Life Groups // Spring 2025 // Week 2

Posted April 11, 2025 — Lincoln Berean

The Great Gain of Godliness // 1 Timothy 6:3-21

Introduction

This week we wrap up our dive into 1 Timothy and the various teachings about leadership, money, and truth about which Paul wrote. Remember, there won’t be Life Group questions for next weekend’s Easter Service, but you are still more than welcome to meet as a Life Group and enjoy time in fellowship celebrating the great joy we have in Jesus’ triumph over death! 

 

This week is a sort of wrap up and final thoughts for Timothy and has many parallels to Chapter 1. As you read through this passage and meet as a group, allow yourself to be reminded of the promise made to us as believers that we may “live the life that is truly life.” But also take pause and reflect on if you are truly living this kind of life, or if you are allowing other distractions and pitfalls to take hold of your heart. 

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) If someone were to give you a laser to inscribe a message on the surface of the moon that the whole world could see, what message would you leave? 

 

 

2) Are you the kind of person who loves seeing projects all the way through and finishing them, or are you more likely to get halfway done with something and then jump into something new?  

 

 

 

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 stood out to you about the message from this weekend? 

 

 

 

2) Throughout this passage, Paul warns Timothy about false teachers who use godliness as a means of financial gain.  Where might we see someone today using religion or godliness as a way to gain wealth? 

 

 

 

In his opening, Pastor Ryan asked if you had a choice between being rich or being godly, which one would you choose. What would your answer to this question be? Why? 

 

 

 

What is the gain or benefit of godliness that makes it outweigh whatever money or material possessions may get us? 

 

 

 

Why do you think money and material possessions seem so desirable, even though we know how much greater our reward in Christ is? 

 

 

 

 

3) In verse 10, the love of money is described as “a root of all evil.” Why do you think this is? 

 

 

 

What practical steps do you take in your own life to guard against the love of money that is described as a “root of all evil” in verses 9 and 10?

 

 

 

4) At LBC we typically preach from the New American Standard Bible (NASB 1995). In that translation, the end of verse 19 reads “so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” As a group, compare the different ways this verse is translated. Based on different readings, how would you describe to someone else what is meant by “life indeed”.  (If you want suggestions for other translations to look at, try the NIV, NLT, and ESV) 

 

 

 

Did any of the different translations have a way of describing the reward of godliness that really stood out to you? 

 

 

 

Would other people describe you (regardless of how much money you have) as a person that is content in their godliness, or someone who is more devoted to gaining riches? 

 

 

 

5) A major theme throughout 1 Timothy is the value of good and truthful teaching. Why would you describe this as being important?  

 

 

 

As you reflect on the last few months we have spent in 1 Timothy, and covered topics such as: the importance of truth, the dangers of the love of money, and church leadership. What has been the biggest realization or takeaway that you have had from this book? How has that impacted your life? 

 

 

 

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: Proverbs 11 describes the rewards of righteousness contrasted with the consequences of wickedness. Read through this passage and think through areas of your life where you may be enjoying the rewards of righteousness or maybe where you are facing the consequences of wickedness. You can take anything you learn from this to God and to your group for further discussion or accountability.

Prayer Focus: As we approach Easter and the busyness of Springtime, consider how you can continually be walking alongside God. If you want a place to start, this prayer from the Book of Common Prayer is a beautifully written self-dedication to God. As you pray it, consider all the ways in which you can richly experience God in all aspects of your life.

 Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer) 

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?