Teaching 2 Timothy 2:14-26

3-5s

Theme: We need good people to lead our church

Aim: To pray for our church leaders and see what it means to be a church leader

Intro:

·         Faces of people always on call eg ambulance, firemen, doctor, etc. What do they do? When?

Teaching:

[you will need a photo of all the ministers heads on sticks, Paul and Timothy puppets plus Hymenaeus and Philetus popsicle-stick characters]

Who are these people? [take answers] What do they do?

Recap last week – sadness then wonderful. Some people in the church were saying that Paul was wrong about this. [Introduce Hymenaeus and Philetus popsicle-stick characters] They were arguing with Timothy and making a lot of people upset [have an argument between H, P and Timothy].

Paul told Timothy that he had to teach the Bible well to show that H&P were wrong. [put a Bible in Timothy’s hand] The same is true of our leaders. They have to teach us the Bible well [stick a picture of a Bible on the photos].

But Timothy was not to go having an argument. Have you ever had an argument with your brother or sister like this, ‘Did! Didn’t! Did! Didn’t! etc’? That’s exactly what Timothy was not to do! He wasn’t to fight and argue and be rude. Instead Paul wrote to him saying, [Read 2 Tim 3:22-25].

Did you hear? What was Timothy to be? [patient, peaceful, gentle]

These are the things that our leaders should be, too. [stick words on photos].

We need leaders who can teach us the Bible well but also don’t argue and aren’t rude; who are patient and peaceful and gentle. Let’s pray for our leaders that they would be like this.

Pray

Craft:

·         Thank you cards/Prayer cards for the church leaders

·         Matchbox Bibles – wrap black felt around the two flat sides and a thin strip of white felt around the three remaining sides and decorate the ‘front’

Songs:

·         I can talk to Jesus (from J is for Jesus)

·         Memory verse from last week (Colin Buchanan)

5-11s

Theme: Our church leaders should not quarrel but teach the Bible gently

Aim: That they pray for our church leaders and see what they want to grow up to be

Intro:

·         Follow my leader – print out a photo of a church leader then turn into a mask. Have a child wearing it at the front of the line. The others need to follow and copy. Purpose – our church leaders should show us what it’s like to live for Jesus.

Teaching:

Recap on last week – suffering then glory.

But some people were saying that wasn’t the case. Two people in particular were in Ephesus and were saying,

[dress two up as Hymenaeus and Philetus] ‘Everyone has already risen from the dead!’

That may sound strange but they were saying, we don’t need to suffer any more. Being a Christian means you don’t get any sicknesses or sadnesses. Is that right? No, of course not. And this teaching was spreading like a virus throughout the church and it had to be stopped.

And so Paul told Timothy that he had to tell them that they were wrong. But he had to do it in the right way. He couldn’t just shout and have a big fight with them!

Read v14-17. Timothy was to teach the Bible. That’s what would convince people who had been upset by H&P. That’s what our church leaders should do [attach a picture of a Bible to photos of church leaders].

And so gives Timothy a picture of what a church leader should be like. [have a cheap everyday glass and a champagne flute and explain the difference between them]. Read v20-21. So church leaders are to be set aside by God for teaching us the Bible, just like the champagne flute is set apart just for drinking a special drink.

But listen to what else Timothy was to be like and let’s see if we can work out what our church leaders should be like: read v22-26 slowly and get them to add words to the photos of church leaders.

Pray for the church leaders together

Table time: [whilst making prayer/thank you cards for the church leaders]

Knowledge

·         What had happened in the church in Ephesus where Timothy was?

·         What did Paul tell Timothy to do about it?

·         What was Timothy not to do?

Understanding

·         Why is Timothy not to just shout and scream?

·         Who is like Timothy for us today?

Application

·         What should our church leaders do and be like?

·         How can we help them be like that?

·         What do you need to change if you ever wanted to be a church leader?