Developing Family: Handing Down a Faith That Lasts
We’ve been talking about who we are here at Colfax Christian Church, and this week we’re looking at one of our core values. We call it Developing Family.
We believe the church is at its strongest when every generation is in the room together. When a seven-year-old is sitting a few rows up from a seventy-year-old, and they’re both singing to the same God.
Faith isn’t just passed down through programs and classes. Programs are good. Classes are good. But faith is caught. It’s caught when kids watch their mom and dad worship. It’s caught when a grandparent prays out loud right alongside a grandchild.
That’s why we say our families are our first ministry. We can’t reach this community with the gospel if we aren’t first ministering to the people under our own roof. If I’m out trying to tell the whole town about Jesus, and my own kids never hear about him from me, something is backwards, right?
Here’s where we’re headed today: The faith that lasts is the faith we hand down, one Scripture at a time, starting at home.
2 Timothy 1:5: “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.”
Paul says the faith in Timothy didn’t start with Timothy. It first filled his grandma. Then it filled his mom. And now it lives in him. That’s three generations in one sentence.
A Hometown That Knew the Cost
Around the year 50 AD, Paul heads out on his second missionary journey.
Acts 16:1-3: “Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey.”
There are two things in those verses to notice.
First, the town. Timothy lived in Lystra, and Paul knew Lystra pretty well. He’d been there about three years earlier on his first missionary journey. Things started off well. And then they got really ugly, really fast.
Acts 14:19-20: “Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town.”
They threw rocks at him until they were sure he was dead. They dragged his body outside the city. And then Paul gets up, dusts himself off, and walks right back into the same town that just tried to kill him.
That was Timothy’s hometown. From the very beginning, Timothy knew what following Jesus could cost. Nobody sold him an easy version of the faith.
Second, Timothy’s dad. Acts 16 says his mother was a Jewish believer, “but his father was a Greek.” And that’s all we get. When Paul talks about the people who shaped Timothy’s faith, his dad isn’t on the list.
But that didn’t stop Eunice. Paul says Timothy was taught the holy Scriptures “from childhood.” Eunice did that work. And from what we can tell, she did a whole lot of it without much help at home.
Some of you know exactly what Eunice was carrying. You’re the one in your house getting the kids up and out the door on Sunday morning. You’re the one praying with them at bedtime. Eunice’s story is for you. Your faithfulness is not wasted.
And maybe your story looks different. Maybe you grew up without a dad in the picture. Or maybe you are the dad, and if you’re honest, you’re not where you want to be with your kids right now. Timothy’s story is not a story about a perfect family. It’s a story about God building a faithful man out of a complicated home. God doesn’t need a perfect family to do his work.
A Promise Handed Down
What did Lois and Eunice actually hand down to Timothy? They handed down a promise. Timothy grew up learning the Old Testament Scriptures from his mom and his grandma. And all the way through those Scriptures, there’s one big promise: God was going to send a Savior.
Then one day Paul walks into Lystra with news. The promise they’d been waiting on? It came true. Jesus had come. Every promise Timothy’s mom and grandma had ever read to him pointed right to Jesus.
When Paul comes back through town years later, it’s time for Timothy to go. Can you imagine Eunice packing his bag? She’s sending her son off with the same man she watched get stoned in her own town. She knows exactly what this could cost. And she lets him go anyway.
How could she be so confident?
2 Timothy 3:14-15: “But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.”
Two phrases I don’t want you to miss.
The first is “those who taught you.” Those. Plural. More than one person taught Timothy. Lois and Eunice, for sure. But Paul writes in verse 10, “But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is.” Timothy’s faith was shaped by his grandmother, his mother, and a spiritual father who wasn’t his dad. Home and church, working together. That’s exactly what we mean when we talk about every generation in the room.
The second phrase is “you know they are true.” Timothy didn’t just inherit his mom’s faith the way he inherited her nose. At some point it had to become his own. Lois and Eunice could hand him the Scriptures, but they couldn’t believe for him.
If you’re wrestling with real questions about faith, that’s not a betrayal of the faith. That’s part of how it becomes yours. Bring your questions. Bring them to the Scriptures. Bring them to God. God is not offended by them.
What Legacy Are You Leaving?
When Paul wrote 2 Timothy, he was sitting in a dark prison cell in Rome, most likely waiting to be executed. Persecution was coming again. Only this time, it was Nero. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Nero had Christians set on fire and used as torches to light up the night.
How was Timothy going to hold onto his faith in a world like that? Paul’s answer is basically: You’re ready. You’ve been getting ready since you were a little kid.
That was the legacy Lois and Eunice left Timothy. It prepared him for life in Nero’s Rome. And more importantly, it prepared him for eternal life.
So let me ask you. What legacy are you leaving?
What will you be remembered for? Diehard Purdue fan? Diehard Hoosier fan? Hard worker? The parent who never missed a single game or recital? Those can all be good things. But when it comes down to it, are they eternally impactful?
Here’s a troubling statistic. A 2017 Lifeway study found that two out of three kids who grew up in church step away from church somewhere between the ages of 18 and 22. That’s a lot of the kids we love.
So how do we hand down a faith that lasts? Paul gives us the answer, and it comes down to one word. Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
The Scriptures tell us the truth about who we are and who God is. They don’t paint some unrealistic picture where everybody is basically good. They’re honest about how deep our sin goes. That kind of honesty matters a whole lot to a kid who’s about to walk out into the real world.
These truths don’t shift with the latest fads or trends. What your great-grandparents needed to hear, your grandkids need to hear. That’s what Lois and Eunice handed Timothy. A book that pointed him to a Savior.
Notice, Lois and Eunice didn’t do it with a program. They did it at home, from childhood, one Scripture at a time.
Making Room
We know how to rearrange our schedules when there’s a big game on. We’ll move dinner, skip the errands, and get the TV set up just right. As fervently as we rearrange our schedules to watch a football game, we can make room in our homes for God’s Word.
Parents, pick one practice and start it this week. Just one. Read a Bible story at bedtime. Read one verse at the dinner table. Pray with your kids on the way to school. It doesn’t have to be long, and it doesn’t have to be polished. What your kids will remember is that you did it.
Grandparents, notice who Paul names first. Not Timothy’s mom. His grandmother. That faith “first filled” Lois. And her faith went on to shape a man who carried the gospel across the Roman Empire. Some of you have grandkids who aren’t in church right now, and that hurts. But your faith still matters to them. Pray for each of your grandchildren by name. Write down your faith story and give it to them.
And if you don’t have kids at home, don’t check out. Timothy also learned from Paul, a spiritual father who wasn’t his dad. So be a Paul to somebody. There are kids in this church, and kids in this town, who need one.
The church can’t replace your kitchen table. And we don’t want to. Everything we do for kids here is meant to back up what’s happening in your home, not take its place. Lois and Eunice didn’t have a kids’ program. They had a home and the Scriptures.
The faith that lasts is the faith we hand down, one Scripture at a time, starting at home.
Small Group Questions
ICE BREAKER QUESTIONS
Who in your family of origin (biological or spiritual) first introduced you to faith? What specific memories do you have of them teaching, modeling, or sharing faith with you? What stuck?
Think about a family rhythm from your childhood (dinnertime, bedtime, Sunday mornings, holidays). What rhythm shaped you most, for good or for bad? Why do you think rhythms matter so much in forming who we become?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Pastor Nate introduced the core value of Developing Family: “We believe the church is at its strongest when every generation is in the room together. When a seven-year-old is sitting a few rows up from a seventy-year-old, and they’re both singing to the same God.” Why do you think our culture tends to separate generations rather than bring them together? What’s lost when a church segregates age groups too strictly? What’s gained when generations worship side by side?
Pastor Nate said: “Faith isn’t just passed down through programs and classes. Programs are good. Classes are good. But faith is caught.” What’s the difference between faith being taught and faith being caught? When you look at your own faith, how much of it was taught in programs versus caught by watching the lives of people close to you?
The central idea: “The faith that lasts is the faith we hand down, one Scripture at a time, starting at home.” Pastor Nate said: “Our families are our first ministry.” Why is this order (family first, then community) so often reversed in our lives? Where in your life have you been investing in ministry “out there” while neglecting the people under your own roof?
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:5 about three generations of faith: Lois (grandmother), Eunice (mother), and Timothy. Can you trace faith backward in your own family? How far back can you go? If you’re the first generation, what does that mean for the ones who come after you?
Timothy likely heard the gospel on the same visit Paul got stoned and left for dead in Lystra (Acts 14:19-20). Pastor Nate said: “From the very beginning, Timothy knew what following Jesus could cost. Nobody sold him an easy version of the faith.” Do we tend to sell our kids (or new believers) an easy version of faith? How do you honestly introduce the cost of following Jesus without scaring people away?
Timothy’s father was Greek and apparently not a believer. Eunice taught Timothy “from childhood” (2 Timothy 3:15) without much support at home. Pastor Nate said: “Eunice’s story is for you. Your faithfulness is not wasted.” Who in our group (or church) is in this situation right now, carrying the spiritual weight of their home largely alone? How can we encourage and support those in Eunice’s situation?
Pastor Nate said: “Timothy’s story is not a story about a perfect family. It’s a story about God building a faithful man out of a complicated home.” What is complicated about your home right now? How does this truth, that God doesn’t need a perfect family, give you hope for the family God actually gave you? Where have you been using “my family is too complicated” as an excuse not to disciple at home?
In 2 Timothy 3:14-15, Paul mentions “those who taught you” (plural), including Lois, Eunice, and himself. Pastor Nate said: “Home and church, working together. That’s exactly what we mean when we talk about every generation in the room.” Who have been the plural “those” in your faith? Who could you be a “Paul” to, a spiritual parent to someone whose home didn’t give them the faith foundation they needed?
Pastor Nate shared a sobering statistic: “A 2017 Lifeway study found that two out of three kids who grew up in church step away from church somewhere between the ages of 18 and 22.” Why do you think this is happening? What might Lois and Eunice have done that we’re not doing in our homes and churches today? What one change could reverse this trend in the families represented in our group?
Pastor Nate ended with this challenge: “As fervently as we rearrange our schedules to watch a football game, we can make room in our homes for God’s Word.” Be honest about what you rearrange your schedule for easily (sports, hobbies, entertainment, work). What would it look like to rearrange your schedule for Scripture in your home this week? What one practice could you start this week, Bible story at bedtime, a verse at dinner, prayer in the car?
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