Make Sure You Pass On the Gospel (2 Tim. 2:1-7)

Outline: Make Sure You Pass On the Gospel (2 Tim. 2:1-7): 

           

Four Commands:

1. Draw strength from the gospel (v.1)
2. Pass on the gospel to others (v.2)
3. Share in suffering for the gospel (vv.3-6)
4. Think hard about the gospel (v.7)

Summary: We've learned that God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit (1:1-7) in order to help us guard the gospel (1:8-18).  Now we are told that the gospel is to not only be guarded but also to be passed on to others (2:1-7).  And this work of multiplying the gospel calls for fresh supplies of gospel grace, a grace that not only saves us but sustains us in the work of passing on the gospel to others.  Three analogies (the solder, the athlete, and the farmer) help us to grasp the loyalty, self-discipline, and work ethic that is to mark the character of the Lord's people.  We must think often and clearly about gospel grace and the character it creates if we are going to effectively pass on the gospel.

Main Point:  We must work hard to pass on the gospel to those who will pass on the gospel.

Discussion Questions:

• What is it about God's grace in the gospel that strengthens us? 
• How did Paul endure to the end?  How was Timothy to endure?  How will we endure?
• How can 2 Tim. 2:2 be carried out practically in a pastor's life? A believer's life?  In the life of a local church?
• What is the relationship between 2 Tim. 2:2 and the Matt. 28:18-20?
• Why do so many people and churches not practice 2 Tim. 2:2 (or Matt. 28:18-20)?
• What do vv.3-6 tell us about the extent to which Jesus lays claim on our lives? (cf. Heb. 12:1-2)
• What qualities is Paul emphasizing with each analogy (soldier, athlete, farmer) and why is each quality so important in a pastor's life?  In every Christian's life?
• How might the promise in v.7 help motivate us to give ourselves to meditating on Scripture?

Application Questions:

• What or who do I tend to look to for strength instead of fresh supplies of grace from Jesus?
• How might it look for me to practically entrust the gospel to another person?
• How can I adjust my priorities, disciplines, and work ethic to help me become a more effective disciple maker?
• How clearly do I understand the mission of the church and my role in it?  Who can I talk with in order to gain more clarity?

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for His saving grace and for His sustaining grace
• Confess ways we've allowed ourselves to get distracted, undisciplined, and lazy in the work of passing on the gospel to others
• Ask God to help us learn to run on fresh supplies of gospel fuel and not turn to "alternate fuels"
• Ask God to help us to think hard about and stay focused on the task of making more and maturing disciples of Jesus 

A Battle Plan for the Mind: Strategies for Meditating on Scripture

General Strategies for Meditating on Scripture:

1. Make time for meditation.
2. Choose a place for meditation.
3. Learn to linger in meditation.
4. Keep consistent in meditation.
5. Remember the goal of meditation.
6. Choose a subject for meditation.
7. Pray for help with meditation. 

Specific Strategies for Meditating on Scripture:

1. Memorize the text.
2. Read different translations of the same text. 
3. Reread the same text several times.
4. Record observations of the text.
5. Relate propositions to one another by tracing the logic of the text.
6. Repeat the verse or phrase emphasizing a different word each time. 
7. Rewrite the verse or phrase in your own words.
8. Retell the story or explain the text aloud.
9. Recall past experiences when you or others have witnessed the truthfulness of this text.
10. Research cross-references to shed more light on the text.
11. Respond to the text.
12. Ask relevant questions of the text:

• Philippians 4:8 questions: What is true or what truth does it exemplify? What is honorable about it? What is right about it? What is pure or how does it exemplify purity? What is lovely about it? What is admirable or commendable about it? What is excellent about it? What is praiseworthy about it? 

• “Joseph Hall” Questions: What is it (define and/or describe what it is)? What are its divisions or parts? What causes it? What does it cause (its fruits and effects)? What is its place, location or use?  What are its qualities and characteristics? What is its opposite or what is different from it? What compares to it? What are its titles or names?  What other scriptures serve as testimonies or examples of it?

1. Discern the main point of the text.
2. Formulate a principle from the text.
3. Pray through the text.
4. Invite others to meditate on the text with you.

*Some of these strategies are adapted from Don Whitney’s Methods of Meditation on Scripture (http://biblicalspirituality.org) and David Saxton’s fine work entitled God’s Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation.

The Importance of Meditating on the Gospel (2 Pet. 1:3-11)

Outline: 

1. Strategies for meditating on Scripture
2. The importance of meditating on the gospel

Summary: Last week we considered the necessity of biblical meditation and set out a general framework for understanding it.  This week we get more practical.  The first part of the sermon provides strategies for how we can go about meditating on Scripture.  The last part of the sermon focuses on the foundational importance of meditating on the gospel in particular.  In 2 Peter 1:8-9 we see that forgetting the gospel is the cause of ineffectiveness and unfruitfulness in the Christian life. But it is encouraging to realize that if forgetting the gospel stunts our growth, then remembering the gospel will stimulate our growth.   

Main Point: The habit of remembering the gospel through biblical meditation will increase our effectiveness and fruitfulness in the Christian life.

Discussion Questions:

• What three parts make up a balanced definition of biblical meditation?
• Why is it necessary for Christians to practice biblical meditation?
• What general or specific strategies for meditation do you find most challenging?
• What specific strategies for meditating on Scripture have you found helpful in the past?
• What specific strategies would you like to put into practice and why?
• Discuss this statement: "there is no such thing as neutral in the Christian life."
• What causes us to be spiritually ineffective or unfruitful?
• What habit would increase our effectiveness and fruitfulness in the Christian life?  
• How much energy should be given to meditating on the gospel in particular? Why?

Application Questions:

• What specific strategies should I utilize in order to deepen my meditation on Scripture?
• How can I use this sermon series to help me cultivate the habit of meditating on the gospel? 
• If meditation on the gospel became a habit in my life, what effects might it have on me?

Prayer Points:

• Confess any unfruitfulness that has resulted from your failure to remember the gospel.
• Thank God for the blessing of learning the importance of meditating on the gospel.
• Praise God that the day is coming when your mind will always be filled with pure and noble thoughts, your heart with intense and holy feelings, and your life with perfect obedience.  
• Ask God to grow your capacity and sharpen your ability to meditate on His Word.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to help you cultivate the habit of remembering the gospel.

A Framework for Biblical Meditation (Joshua 1:1-9)

Outline: Biblical Meditation

1. Where is Biblical Meditation in the Bible?
2. What exactly is Biblical Meditation?
3. Why is Biblical Meditation so neglected?
4. Why is Biblical Meditation so important?

Summary: This sermon is designed for two main purposes.  First, it is meant to be a general introduction to the new sermon series entitled Gospel Meditations: Fuel for Becoming Who You Are in Christ.  Second, and more specifically, this sermon is designed to help us to better understand biblical meditation, which is perhaps the most foundational discipline in the Christian life. But where is such an idea found in the Bible? What is biblical meditation, anyway?  And why is it so neglected if it is so important? These questions and more will be considered in this introductory sermon.    

Main Point: Biblical meditation is the prayerful pondering of spiritual realities to the point that the mind is being renewed, the heart is being stirred, and the behavior is becoming more Christ-like.

• To meditate is to sink the roots of one’s mind into the spring of God’s word in order to draw the nourishment and energy necessary to grow and bear fruit.
• To meditate is to hover next to the flower of God’s word until one's mind and heart are full of its sweet nectar. 
• To meditate is to so patiently brood over God’s word that new life hatches in the heart.

Discussion Questions:

• A balanced definition of biblical meditation is made up of three parts.  What are they?
• What is deliberate meditation?  
• What is occasional meditation? Can you think of any biblical examples?
• How might occasional meditation be a sweet encouragement to the working man or woman?
• How do deliberate and occasional meditation relate to one another? 
• What reasons might explain why biblical meditation is so often neglected?
• Why is biblical meditation so important? Or, what happy benefits result from it?
• How might our corporate worship times be enhanced if more people gave themselves to the practice biblical meditation?
• How will practicing biblical meditation fuel the culture of discipleship being formed at FBC?

Application Questions:

• How much of my energy do I devote to biblical meditation? 
• What typically hinders me from making biblical meditation more of a habit in my life and how should I respond to such challenges?
• What happy effects might the diligent practice of biblical meditation have on my daily life? 

Prayer Points:

• Confess to God any lack of delight in His word that has lead to slothfulness in mind and heart  
• Thank God for filling the world with His glory so that you can fill you soul with it each day
• Praise God that the day is coming when your mind will always be filled with pure and noble thoughts, your heart with intense and holy feelings, and your life with perfect obedience.  
• Ask God to increase your desire to devote more and more energies to biblical meditation.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to help you think hard and often about true and beautiful things (Phil. 4:8)