members?
- In what ways can a church community effectively demonstrate “honor” to different age groups and those in need (v. 3, 17)?
Questions on Relationships
I Timothy 5:1-2
Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
- Paul instructs Timothy not to harshly rebuke an older man, but to exhort him as a father. How can this principle be applied in our modern interactions with authority figures or older individuals?
- How does treating older women as mothers, younger women as sisters “with all purity” (v. 2), guide our interactions with the opposite gender within the church today?
Questions on Widows & Family Responsibility
I Timothy 4:13-15
13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.
- Paul emphasizes the responsibility of children and grandchildren to care for their widowed relatives, stating that failure to do so is worse than an unbeliever (v. 8). What does this teach us about the priority of family responsibility?
- Why did Paul advise against enrolling younger widows for church support? What alternative roles and responsibilities did he suggest for them (v. 11-15)?
Perseverance and Impact
I Timothy 4:16
16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
- Why is it so crucial to monitor both our personal lives (life) and what we believe and share (doctrine)?
- How does this verse emphasize the importance of perseverance and faithfulness in the Christian walk and in ministry?