What's something that looks great but doesn't actually work? A pen with no ink, a phone with a dead battery, a fancy flashlight with no batteries? Ignacio started his sermon with that flashlight and asked: are we so busy building a life that looks good that we forget what our lives are for?

Read 1 Timothy 4:11–16 together from your Bible. Grab a pencil: circle the five ways Paul says to be an example in verse 12, and underline every instruction Paul gives Timothy in verses 13–16.

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and
purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
— 1 Timothy 4:12 (NASB 1995)

Be an example (verse 12)
Speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. These don't earn God's love; they're where His grace changes us. And being an example includes saying, "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"
• ★ What are the people around us learning about following Jesus from the way we live?

Use your gift (verses 13–14)
"Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you" (v. 14). A gift left unused is like a present still wrapped on the shelf a year later.
• What gifts do you see in each other? How could you use one this week?

Stand firm in the gospel (verses 15–16)
Paul expects "progress," not perfection. Only Jesus saves, by grace through faith. We keep holding on to Him and keep pointing others to Him.
• Where have you seen God grow you, even a little, this past year?

GOING DEEPER (PICK ONE)
1. Read 1 Peter 4:10. If someone handed you a gift from God with your name on it, what do you think it would be? What keeps you from "unwrapping" it?
2. Read 1 Timothy 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:1–2. Paul says to "persevere" and "hold fast."
What helps you hold on to Jesus when you're tempted to drift?

Kids & Teens at the Table
For families with kids or teenagers. There is no junior Holy Spirit!
• You don't have to wait until you're older to follow Jesus. What's one way you could be an
example at school, on your team, or online this week?
• Which of the five (speech, conduct, love, faith, purity) is hardest for kids your age? Why?
• Try this: Flashlight Prayers. Turn off the lights and pass a flashlight around the table.
Whoever holds it prays for one person they want to shine Jesus' light to this week.

Two at the Table
For couples, whether newly married or celebrating fifty years together.
• Ignacio said the younger generation needs us. Is there a young person, at church, in the
family, or in the neighborhood, we could get to know or encourage?
• What has God taught us over the years that we could pass on?
• Try this: Pray together for the young people in your life by name, then choose one to
encourage this week with a card, a call, or a conversation.

A Seat at the Table
For anyone reading on their own or with a friend.
• Where has God gifted me to help someone else?
• Is there someone I owe an "I'm sorry, will you forgive me?"
• Try this: Use your gift once this week on purpose, even if it's small and quiet. Quiet doesn't mean it matters less.

Pray together, or on your own: 

• Lord Jesus, we don't want lives that only look good. Make us examples of what it looks like to follow You, help us use the gifts You've given us, and keep us standing firm in Your gospel. Because You live, we have a life worth living. In Jesus' name, amen.

God has always used young people. This week, meet a few of them, ending with Timothy himself. Read the passage on your own in the morning (about five minutes), then bring the At dinner question back to the table, even if you're the only one who read it.

• Monday: 1 Samuel 3:1–10. Young Samuel hears God calling in the night. At dinner: How can we listen for God this week?

• Tuesday: 1 Samuel 17:32–50. Young David faces a giant, trusting God. At dinner: What "giant" are you facing? How could God help?

• Wednesday: Jeremiah 1:4–10. God tells Jeremiah not to say, "I am a youth." At dinner: Have you ever felt too young, or too old, for God to use you?

• Thursday: Daniel 1:8–17. Daniel and his friends stay faithful far from home. At dinner: Where is it hard to stay faithful when no one from church is watching?

• Friday: John 6:1–14. A boy offers his small lunch, and Jesus feeds thousands. At dinner: What small thing could we offer Jesus this week?

• Saturday: 2 Timothy 1:3–7. Timothy's faith first lived in his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. At dinner: Who passed faith on to you? Who are we passing it to?
  
  
  CIRCLE BACK
  Before Sunday, take five minutes together: Which reading or conversation stuck with you this week, and why? Then thank God for one person who was an example of faith to you
  
  MEMORY VERSE
  "…in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." (1 Timothy 4:12)
  
  For kids: "…show yourself an example of those who believe." (1 Timothy 4:12)

KNOW & GROW: Do the readings above, and say the memory verse at a meal each day.
Bonus: read Romans 2 before next Sunday, when Pastor Dave picks back up in Romans.

GO: Learn a name. Learn the name of one young person (or, if you're young, one older
person) at church you don't know yet. Say hi, and ask how you can pray for them.

• If you feel too young, or too old, to matter: Jeremiah 1:4–10; Psalm 92:12–15; Joel 2:28

• If you're not sure what your gift is: Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–27; Ephesians
4:11–16

• If you've been drifting: Hebrews 2:1; Psalm 51:10–12; John 15:1–11

• If you want to pass faith to the next generation: Psalm 78:1–8; Deuteronomy 6:4–9; 2 Timothy 1:5 and 3:14–15. Luther wrote the Small Catechism for exactly this, so that the head
of each household could teach the faith simply at home.