Great Indeed Is the Mystery of Godliness

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray closed out the ecclesiology section of 1 Timothy by walking through just three verses, 1 Timothy 3:14-16, and the ancient hymn embedded in them. The message turned on what it means for the church to be a pillar and buttress of the truth, and on the Christ-centered song Paul places at the heart of that claim. Paul's tone shifts in verse 14. After chapters of instructions about overseers,...

Read together

1. Psalm 16:11 quoted in opening prayer about God showing the way of life and granting joy of His presence
2. 1 Timothy 3:14-16 the passage being preached, covering how one ought to behave in the household of God and the hymn about Christ
3. Matthew 6:33 quoted near the close: seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added

Talk about it

1. Paul tells Timothy he is writing so that if he is delayed, Timothy will know 'how one ought to behave in the household of God.' What does it mean to you personally that the church is described as a household rather than, say, an organization or an institution?
2. Pastor Ray said that who we are controls what we do, and that Christianity is about being first, then doing. Where do you find yourself tempted to reverse that order, trying to do things in order to become something?
3. The passage in 1 Timothy 3:16 is widely understood to be an early Christian hymn or song. Why do you think the early church put its core beliefs about Jesus into song, and what does that tell us about how music functions in faith?
4. Pastor Ray asked everyone to think of a Christ-centered hymn or song they hold on to in hard times or joyful times. What song came to mind for you, and why does it stick with you the way it does?
5. Pastor Ray closed by noting that not everyone grew up with a mother or grandmother who sang hymns or passed on faith through music, and then he said 'you can be' that person for others, pointing to the church as a kind of mother. How have people in this congregation, or in a church community at some point in your life, passed on something of faith to you the way a family would?