Jesus’ kingdom-sized vision is to go and make disciples - to teach others how to follow the way of Jesus in teaching and practice. As disciples are made and gathered together, the Church is formed. And that’s exactly what His followers did. Through making disciples and planting churches, the kingdom of God has been on the move for millennia and shows no signs of stopping. In the book of 1 Timothy, we zoom in on one of Jesus’ disciples equipping a new pastor on what the church is called to be and how to lead accordingly. In this series, we’ll take 12 weeks unpacking what is the church as we seek to be the called out people of God together.
To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.
Week 1: Defend the Truth (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 2: The Gospel vs The Law (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 3: Prayer and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 4: Men, Women, and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 5: Teaching, Authority, and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 6: Leadership and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 7: Some Will Fall Away (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 8: Guard Your Life and Doctrine (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 9: Care for the Widows (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 10: Godly Elders and Spiritual Authority (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 11: Warnings to the Rich (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 12: Fight the Good Fight (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
As a church, we want to be people marked by God’s Word. For only in His Word do we find the death-defying, hope-giving good news of Jesus. In His Word, we see an invitation to a way of life that is overflowing with joy, peace, and love not only in the life to come but in the here and now.
Because of this, we want to put every effort into making us into Word-marked people. We do this by preaching the Bible on Sundays, bringing it into our lives throughout the week in our LifeGroups, and creating resources to help you abide with Jesus regularly.
One of those resources is this 1 Timothy Bible Study Reading Plan. In this e-book, you’ll find the book broken down into smaller passages to help you slowly take in what we’re going through on Sundays. Along with that, we’ll be studying other passages in the Bible that connect with the bigger ideas in 1 Timothy throughout the week.
We want to see God’s Spirit move, to push back spiritual darkness, and bring His Kingdom here in Columbia. In the Bible and in church history, we see the Spirit of God unleashed when God’s people wage war on their knees in prayer. To that end, as long as we physically can’t gather together, we’ll be gathering virtually to pray for our church, our city, and our world. We’ll pray Wednesdays at 8am for 30 minutes through the video conferencing platform Zoom.
These calls will be facilitated by Midtown leadership or prayer team members and will last for up to 30 minutes. To take part in this make sure to sign up below no later than 24 hours before the Zoom call that week. Once signed up, you will receive a link Tuesday evening to our call the next morning.
In the meantime as we prepare our hearts to pray together, we invite you to do three things
1 - Get equipped. To help us see the power of regular intercessory prayer in our lives and the life of our church, read the article “Kingdom-centered Prayer” by Tim Keller.
2 - Abide. The more we are personally with Jesus through regular Bible reading and prayer, the more we can serve our family in prayer. If you don’t have regular time in the Bible or don’t know where to start, follow along in our 1 Timothy Bible Study Plan or go to our Abide page.
3 - Consider fasting. When we fast we are more empowered by God’s Spirit and our love for others increases (Luke 4:1, 14, Isaiah 58:6, John 4:34, Matt 4:4). So before coming together to pray, we ask you to consider what you might give up to get more of God. Examples can include forgoing food, alcohol, TV or anything else that “grips your soul” for 24 hours before meeting. To learn more about fasting, listen to our sermon, “Fighting with Fasting.”
If you have any questions, contact Jake Blair.
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” - 1 Timothy 2:1
When followers of Jesus pray for God’s kingdom to come, the Spirit answers. So as a church family, we will be praying in specific ways for each day of the week, as we ask Jesus to work in and through this series:
Monday
Pray for our church to be a “pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Pray that we would defend and cling to right doctrine which would lead to right hearts that produce in us right love for God and for others.
Tuesday
Pray for needs within our church right now - those in your LifeGroup or others - who are struggling. Pray that they would draw near to God in this season.
Wednesday
Pray for our church family to fight for spiritual health and maturity. Pray that we would all “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Tim 4:16) and “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim 6:12).
Thursday
Pray for the leadership in our church - for the elders/pastors, coaches, LifeGroup leaders, directors and others who serve in various ministries. Pray that they would draw near to God and that he would sustain them with wisdom and joy as they lead.
Friday
Pray for Citizens Church Charlotte. For all of the logistical details - jobs, housing, etc. For them to experience unity as a new church plant. Pray that the core team members would grow in their walks with the Lord and that people in Charlotte would come to know and love Jesus through Citizens Church.
Saturday
Pray for tomorrow’s Gathering - that whether we are together or apart, we would experience unity as a church family. Pray that we would be engaged with worship and the teaching of God’s Word. Pray that God would speak to us through conviction or encouragement.
Sunday
Pray for you and our church family to Sabbath well today. Pray that we take the time to stop our work, get physical rest, delight in God’s good gifts, and worship Jesus together.
Recommended Reading
As a church, we’re committed to providing you with helpful resources to better understand who Jesus is and how to live in light of that. The following titles were used for our current series. For more recommendations go to our Bookstore.