Week 27 – Preaching & Teaching: Second Letter to Timothy

Memory Verse

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12


When you say the word preaching, images of ministers spitting out messages about hellfire and brimstone may come to mind. If it doesn’t, then realize for a lot of people in our culture, that’s the only image of preaching they know. Examples of bad preaching are numerous; Televangelizing crooks, sandwich-board-wearing prophets, and finger pointing bigots. But the preaching and teaching of the Church is much, much different. At the heart of the Church lies the gospel – the message of grace and new life through a relationship with Jesus.

God chose to reveal this message of hope to world through you and me, followers of Christ. There’s no plan B. We’re it! So the preaching and teaching of the Church is a top priority – not just for preachers, but for all of us. Paul knew this, and he wrote to young disciples, like Timothy, to make sure they understood the importance of the teaching of the Church. Paul wouldn’t be around forever, so he made sure to pass on that message to others who could faithfully preach it to a new generation.

We need to make sure we’re receiving good teaching and passing it in to others. Without the teaching of the Church, our beliefs would be reduced to the opinions of the latest charismatic leader.

The true message of the Church stands the test of time and isn’t changed by the ideas of our culture. This week we’ll look at why this is important and how we fit into the task of preaching and teaching today.