👉 1 Timothy 4:12 | "Set the believers an example in speech, in conduct.."

📧 In today’s email…

• 🤓 Background context on 1 Timothy

• 🙏 A prayer and reading to set the tone for the week

• 🎵 A song to help you meditate this week

Let’s dig in…

 🧠 Memorize

Let no one despise you for your youth,

but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Book Context & Authorship: 1 Timothy ✍️ 

• Author: Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, his young co-laborer in the spread of the gospel

• When: Paul wrote this in between his two imprisonments.

  • Paul is believed to have been released from his first imprisonment in 62 AD, meaning that 1 Timothy was likely written in the mid-60s.

• Purpose: Paul wrote 1 Timothy in order to help Timothy correct concerning issues that were arising at the church in Ephesus.

  • A group of leaders infiltrated the Ephesian church and were spreading incorrect teachings about Jesus and what it means to follow him.

  • Paul sent Timothy to confront these leaders and right the ship.

So in contrast to many of Paul’s other letters (written to churches), 1 Timothy is written to a person.

Consider Paul’s heart and words as he disciples a young leader in the early church!

More Background:

• Ephesus was known for the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and was a center of pagan worship and diverse philosophical ideas.

• When Paul left Timothy in Ephesus he instructed him to address false teachers in the church (1:3).

• Paul hoped to return to visit Timothy at some point, but wrote to him in order to address Christian behavior in the meantime (3:14–15).

🧠 To learn more about the background and structure of 1 Timothy, check out this Bible Project video.

Apply & Respond to 1 Timothy 4:12 📖 

The first thing to internalize as we read and memorize 1 Timothy 4:12 this week is the call for us to set an example for others in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.

This calling is so clear, yet how often do we drop the ball in some of these areas!

Are there any that stick out to you that need work?

Invite God to work on you this week.

Pray 🙏

Heavenly Father, as we memorize 1 Timothy 4:12 this week, reveal to me the areas of my life that do not set an example for other believers around me - my children, my coworkers, my spouse, my friends at church.

Please guide me this week, Lord. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear what You are wanting to do in my heart and life. Amen. 🙏

Read 📖 

Read 1 Timothy 4:6-16 slowly today, preparing your heart for the week and inviting God to speak to you.

🍽️ Bonus: Read it out loud at the dinner table with your friends or family.

Listen 🎵 

Occasionally, there are songs we find that can help us meditate on the verse we’re memorizing.

Here is a meaningful song that many of you will know already written by Matt Maher.

The lyrics express our deep dependence on God for strength and guidance, which aligns well with the need for divine help to live out the qualities of speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity each day.

We’re praying that this song leads you into a posture of worship and dependence this week!

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music

LAUGH 😂