Life Groups // Winter 2025 // Week 9
Posted March 7, 2025 — Lincoln Berean
The Pillar and Support of the Truth // 1 Timothy 3:14-16
Introduction
In this week’s passage Paul gives us the main reason for writing his letter to Timothy as well as a “Christological hymn” describing the mystery of godliness. It is short but has a lot for us to unpack!
We invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. Some people even use these questions to take notes during the sermon. The questions are meant to stir your thinking and prompt open discussion, and we do not expect you will cover every question each week.
Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)
1) Did you grow up attending church or not? What was that like?
2) What is one of the things you enjoy most about spring?
Getting Started
Transition into group discussion.
1. Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives
c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you
2. Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
1) What was encouraging or challenging from the weekend worship gathering?
2) In 1 Timothy 3:15, what does it mean that the church of the living God is the pillar and support of the truth?
If the church disappeared, how would the following be affected?
Your Life
The Community of Lincoln
Our nation
The world
3) What does Paul mean in verse 16 when he says, “great is the mystery of Godliness?”
How is this mystery revealed to us?
4) Explain in your own words each of the phrases Paul uses in verse 16 to describe Christ.
Revealed in the flesh
Vindicated in the Spirit
Seen by angels
Proclaimed among the nations
Believed on in the world
Taken up in glory
Do Christians have a tendency to overemphasize one or several of these phrases over others? Why is it important that we consider all of these phrases when thinking about Jesus?
5) How do the ideas in this passage come together to help us understand what it looks like to be the church in our world today?
Personal Spiritual Exercises
Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts.
Scripture Focus: Take time to immerse yourself in the life of Jesus. Find time to read the entire gospel of Mark in one sitting this week.
Prayer Focus: There are several other “Christological hymns” found in the scriptures. One is Philippians 2:5-11 and another is Colossians 1:15-20. Prayerfully read and meditate on these passages several times this week.
Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.
Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?