May 25, 2025 Faith begins at home: The Extended Family Makeover | 2 Timothy 1:1-16; 3: 14-17

Today we will reflect on 2 Timothy 1:1-16 & 2 Timothy 3:14-17, The Extended Family Makeover. Paul sees Timothy as a beloved son and is reminded of the influence of Timothy’s mother and grandmother in Timothy’s faith life and growth. Our extended families have a large influence on the faith of our children because our children already know them and trust them. As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and we can also say, “It takes a church family to raise a child in the way of the Lord.” We will also be celebrating the Lord’s Supper.

Transcript

The Extended Family Makeover

2 Timothy 1:1-16; 3:14-17

When Joyce and I became parents, my sister always knew better than we did about how to raise our kids, even though she was still only a young teenager herself. I had lots of chuckles about her advice after she became a parent years later. Raising kids to grow deep and strong in the faith and in character is hard work, and honestly, parents need help. In Biblical times, most families lived together as multi-generational families. That’s not the norm today. 

Paul takes a young man, Timothy, and disciples him. Paul’s more than a mentor, he sees Timothy as a son, investing in him like he’s family. Paul becomes a spiritual father to Timothy, helping him to pastor a difficult church in Ephesus. This was a city steeped in emperor worship, with a major temple to the goddess Artemis, and where you could find many magic cults. It’s in this city that Timothy’s preaching the gospel of Jesus which refuses to accommodate cults, creating strong pushback. Timothy needs someone like Paul to encourage and build him up; to be a trusted person keeping focused on Jesus. 

A couple of weeks back, we looked at the major influences on a person’s faith and the importance of family: mothers influenced 81% of the males and 74% of the females, fathers 61% of the males and 50 of the females, pastors 57% of the males and 44% of the females, and grandparents 30% of the males and 24% of the females. When I became a youth pastor and then a pastor, I experienced how often I’m looked to as role model because of absent fathers or family. 

Paul’s reminded of Timothy’s faith, and like most children today, his faith comes from the Holy Spirit through his mother and grandmother. Paul enters Timothy’s life someone who fills an extended family role in Timothy’s life. Paul fills in for an absent father, grandparent, or extended family member role. Even when we as fathers or grandfathers are present, there’s still great value in our sons having another man of faith becoming like a trusted uncle, and for our daughters, having another woman of faith become like a trusted aunt to them. 

We become an extended spiritual family when we embrace the responsibility of spiritually mentoring our church’s children. In his letters, Paul refers to Timothy as a son: in 1 Timothy, “my true son in the faith,” and in 2 Timothy, “my dear son.” Paul accepts his responsibility to help Timothy to grow in the faith, committing big-time. Do we do that? Paul does.  We’re responsible for the spiritual development and growth of the children and youth God puts in our lives and church. Paul writes to Timothy in what we call a circular letter, a letter meant to be read out loud to the church and then copied and shared with other churches. Paul takes a very public and personal responsibility for being in Timothy’s life, even though Timothy’s not related to him. Paul doesn’t have any children of his own, he’s not even married, yet he accepts his responsibility to pass the faith on to the next generation. 

Maybe you’re a grandparent and your grandchildren live far away. There’s lots of children and youth here in Bethel who could use a spiritual grandparent, aunt or uncle, or spiritual friend. But you can also make a difference in your own grandchildren’s lives, even when you’re far away. In Allendale, Michigan, a group of grandparents got together once a month over the winter to write letters and cards to their grandchildren who lived away from home. It started for the university students, but over time it got extended to all grandchildren of all ages. They would write to their own grandchildren, but then they would each take one or two of each other’s grandchildren and write them a card or short letter too. Other seniors began coming who didn’t have any grandchildren and to write letters and notes to the children. They prayed over all the letters and cards before placing them in the mail. When the grandchildren of the congregation would come home, they’d mention how important it was for them to receive these gifts of love from the congregation, knowing they’re being prayed for, and over, every month. It reminded them of God’s love for them. Do you own the responsibility of pouring faith and love into the lives of the children, even the adult children God has placed in your lives?

Scripture and prayer need to be foundational in our extended family relationships. Paul writes Timothy, “I constantly remember you in my prayers.” Pray for our children. It’s powerful, praying for God to be part of their lives. Let them know that you’re praying for them. It’s so uplifting to know that someone important to you is praying for you, taking time to regularly talk to God about you, and for you. We see that Paul also prayed with Timothy in a number of his letters written with Timothy; Colossians 1:3, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,” and 1 Thessalonians 1:2, “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.” 

Scripture’s also important in our relationships. Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15–17, “from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Scripture is the story of God and his relationship with his people, his family. The Jews read Scripture as their family story, something we need to remember; it’s our family story too. At the heart of spiritual training is the Bible. Parents are instructed to rely upon it for truth, values, and direction to raise your children in. Solomon teaches in Proverbs 22:6, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.” Paul encourages Timothy to continue in what he’s learned, and in his first letter, to set an example in his life, and to devote himself to publicly reading Scripture, preaching and teaching.

The strength of a good spiritual family is that it allows you to be vulnerable and humble. Paul writes, 1 Timothy 1:12-16: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” Paul admits his past was anti-Jesus. He shares this with Timothy, showing trust in Timothy with his heart and life, taking the chance that Timothy might reject him because of his past. This takes deep humility, yet can lead to stronger authentic relationships. Paul admits he needs God’s grace as much as everyone else.

George Barna writes, “Another teaching tool that helps many parents is their willingness to tell personal stories and integrate some degree of personal vulnerability into their narrative in order to capture attention and drive home a point . . . When parents effectively describe a compelling life event that resulted in personal transformation, children are more likely to glean valuable wisdom from the story.” When you share personal stories with some vulnerability of life events that brought change, it impacts children and helps them gain precious wisdom from the stories. Through your stories, you can also help them learn to recognize their gifts and how to use and develop them. 

We underestimate the importance of having people in our extended families who show us how to live for Jesus. Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 4:16–17, “Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” Paul reminds us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as my mom would say. Paul encourages Timothy to imitate him as he imitates Jesus. Timothy learns what living for Jesus looks like from watching Paul. For me, it was a church elder, Jack. He loved God, but made mistakes. He never made excuses, always owned up to them publicly, and worked hard to change. His humility and integrity always encouraged me. Jack helped me see how repentance and sanctification are a life long journey, and to show grace for those who trying their best, even if they’re failing. Do kids see you as humble, learning, growing, Christians who need God’s grace just as much as they do? If you want to know what kind of a follower of Jesus you’re raising up, look into the mirror. 

We become an extended family when we take honest responsibility of mentoring our children spiritually, making prayer and Scripture foundational in our relationships, when we’re real and vulnerable and humble, and when we encourage and prepare our children to use their gifts while modelling the Chistian life to them. Are you in?