1 & 2 Timothy
Sometimes it’s helpful to get back to the basics in order to move forward in confidence. This is true for everything from sports, to employment, to marriage, and even to how we operate as a church. As we look forward to engaging in our church home over the next year, we’ll spend the summer exploring how we live life together at St. Luke, in the community we call church.
The early church wrestled with how to live life together as church, too. From Paul’s letters to specific churches in Corinth, Ephesus, Colossae, etc., to Peter’s letters written to the church scattered throughout Asia Minor, the New Testament is rich with guidance for living life together. This summer, though, we’ll let two of Paul’s letters to an individual, Timothy, take us back to the basics of how we live as church, in order to help us follow Jesus into the fall with confidence.
1 & 2 Timothy are short letters, written around AD 65 and AD 68 respectively. I love what theologian N.T. Wright says about these letters, commonly referred to as the Pastoral Letters of Paul:
“Unlike the rest of Paul’s letters, which (except for Philemon) are addressed to whole churches, the ‘Pastoral Letters’ are addressed to individuals: two to Timothy, whom we know from Acts and from several other references in Paul, and one to Titus, about whom Paul speaks warmly elsewhere in his writings. These letters are very practical, offering encouragement and advice on the day-to-day life of a local church and the role of the chief pastor within it. At the same time, they constantly give us glimpses of a rich theological picture of Jesus, and of the power of the gospel.” (N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Pastoral Letters)
The journey through Paul’s letters to Timothy begins Sunday, June 30. We’ll explore one chapter each week through Sunday, September 1. A great way to engage our summer journey in Timothy is to use the summer Taking Worship Home material, available here on our website.
