SERMON TITLE: “Set an Example”

SERMON TEXT: 1 Timothy 4:6-16 (also Jeremiah 1:4-10)

INTRODUCTION

For several months I’ve known that today would be the day when Stephen Boyer was going to

speak about our church’s youth ministries back in the 1960s and 70s. When it became apparent that today

was also going to be a big day for the youth fundraiser—Save It or Shave It—it seemed appropriate to

dedicate this service to youth. That’s why, instead of going to their Sunday School class, the youth are in

worship with us today, lighting the candles, giving their announcement, and reading scripture.

Since the teenagers are here with us, I want to take this opportunity to say “Thank you!” again to

the youth who helped with Vacation Bible School. The youth really added a lot. By serving as puppeteer,

science assistant, and crew leaders, they demonstrated to the children how to be quiet, listen, and pay

attention--and how to speak up and participate when it’s time for that. As the youth joined in the singing

and the motions to the songs, they really encouraged the children to engage and get excited. As the youth

showed enthusiasm for learning, they set a wonderful example for the kids.

Each of today’s scripture readings speaks about a young person that God called into ministry. In

the children’s sermon time, we heard about young Samuel, whom God called in the middle of the night to

become a special prophet of God. At a young age, Samuel started paying close attention to God’s voice,

and he served as an important spiritual leader of Israel.

The reading from Jeremiah told us how God called that young man to speak God’s words to the

people. When Jeremiah said, “Ah, Lord God! I don’t know how to speak, for I am only a boy,” the Lord

replied, “Don’t say that you’re only a boy . . . for you shall speak whatever I command you.” And speak he

did. The book of Jeremiah has 52 chapters; it’s one of the longest books in the Bible.

And then, last but not least, there’s our reading from First Timothy. In chapter one, verses six

through sixteen, we hear an older mentor giving advice to young Timothy. In verse 12, that mentor says,
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“Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example.” Learning doesn’t only go in one

direction—from the old to the young. The young also have a lot that they can teach believers of any age.

So, this sermon today is especially for the youth. But whether we’re young or in our mature years, let’s dig

into this scripture this morning and see how we can prepare ourselves to set an example.

1—TRAIN YOURSELF IN GODLINESS

The first pointer we get in this passage is in verse seven. There, the instruction to young Timothy is,

“train yourself in godliness.” If we are going to set an example for other believers, we have to know what

we’re doing. We have to be ready. We have to be fit. The writer indicates that physical training has some

value. It’s good to build strength by working your heart, lungs, and muscles. But what’s even more

important is to be spiritually fit. We need to be trained in godliness.

How does that happen? Well, just like physical exercise, we need to exercise our spiritual muscles.

We need to put ourselves through daily training in the spiritual disciplines of praying, reading the Bible,

attending worship, and participating in classes and Christian fellowship. We need to practice generosity, do

service projects, and speak about our faith with other people outside the church. We need to trust in God

in difficult times, so our faith muscles can be tested and grow.

Since the instruction is to train ourselves in godliness, we might ask, what is godliness? What is

that righteousness and goodness that God wants us to believe, think, and do? Determining God’s will can

sometimes be challenging. Fortunately, in the United Methodist Church, we have a training exercise that

helps us out a lot. It’s called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. That’s a fancy way of saying that John Wesley

taught that there are four sources of authority to help us discern God’s will and expectations. First, we ask,

“What does the Bible say?” Second, we ask, “What does church tradition tell us?” Third, we ask, “What

does reason say about this?” Fourth, we ask, “What does our human experience tell us?” No matter what

belief or behavior we have a question about, we can put it into this four-sided box called the Wesleyan

Quadrilateral and see what comes out.

Using the Wesleyan Quadrilateral takes some work and some practice, and definitely some time.

You certainly might need the help of other Christians to figure this out. But the exercise is really good.

When you put your godliness question into that box and stir it around with those four sources of authority,

usually you can come out with a pretty good answer of what God wants you to believe and do. And that

really is good training in godliness.

2—CONDUCT YOURSELF IN LOVE

Of course, there’s more to setting an example than just going through the training to know what

godliness is. For those who are going to set an example, verse 12 also gives the instruction to conduct

yourself in love. Lots of people know and maybe even talk a lot about the right thing to do and then still fail

to do it. They don’t practice what they preach, and that sets up a situation of hypocrisy.

That’s why First Timothy chapter four indicates that how we speak, how we behave, and how we

live out our faith should all be determined by love in our hearts. If there’s ever a question about which way

we should go or which thing we should do, the greatest purity test is always love. If there’s ever a conflict

of values or understandings of God’s expectations, love is what should prevail.

Being godly or righteous isn’t as much about being right as it is about loving other people. When

Jesus was questioned about why he and his disciples didn’t obey Jewish purity laws, he always went to the

heart of the matter. Be compassionate. Be kind. Be considerate. Be respectful. Don’t say cruel things.

Don’t hurt people with your deeds or your words. Jesus taught that, if there’s any question or conflict

between competing rules or values, the two laws that supersede all others are to love God with all your

heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

I think that’s what the Apostle Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 13, where he wrote, “If I speak in

the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I

have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to
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move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over

my body to the flames, but do not have love, I gain nothing” (vv. 1-3).

We can know, say, and do a lot of things right, but if we don’t operate from a place of love, none of

our righteousness matters. Whether young or old, to set an example, we must conduct ourselves in love.

3—DON’T NEGLECT THE GIFT THAT IS IN YOU

So, to set an example, we hear the instruction to train yourself in godliness and conduct yourself in

love. A third suggestion given to young Timothy and to us is found in verse 14: “Don’t neglect the gift that

is in you.”

God made you unique for a reason. You have special talents. Like we learned in Superhero VBS,

you have special powers. Use them. Be proud of who you are. Speak up. Stand up. Use your gifts to

proclaim God’s word. Through art, drama, music, sports, science, construction, business endeavors,

volunteering in the community, teaching Sunday school, social activism, your amazing personality, your

hobbies, your preaching, whatever! Discover the niche God has created you to fill and use that gift for

good. Set a positive example in whatever field of interest and expertise God has given you.

Notice our instruction isn’t to do something that is boring to us or impossible for us. Instead, we’re

told not to neglect the gift that is already in us—something that should come fairly naturally. Sure, we can

all hone our skills through practice. Even natural talent can be improved and perfected with time and

effort. But the gifts God has given us usually are something inherent in who we are, something we enjoy,

and something that’s fulfilling to our soul.

Sometimes we stifle who we are because we’re timid or ashamed. Maybe someone has criticized

us or belittled who we are. Maybe we think our unique gift isn’t really appropriate or helpful. But when

we’re fulfilling our God-given potential and having a blast making the most of the unique gifts that God has

given us, that authenticity will be attractive and helpful to other people. God has made us varied and
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unique so that the gospel message can be told in a variety of ways and written on a variety of lives and

hearts. You set an example when you don’t neglect the gift that is in you.

CONCLUSION

As I was trying to think how to conclude this sermon, I typed the words “United Methodist youth

set example” into my Google search engine. What came up at the top was a news story about a youth

group from the city of Orange, Texas. The Orange First United Methodist Church has given their youth a

high level of responsibility for managing their own youth ministry. Every Sunday night, the youth group

time begins with a fellowship meal. Then they have prayer time in the chapel, skits or videos made by the

students to introduce a lesson concept, the presentation of the lesson, small group discussion, and games.

With prior preparation assistance from their youth pastor, their parents, and other volunteers, the youth

help lead all those different parts.

Trent Brown, a high school junior who serves on the Youth Council Games Committee, says his

youth group is a place where the youth accept one another and that the youth “can be vulnerable and ask

for prayer about anything.” As for his own part in the leadership, Trent says that “leading games has been a

blast this year . . . It’s awesome to see everyone play a game I pick or make up and really enjoy it or learn

from it!”*

Every youth group is different, just like every person is different. But no matter who we are or how

old we are, God has called us train ourselves in godliness, conduct ourselves in love, and not to neglect the

gift that is in us. Whether we’re old or whether we’re young, that’s how we will set an example.

*https://www.txcumc.org/newsdetail/first-umc-orange-youth-lead-by-example-8093869