| NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from the Bible Studies for Life curriculum. Bible Passages: 1 Timothy 4:7-10; Titus 3:1-9 Discussion Question: Why does growing in Christ require discipline? Food for Thought: We live in a culture of the easy. On desks all over the country you will find a big, round, plastic button that says, "That was easy." We want everything to be easy. Work needs to be easy. Losing weight needs to be easy. Winning needs to be easy. Too many people want following Jesus to be easy. If it's not easy, we'd rather do something else. Words like discipline, practice, training, endurance and perseverance aren't in the vocabulary of far too many people. How interesting that they are in God's vocabulary when it comes to growing in Christ. Paul instructed Timothy to train himself in godliness because his growth in godliness would not happen automatically. Consistent and regular practice in prayer, and knowing, understanding and applying God's Word in ministry and in life would be required. The same is true for believers today. Paul wrote, "... training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Tim. 4:7-10). Continued... |