Elementary Level, Block 10—Apostles / Paul
Week 98
Timothy—Being a Pattern in Word and Conduct
Point to Emphasize: We can be patterns in what we say and in what we do.
Reference Reading: 1 Timothy 4:12; Life-study of 1 Timothy, Message 8
Memory Verse: Let no one despise your youth, but be a pattern … in word, in conduct… (1 Timothy 4:12a)
Story Sample
In the Bible, Paul wrote two letters to Timothy [show them in the Bible]. So, you might think that Timothy was a very important man, right? He was important to God, but others just saw him as someone who was young, not so healthy, and not so sure of himself. Yet Paul charged Timothy to be a pattern in word and in conduct. Often people whom we look up to as patterns are a lot older than us. But here Paul is strongly charging a young one that he must be an example in how to talk to others, in what kind of words he should let out of his mouth, as well as how he ought to behave around others.
Sometimes we are not so careful in what we say to others. Maybe you are outside playing ball with your friends and one of them drops the ball. You begin to make fun of them for dropping the ball, and the next thing you know, everyone else is also making fun of them. That’s because they followed you as a pattern. But, if you had instead said something encouraging to them, like, “That’s all right, just try again”, your other friends might have followed you to do the same thing.
Maybe this is how Timothy became a pattern in word. He certainly must have taken care of what words came out of his mouth. And he probably took care of how he spoke to others.
Paul also told Timothy to be a good pattern in his conduct, in how he behaved and acted. He trusted Timothy to be this kind of a person, one who was a good example to others.
One night we had a number of boys over for dinner. After we were done eating, I started to clear the dirty plates from the table. One of these boys stood up and started doing the same. Soon another joined him, and then two of them were cleaning up. I really appreciated their help. Now tell me, what caused the second boy to start clearing the dirty dishes from the table? [Let the children guess.] Right! He was following the pattern of the first one. [Storyteller, share your own story.]
We should follow the ones who are good patterns in what they say and in what they do. Not only that, but WE should also be the ones who are good patterns in what we say and in what we do. We can be like Timothy! Even though he was young, weak, and timid, he was still a pattern to others by his speaking and by his conduct. We are not too young to be a pattern to others in what we say and how we behave. Let’s practice for the rest of this day to be a pattern to others in what we say, how we say it, and in what we do.