The Lifeblood of the Christian Church

2 Timothy 1:1-2 January 19, 2025 Pastor Ricky Alcantar

Thesis The gospel torch is passed through gospel relationships—vertical transformation with God creates horizontal transformation with others, and this relational transmission is the mechanism by which the faith moves from generation to generation.

Series

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Type

Expository

Tone

pastoraldidacticcelebratory

Method

grammatical-historicalredemptive-historicalapplicatory

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

23 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #15

"Applies the principle of progressive discipleship to everyday Christian life. Gives concrete examples (navigating a difficult job, parenting young children) to show how believers at different stages can help one another. Establishes the mutual reality: every Christian is both being discipled and should be discipling in different areas of life."

Doctrinal loci· 8 surfaced

Ecclesiology · 14 Sanctification · 7 Soteriology · 4 Christology · 2 Providence / Sovereignty · 2 Bibliology · 1 Hamartiology · 1 Pastoral Theology · 1

Bible citations· 18

Illustrations· 3

historical example · unit #1 — Develops the governing metaphor of the sermon: the Olympic torch relay as an image of generational gospel transmission. Draws the listener into the experience of being a torch bearer—the anxiety, the responsibility, the relief of successful handoff—to establish emotional connection to the theme of passing faith to the next generation.
personal story · unit #18 — Illustrates the distinctive 'temperature' of gospel relationships with a personal story. A diverse group of pastors from different countries and backgrounds display warmth and affection that is so noticeable a stranger asks 'What is this?' The illustration demonstrates that gospel love creates bonds that are visible and confusing to outsiders.
historical example · unit #20 — Returns to the Olympic torch metaphor to address the fear of failure. Catalogs the 2016 Brazil torch relay disasters (athletes tripping, protesters blocking, people throwing water and fire extinguishers) to build anxiety about dropping the torch. Then reveals the safety mechanism: the torch burns in two places, with an internal flame that can reignite the visible flame if it goes out.

Theological claims· 2

The gospel torch is passed through gospel relationships—both our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationships with one another. unit #4
The gospel creates relationships that transcend all human categories of difference, producing a diversity of unity that is impossible in the world and testifies to the power of the gospel. unit #11

Quotations· 1

"Everything that we read in this letter is written not merely in ink, but in Paul's lifeblood, like every phrase." — John Calvin (unit #2)

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0 · Introduces the text (2 Timothy 1:1-2) and frames the sermon's relevance as addressing the critical task of passing the gospel torch to the next generation, both in the broader American church context and specifically at Cross of Grace

Second Timothy, if you would. We're just going to be reading the opening two verses, but as you will see, these are packed with meaning and will be God addressing us at this crucial moment in our church history, both as the American church and us as Cross of Grace in terms of what it looks like to pass the torch to the next generation. Second Timothy, chapter one, verse one. This is God's word.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my beloved child, Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. This is God's word. Lord, I pray that you would bless the preaching and hearing of your word today. Instruct us and lead us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

1 · Develops the governing metaphor of the sermon: the Olympic torch relay as an image of generational gospel transmission

Well, I love the Olympics, but I There are some of you that know all about the sports, that can talk sports, and you love the actual athleticism. I am not that kind of Olympic fan. I am here for the spectacle of the thing. I'm a ceremonies guy. I'm a big statement guy. And one of the things about the Olympic ceremonies I love is the Olympic torch, this idea that we've pursued the last number of decades where the torch is lit in Greece and then carried to some place in the world where we will hold the Olympic Games. And I did some research this week about when did that start? Well, it started kind of in earnest in 1936 when they decided to carry the torch from Olympia to Berlin, which is a journey of 1980 miles.

It was a massive undertaking. The at one point, an entire highway section had to be constructed because they couldn't get from here to there. And the conditions were. This was in the summer. The conditions were oppressive. Sometimes the temperatures soared up to 120 degrees. And one of the unique things about the 1936 run was that they decided to about every kilometer have a different runner. So it wasn't like, hey, man, you take it, you run 10k, you run a marathon and we'll take the. Nope. It's like every kilometer there's a new person. In fact, they had to recruit 3,000 runners to get from Olympia to Berlin. And I was looking up some images and the press loved it. I mean, it was just dramatic. It was amazing. So you'd have people taking pictures of the handoff.

And I, I could put myself in that moment where because it's 3,000 people, look, they're not all star athletes or politicians or famous people. There's just random people at some point, you know, you're like, this guy looks fine. He's got, you know, yeah, sure, why not? That guy? And so you end up thinking, okay, great, here comes the torch. And if, if. If these runners are anything like me, I'm thinking, this sounds great. This sounds great. And then as the torch is coming, you start to go, oh, my gosh, my hands are way sweaty. Like, why are my hands so sweaty? I'm gonna drop the thing. And so you're trying to wipe your hands off. And it's coming, it's coming. And the press is, like, waiting to take the photo. And you're like, oh, my gosh. Steady hand, steady hand, steady hand, steady hand. And you grab it and you have that feeling of it's new. Now it's me, I've got it, I've got the torch. And you're running and running. And then maybe in the distance, you begin to finally see the next person. And the whole point of your life in that moment becomes, I just gotta get this torch over there without tripping. And so you're going, look up, look down, look up, look down. Hold it tight, not too tight, hold it tight, you know, and you have all this stuff going on in your head until finally the moment comes where you light the next one, make sure they're off. And then in my case, collapse, right? And you have all of these people, all 3,000 of these people, this seemingly endless chain from one place to the next.

2 · Establishes the historical and canonical context of 2 Timothy as Paul's final letter, written from prison at the end of his life

And that is the book of second Timothy in a nutshell. Second Timothy is written to a young man who has received and is receiving the torch. Paul is running the last leg of his journey and perhaps runs next to him for just a minute before Timothy, his torch lit, is going to sail off beyond Paul. Paul is at the end of his life. He is in a Roman prison. He knows his days are numbered. And this is, by most accounts, what scholars believe is the last thing Paul wrote, the last epistle, the last letter Paul ever wrote. And what is on his mind is this passing of the torch. What is on his mind is charging Timothy to carry the torch, to light his torch and carry it faithfully and pass it on to others. Paul knows that if he can do one more thing in his life, it is ensure that this handoff goes well, because the entire Gospel is at stake. The church itself is at stake. Whether the Gospel continues to spread through the generations and out into the world, and whether the church continues to thrive through. Through the generations and out into the world depends on this passing of the torch. And so Paul. Well, Paul, imbues every phrase in this letter with meaning. John Calvin says this. Everything that we read in this letter is written not merely in ink, but in Paul's lifeblood, like every phrase. That's why we're going to break down just verses one and two this week. And we're not even going to get to all of the words. That's what that, that's how important each of these phrases is.

3 · Personalizes the sermon's urgency by tracing the preacher's own shift from passive recipient to active torch bearer

And let me just back up before jumping in. Let me just say I think this, this is a crucial moment for us as a church. I grew up in the church, here in the church. And when I grew up in the church, we would hear messages about the next generation and it'd be like, we gotta make sure the gospel goes to the next generation. And I, I was like, yep, you gotta make sure the gospel gets to me. So good luck guys. You know, go for it, pass it on to me, you know. And the charge was always to my parents, my parents generation. And now at about 39, I've realized that I shift, I have shifted the way that I think about second Timothy because I no longer think Paul's writing to my parents. I have realized Paul is writing to me and to my soon to be teenager and younger kids and the kids after them and their kids. And this is a moment in our church at Cross of Grace in which it's a unique moment. We have people at different stages of the relay of the passing of the torch. Some maybe are in the last stretch, the last decade. Maybe you're right there. Maybe you're, you're with Paul and you're, you and Paul's charge to you is, okay, follow my example and hand this off. Well, or maybe you're, you're in the middle of life and you're like me or Timothy or others. And the charges, okay, receive the handoff and prepare to hand it off. Or maybe you're younger, maybe you're a teenager and you're going, okay, the, the passing of the torch is not something that's going to happen someday. You can see it in the distance coming towards you. Are you ready for that? So second Timothy is relevant for all of us.

4 · States the sermon's main thesis: the gospel advances through history via gospel relationships, not programs or materials

And today I, I, I just want to make a very simple but, but I hope profound point because it is the point that Paul is making. Simple, easy to overlook, but profound. And it's this. The gospel torch is passed through something the gospel torch is passed through through gospel relationships. The passing of the torch, that moment where it goes from here to here, that happens through relationship, not through a pamphlet, not through a seminar. But through relationship. And we're going to see two aspects of relationship. First, Paul's relationship or our relationship to God, and then Paul's relationship to Timothy and our relationship to others.

5 · Expounds Paul's self-description in verse 1, tracing how meeting Christ gave Paul three things: a new identity (from persecutor to apostle), a new purpose (from self-defined to Christ-commissioned), and a new story (from death to the promise of life)

So first notice this. Paul starts with his relationship, not with Timothy, but with God. That's where the passing of the torch starts. Paul, it says, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Now, this immediately would be shocking to anyone who knows Paul's story. Paul did not start out into the story of the New Testament as an apostle of Jesus Christ. His biography was Paul, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisee, an exceller at the strictest sect of Judaism and persecutor of the church of Jesus Christ. Prior to this, he would have devoted himself to persecuting, jailing, hurting, possibly killing Christians, at least approving as they were killed. So what changed? How did he receive this new identity? Because he was transformed by his relationship with Christ Jesus. When he met Jesus, his biography forever changed. Similarly for the Christian, whoever we were, whoever we found ourselves to be, whatever we defined ourselves by, it gets transformed by our relationship with God. Notice it says an apostle of Jesus Christ. So? So Paul isn't just given a new identity as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Apostle. That word means sent. One somebody sent out. Now, this can be in the New Testament, a technical term. So the way I think of it is that there are some capital A apostles in the New Testament defined by being commissioned by the living Jesus Christ and sent to establish the church. So. So there's a sense in which, okay, we don't relate at all to that, but there is a sense in which we all relate to the category of being a sent one by Jesus Christ, meaning that when Christ transforms our lives and gives us a new identity, he also gives us a new purpose. Every. Hear me when I say this. Every single Christian who has met Christ has their purpose reset by their relationship with Christ. Look, we. In our culture today, we often ask kids a question over and over and over again from when they're five. I mean, people have asked Anson this, and he's five, and he could barely tie his shoes. And I don't even know if he can. Can he? I'm not sure. I probably should check. But the. The question we always ask little people is, hey, little Johnny, what do you want to be when you grow up? We live in a culture where that's not a bad question. I mean, everybody's got to do something. But our primary orientation as a culture is you define what you want to Become. That's not what Paul's doing. Paul is saying, if you're transformed by Jesus, you are given a purpose by Jesus. And so your life question is not first, what do you want to be when you grow up? It is, what does Jesus want you to be as you grow up into him, into Christ. Right? So that, that means. That's radical. I want you to feel that that's radical. It means whoever you are, whatever you do, your life purpose, if you have met Jesus, becomes completely changed. And, and therefore you need to be asking, okay, what does Christ want me to do? And, and this, this sentence, the sentence of Christian life is, is applied not just to Paul, not just to the apostles, but to all. In Matthew 28, where Jesus gathers all his disciples and says, go therefore. And what? And make disciples. Meaning, as I have transformed you, you are to be sent to transform others as they meet Jesus. And so Paul is given a new identity, a new purpose, and then a new. The way I would say this, he's given a new story. And I see that in the end of verse one where it says that he is an apostle by the will of God, according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus. Now that may just sound like a churchy phrase. You know, sometimes I don't know if you do this, but sometimes when I'm praying, especially in public with people, I'll just add like churchy sounding things, you know, just kind of spice it up a little bit. You don't just say, oh, dear Lord. You're like, dear heavenly Lord, Father, Master, universe, Maker of all royal things forever. You know, you're just like kind of just trying to. That's not what Paul's doing here. He's not, he's not adding phrases. This is extremely intentional. He says, I have become a new person sent to do a new thing according to something, according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus. This is actually a reference to a huge thread in the Old Testament. So in the Old Testament you have this contrast where God creates the world with life, but humanity chooses sin and death, and as a result, death enters the world and that should be the end of the story. But God, as it were, interrupts the story with the promise of life. This is the promise he gives Abraham. This is the promise he calls his people to in places like Deuteronomy 30, where he says he sets life in front of his people. In Psalm 16, the Psalmist says, you make known to me the path of life. Isaiah 55, God invites His people Come to me that your soul may live. And so God keeps holding out life in a world of death. I'm holding out the promise of life, holding out the promise of life. But notice how the promise of life finally bursts fully into the world. It is life that is in Christ Jesus. Jesus. And so this relationship to Jesus, you see what Paul was missing, even as a Hebrew of Hebrews and Pharisee of Pharisees, he was missing the promise of life coming in Christ Jesus. And this is the beauty of the gospel story that. That people like Paul who actually were opposed to God, even though they thought they were serving God, opposed to God, were choosing death because of Jesus. Going to the what, to the cross and dying. The death that they deserved brings them into the new life of resurrection, that they might be transformed. You see the gospel story here according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus. And that means that Paul's story, he thought it was Paul, Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisees, of Pharisees, it actually was Paul, hater of God, destroyer of his precious people in church. But now in Christ, he's been brought into a new story. He's been sent out according to the promise of life that comes through Jesus Christ. I mean, isn't that glorious? That Paul. Paul's biography here is completely different than it ever would have been apart from Christ Jesus. The thing that changes and reshapes Paul is his encounter with Jesus, being given purpose by Jesus and being brought into the story of Jesus.

6 · Evangelistic application addressing non-Christians or those who have drifted from the faith

And look, before we do anything else, before we talk about passing the torch, before we do all of that other stuff, let me just encourage you. If you don't know where you are with the Lord, if you did not perhaps grow up in church, or maybe you've wandered and haven't been to church for years. I know a couple things about you, even if I haven't met you. One is I know you've experienced the reality of death in the world around us. I know that you have deadness in your relationships, right? Relationships break. That life is ultimately unsatisfying. That taking the best vacation, buying the fanciest thing still leaves you feeling hollow. And I know why that is. I know because of Genesis 3. Because when death entered the world, it brought it destroyed the promise of life that God once held out for us, that we were made for. But I also know that good news, because of Christ Jesus, you too can have the transformation. Paul has had that where he was once only living his life according to his will and leading to death, he has had a New biography written for him by Jesus Christ, who interrupted his story, saved him and sent him with the purpose of sharing that life with others. And you can be brought into that story. Listen, I've talked to people over the years that are like, oh man, I'm just not, I'm not almost like I'm not cut out to be a Christian. I'm not cut out for church. I have a messed up life. I'm not, I can't do that. Fred, look at the apostle Paul, right? His biography starts with clapping as somebody gets stoned to death in front of him because of, because they love Jesus. He goes from that to this. How? Because of Christ Jesus. Because of the promise of life in Christ held out to him. Friend, you can have the same rewrite of your biography today. If you look back at your life and you're like, I don't love this story, it's not going great. You can have a new story, the story of life in Christ Jesus.

7 · Application to Christians who have drifted into living according to their own will rather than their Christ-given identity and purpose

Look that friend, that is good news. And the way that that applies then to those of us who are in Christ is we should never lose the reality that Christianity is meant to be radically reshaped when we encounter Jesus. I think too many times we as Christians are like, man, I get saved and then I'm still living life according to my will, according to looking for life in all the wrong places. We drift back looking for life in the world and we don't find it there. This should grab us, as it were, and recenter us and say, hey Christian, remember your new identity. Remember you have a new purpose. Remember that you have a new story. And the question is, are you living like Paul out of it? When people look at your life, is the headline, this kind of a headline, which is, you know, it could be Ricky, lover of books, lover of weird obscure literature, hopefully a good dad. You know, that's the way I often live my life, as if I'm, that's what I'm pursuing. And, and this says, no, no, no, Christian, listen, remember you are Ricky Ascent, one of Jesus Christ according to his will, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus. That's your purpose. That's what you wake up and think and then you, you live your day differently. So first changed. Look, that's the whole reason you're even in the relay line trying to pass the torch. I think some Christians are not even in the line. They're wandered off, right? It's like if you got those 3,000 people lined up, every once in a while somebody just wanders off. And they're like, what are you doing? We need you for the torch. And they're like, hang on, I'm looking for some, I'm looking for a coffee shop. You know, you're like, no, get back in the line, right? So sometimes maybe for some of us it's like, hey, maybe you've wondered, you need to get back, you need to recenter.

8 · Pivots from the vertical dimension (relationship with God) to the horizontal dimension (relationship with others)

But then there's a second aspect here. Not only is does the Gospel affect our relationship with God, the Gospel also affects our relationship with others.

9 · Expounds verse 2 by returning to Acts 16 to establish the natural impossibility of Paul and Timothy's relationship

Look at verse two, if you would. It says to Timothy, my beloved child, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. So when our vertical relationship with God changes, it then begins to ripple out and change all of our relationships along the horizontal plane. And notice a couple things. First, notice that the Gospel creates an entirely different basis for Christians to relate to one another. In Acts 16 when we meet Timothy, it does not sound like a promising relationship for Paul and timothy because here 16:1 says this, Paul came to Derby and to Lisra. A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. Now notice that Paul and Timothy, when they first encounter one another, if, if we're just looking at their relationship through worldly sort of terms, this is not a promising start to a relationship. Paul, if you could say it this way, is the purest of the pure of the Jewish people, the Pharisee of the Pharisees, the Hebrew of the Hebrews. He's taught by the most prominent scholar in Judaism. And on the other hand, we have Timothy, who would have been seen by most Jewish people as a shameful half breed of a child. We don't know all the circumstances here, but we know that Timothy's mother violated the law by marrying or having a child with a Greek. And in fact, we know that there was a prominent influence of his father away from Judaism because Timothy isn't even circumcised, which would have been huge for the Jewish people. And, and as a result, Timothy would grow up having no culture, not accepted by the Greeks because he was, well, he's from a Jewish mother and not accepted by the Jews because, well, he's a Greek father. It's this, this shame. And notice this, if Paul was in his old mode with his old biography, he would have gone, his reaction to Timothy would have been like, oh, get away from me, get away from me.

10 · Contrasts worldly relationship bases (natural, circumstantial, transactional) with the gospel basis of Christian relationship

Look, so many relationships in our world today go would go the same way. There's, there's usually just a few different bases for relationship in our world. We have natural relationships. Like, okay, we have some natural connection. We have a family history. We, we have the same country, the same ethnicity. Or we might have circumstantial relationship. Like, we, we. We are thrown together and we have to get along. You think about your neighbors or your, you know, cubicle, coworkers right around you. You just, you're thrown together. And as long as you're in that circumstance, you have to relate. But, but it's not like you're still sending Christmas cards to Bob, the guy who was in your cubicle 15 years ago, usually, right? Or we have transactional relationships where we need something from one another, right? I do this work, you give me money, right? Or even dating relationships. I do this for you, you do this for me. So all that's the way that we do relationships in the world. It's natural or circumstantial or transactional. Paul and Timothy have none of these. They have no natural connection, no circumstantial connection, no nothing they need from one another. So how do they form a relationship that lasts through the entire New Testament? The basis of the relationship is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You have two things about Timothy. Notice he's named as a disciple not of Paul, but of Jesus. And what did we just learn about Paul? He is a disciple of Jesus and follower of Jesus. And this new Gospel basis breaks down all the barriers that would have been erected in the ancient world and brings them together such that Paul sees Timothy not as a half breed, not as a shameful person, but rather as a disciple of Jesus sent by Jesus that he wants to bring along for the work of Jesus.

11 · Draws out the ecclesiological implications: Christian community is radically diverse in ways that are incomprehensible apart from the gospel

Look, that. That means that relationships among Christians are unlike any relationships in the world. I. One time, a number of years ago, somebody came and they had. They were kind of figuring out their relationship with God and they were not necessarily thinking in Christian terms. And they, they came to church a few times and they said, man, that's so. Your church is so weird. And I was like, why? What do you mean by that? I mean, yeah, but what specifically are you referring to? And here's what they said. I've never forgotten this. They were like, I think that's the most. That room is the most diverse place I've been to in El Paso. Because, like, I just see people, Disney's, different ages, different backgrounds, like blue collar, white collar, no collar, right. There's just all these different people. I just. It's so weird. And I tried to explain to him, that's the gospel. That's the gospel that. It doesn't make sense. Apart from all of our biographies being written by Jesus, rewritten by Jesus, and brought together by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the basis of our relationship is not our politics, not our ethnicity, not our nationality, not our common interests. It is the gospel. Gospel of Jesus Christ. Notice that at the end, Paul says, and Christ Jesus our Lord. Look, primarily, Timothy is not Paul's disciple. He is Jesus disciple. And Paul himself is not a master. He is a disciple. Both answer to the same Lord and notice. And the Father, he talks about grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, meaning that they both have a relationship to God now through Jesus and as their Father, which makes them brothers in Christ. So whether or not you know the people in this room, you know a couple things about them. If they are disciples of Jesus, Jesus is their Lord and God is their Father. And that is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

12 · Applies the theological claim about gospel-based relationships to the awkward social reality of building friendships at church

Look, there's lots of times in life where you. You end up hanging out with people from church and you're like trying to find stuff to talk about. You're like, you see the game and they're like, what game? You're like, okay, well. And then they try something. Oh, yeah, yeah. I was watching this show. It was about this. And you're like, aha. And you're just trying topics, like trying to find something. So did you grow up here? No. Okay. You know, it's pretty cold out there, huh? Yeah, like you're just trying to find anything. Look, here is why we as Christians want to do the work of fighting to build relationships. Because we have the opportunity to build relationships that will be unlike any other relationships in the world. And when we do is a testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ doing what the world could never do. So we have a different basis for relationship.

13 · Introduces the second characteristic of gospel relationships: they have movement and progression

Second, we have a different movement to our relationships. Notice this, that when Christians relate, they don't stand still. When Christians relate, they push each other forward in relationship with Jesus. I'm saying that is. Is there's a movement of relationships. So notice this. As soon as Paul and Timothy meet in Acts 16, very quickly, all of a sudden, Timothy is brought along into Paul's work. So it says in verse 16, for as they went their way. Who's they? Paul and Timothy. Their way through the cities. They delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders. And so the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. So. So Paul doesn't Just go, hey, great, Timothy, awesome. You're gonna hang out with me. He brings Timothy into the work. That word child, beloved child. That word child is not just a term of affection. It actually is more of a vocational term. And what I mean by that is in the ancient world, if you had a father, son relationship, it meant, yeah, you're going to have a family relationship. But you're actually what Paul's referring to here more is a passing of the trade relationship. So in First Timothy, he says, my true child, meaning you're the guy who gets it. Timothy. I've trained a bunch of guys, but you get it. You're, you're picking up the trade. So if you were in, you know, medieval times, a baker, that's your last name, guess what your occupation's going to be. You're going to bake, right? That's how your family got its name. Or if you're a smith. It's not like I want to be a baker. No, son, you're a smith. Here's the metal tools. You're going to learn to work with them. But I want to be a baker. Look at your last name. You're not a baker, right? That's the way that it went in the ancient world. And Paul is saying in that sense, Timothy is his child. Paul is the, as you, if you could think of it this way, the master craftsman who's training his apprentice Timothy to take up the trade of gospel ministry.

14 · Traces the four-stage progression of Paul discipling Timothy through the book of Acts: (1) I do, you watch (Acts 16), (2) I do, you help (Acts 17), (3) You do, I help (Acts 19), (4) You do, you train others (1-2 Timothy)

And you see this, this passing on of the trade throughout Timothy in the book of Acts. We could spend all morning on this, but I just want to give you a few categories. So in Acts 16, Paul brings Timothy to work. Now this is a radical bring Timothy to work because it is a radical entrance to gospel ministry. Here's what happens. Timothy leaves his old life behind, gets circumcised and starts living the life of a wandering, homeless, itinerant teacher. Welcome to the job, son. Like this is, this is how Paul begins. He brings Timothy, but then by Acts chapter 17, we see something happening. Paul starts a work in a town and then moves on to another town, but leaves Timothy behind to finish the work. And then in Acts 19, Paul sends Timothy to start a new work himself and then follows up with Timothy to see how it's going. And then by act first, Timothy, rather later in the New Testament, Paul is giving Timothy advice on here's how to raise up elders, here's how to raise up deacons, here's how to order the church, right? You see this progression and a number of people have given language to this. Maxwell has given some language to this. Our friend Eric Gonzalez has given us some language to this. But think of it in this way. Paul tells Timothy, okay, I'm gonna do. You're gonna watch me, I'm gonna do this, you're gonna watch me. And then in Acts 17 he says, Now I'm gonna do this and you're gonna help me. And then in Acts 19 he says, now you're gonna do this and I'm gonna watch you and help you. And then by first Timothy and second Timothy, Paul is saying, now you're going to do this and bring someone else along to learn to do it too. Do you see the pattern? There is a movement to Christian relationship. No Christian relationship should leave us standing still. There's meant to be a movement in our relationships where we are always helping disciple one another to look more like Jesus.

15 · Applies the principle of progressive discipleship to everyday Christian life

And aspects of the faith in which we have experienced things or excelled in others come along behind us and go, how did you do that? You've got a tough job at work. I have a tough job at work. But you've been doing this for 20 years. How do I do this? And so you bring them along or man, I, you know, maybe you just had kids and you're young parents and you're like, I don't know, my kid just starts exploding all the time and then I explode back and for some reason that doesn't work because then they just explode back at me and then I explode louder and again, not working. What are you doing? Your kids are humans that have survived till 12 and they seem like they like you. Help me, right? That's the Christian life. There's a movement to it. And here's what I want you to see. Church. All of us are both being discipled in areas where we need to move toward looking like Jesus and should be discipling and helping others look more like Jesus. In areas of life, we have learned to look more like Jesus. This is the movement of the Christian life and it takes time, it takes energy, it takes effort, but it leads to something, as we see in Paul and Timothy, utterly beautiful and utterly world transforming.

16 · Pastoral rebuke of the consumer mentality toward church and discipleship

Look, I think too many of us want what I would describe as a jiffy lube relationship to our Christian faith. Recently I had to get an emissions test and I don't know what's going on in Texas. You don't have to get an inspection. I was like, cool, I'm good. But you have to get an emissions test. Like that feels like an inspection. And they're like, no, it's not an inspection. It's just an emissions test. Okay, sure, that's fine. And then they're like, we're gonna charge you a fee also. Cause we're doing this anyway. So the whole thing, whole thing is weird. So I go, I'm like, okay, I just got to get this done so I can renew my registration. So I go into, There's a Jiffy Lube nearby. So I go in and here's the promise of Jiffy Lube. You're not going to be here long. It's in the name, right? No one's going to Jiffy Lube because they're like, hey, I just want to check in on my friends. It's like, no. We have a relationship that lasts at best 10 minutes. And that's the way we want it. That's our promise. You will not know us. That's like, that's what you want. And I think for so many of us as Christians, we've, we've, we relate to life that way and we want to relate to our faith and even to the church that way. Where it's like, man, we, we just want a Jiffy Lube relationship with the church or with other Christians. Like, hey, I need help. Let me have a two hour seminar. I'll get the help. And then I'm out of your hair, right? Or, or this thing. Hey, I need a support in this area of my life. I just want to do it. Get in, get out. You know, I was talking to somebody the other day and I was. And they were asking, how long are your services? And, and I was like, no, they're usually about 90 minutes. And they went, 90 minutes, man, what do you do? You know, it's. And I can tell, I get no shade at this person, but I can just tell their way of thinking about that is like, can't you get that done faster? Jiffy Lube will do. Change my whole oil in 10 minutes. What do you need 90 minutes for? And this is what I want. I hope you're seeing in Paul and Timothy's relationship, this is not a quick in and out relationship. This is a lifelong thing. Like passing on a trade is not like reading an entry on Wikipedia. It takes time. It takes hands on work. It takes growing and struggling and failing and learning and then passing it along. That's the relationship Paul and Timothy have. That's what we are looking for. A cross of grace. We look our hope. We have a sign at the end that says, always stay late. And our hope is that you hang out here, and every time we have to kick people out of the building, I consider that a win. Because we don't want people to come and go and then go back to their life as soon as they can. We want people to form relationships because relationships, again, are the way the gospel torch is passed from generation to generation and person to person.

17 · Introduces the third characteristic of gospel relationships: temperature

All right, one last section. The movement to our relationships. And last is the temperature. The gospel relationship has a different temperature than the relationships of the world. Notice. You could see it all in that one single beautiful, remarkable word. Beloved. My beloved child. Notice the tone that this sets for the letter. Paul is not issuing a corporate memo. He is not giving a formal notice. He's not handing off an employee handbook. He does not have just a working, quote, unquote relationship with Timothy. He loves this brother. He loves him. You're my beloved son. And for brothers and sisters, Christian relationships should be marked by a warmth and affection that seems impossible in the eyes of the world and even strange in the eyes of the world. We're not here for frosty relationships. We're not here for transactional relationships. We're here because we love one another. That is the temperature of the Christian life.

18 · Illustrates the distinctive 'temperature' of gospel relationships with a personal story

Years ago. Let me just tell one story here. Years ago, we were in an airport and returning from a pastor's conference. And I want you to picture this. In the airport, we're at this restaurant. It was a busy day at the airport. All the tables were taken, but we managed to kind of get a big table with. With. There was this other couple, kind of an older couple. And then all of us as pastors, shoved into one table. And we were just talking. And there was. There were two Australians, if I remember right. Two Mexicans. Me, our friend Billy Ray, who is an Arabic pastor who ministers in Midland, Texas, which doesn't make any sense to me, but that's just what he's doing. And a couple others. And of course, we're laughing, we're joking, we're asking about our families. There's warmth, there is affection. And I noticed this other couple at the end of the table just kept looking over, like, hey, like. And finally I thought, oh, they're wondering what this is. And so finally, they. The husband kind of sheepishly goes, hey, can I. Can I ask you a question? What is this? And I could tell. Oh, yeah, he's going through his Rolodex of like, okay, well, maybe they're co employees, but they seem like they're really friendly co employees. Like they love each other and they're Asking about kids, you know, and it doesn't make sense that maybe they're, I don't know, some kind of a circus or something. You know, like, what. What is this? What is forming? What's the bond of these relationships? And finally, and what I think that they were putting their finger on was the temperature, not just that we related to one another, but the temperature of the relationship was this warmth, despite the fact that some of us hadn't spent almost any time together. I mean, I've never been to Australia, they've never been to El Paso. And yet there was a connection, a familial love for them that was notable even to an outsider. That is what you see from Paul and Timothy. And that is what, Let me just say, this should define our relationships in Christ.

19 · Applies the 'temperature' principle to the congregation, acknowledging the reality of conflict and personality differences while insisting warmth should be the default

Look, our goal, friends, we know that there's going to be seasons where we don't click with somebody in a community group or where we have to work through conflict or where we have to resolve an issue and pursue peacemaking. But listen, this should be the default temperature of our Christian life. And let me challenge you if your default relationships with others are default. Frosty, I want to encourage you to take another look at the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because notice the terms here. What Paul wishes for Timothy, what he prays for Timothy is grace, mercy and peace. And he's praying, Timothy, I pray that you understand the grace of God, the mercy of God and the peace of God. I pray that you would experience that. And I wanna be. As Paul is gonna write this letter, he's gonna be a conduit of God's grace to Timothy, God's mercy to Timothy, God's peace to Timothy. Paul is reassuring Timothy. He's helping Timothy find joy and comfort and persevere. He's doing all these things. So he's saying, lord, may you do this, and I'm going to do this. And that's what should be happening in our Christian lives. We say, I pray that you experience the grace, mercy and peace of God. And I am going to do my best to act towards you with grace, with mercy and peace as a conduit of that. Do you see what Paul's doing? That that should be our default. So you understand this. This vertical relationship Paul has with God transforms his horizontal relationships with one another. And the point again is this. If the Gospel torch is going to be passed from generation to generation to from person to person, from nation to nation, it is passed through gospel relationships for the gospel, transforming our relationship with God and with one another.

20 · Returns to the Olympic torch metaphor to address the fear of failure

One final story about the Olympic torch as we close. I went down the rabbit hole of Olympic torch misadventures this week. And there are, especially in modern history, a number of them. My favorite personally is Brazil in 2016. Brazil is a big country. And as they attempted to move the torch through Brazil, the torch encountered an unusual number of sad and difficult occurrences. On June 1, a former star athlete, well known for their athleticism, tripped in a hole and utterly wiped out on national television. I mean, it's just like running. You're down right then on June 23, protesters attempted to keep the torch from passing through a city leading to them have to sneak the torch around the edges of it until they could get to the other side. On June 26, a man attempted, I don't know why he did this, attempted to throw a bucket of water, the torch, but only succeeded in hitting the torch bearer in the face. On June 13, seeing the first guy's attempt, someone tried with a fire extinguisher, just jumped out, you know, and they caught him. Then on June, July 19, somebody else dropped it. And I remember thinking, well, at some point, shouldn't you just not do the Olympics? Because I mean, if the torch goes out, my understanding is if the torch goes out, we don't do the Olympics. So this is like a high stakes endeavor. Of course that's not the case because. And here's why, since 1930, something, the torch has been lit in two places. It actually burns at the top where you can see it, but it also burns internally just so that if the torch has ever dropped or doused or whatever, it essentially they let some of the flame in here back up to the top and it continues on.

21 · Synthesizes the sermon by resolving the tension between the serious charge and the underlying gospel grace

And, and here's what I, the reason I share that at the end here is I wanna, I want us to appropriately feel the charge of this text and of this letter over the next few weeks. And the charge is this. The charge is serious. Don't drop the gospel torch. Timothy, Ricky Cross of grace. It's serious. It is intense. But notice this, this letter is undergirded with those phrases. Timothy, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus. What undergirds the charge not to drop the torch is the underlying flame of God's grace, mercy and peace. So if today there's any sense in which you're like, man, I need change, I need to rewrite my bio. I've wandered off the line. I'm not carrying a torch. There's grace to pull you back in if you're like, man, I've messed up. There's no way I can be a torch bearer. There's the mercy of God ready to meet you. And maybe you're like, I just am agitated. I'm in the line. I'm scared. I know what's going to happen. Help me. There's peace from God. Isn't that such good news? Paul is ready to pass the torch, but he more than trusting Timothy, he trusts the Lord that grace, mercy and peace will carry it forward from now until his return. May it be so with us. Cross of grace. May our. Our earnest effort be to carry the torch well, to pass on the torch well, but that our trust not be in our efforts, but the underlying grace, mercy and peace. Peace of God in Jesus Christ. Amen.

22 · Closing pastoral prayer applying the three gospel resources (grace, mercy, peace) to three congregational needs: those who need to return, those who need salvation, and those who feel inadequate for the task

Would you stand? We'll pray. Lord, as we close today, just feel a special burden to pray for those three categories, Lord, for those who need grace, especially those who need grace and mercy, who perhaps may be convicted, that they've. Well, they've wandered off. They are trying to write their own biography. They're not part of your purpose, they're not part of your story. They're trying to write their own and they want to come back today. Lord, I pray that you'd meet them right now with grace and mercy. Maybe there's even someone out there that is very aware if they wrote out their biography, it would be a biography of death today. But you desire to take the pen and write a biography of life in Christ Jesus. And I pray that they would embrace your work today, accepting you as Savior and Lord, that they might do that. And I also pray for all of those of us who perhaps feel the task, feel the. The charge to pass the torch on to our kids or our. The people in our lives or people were discipling or people we. We're serving. But it feels big. It feels intense. It feels maybe too big for us. Lord, I pray that the grace, mercy and peace of God would meet them today, that they would know that ultimately their trust is not that they pass it on perfectly, but that they pass it on faithfully. That they trust the grace, mercy and peace of God to meet them right where they are. And as we close in singing, Lord, may this next generation, may this generation to come confess that our hope is built on you. Not on us, not on our good ideas, not on our skills, not on our abilities, but rather on the will of God and the promise of life and the grace, mercy and peace of our Heavenly Father.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Dec 22, 2024

Holding the Pen This Christmas

The God who sovereignly wrote the Christmas story holds the pen writing your life, and because you know the Author, you can trust the story He is writing even when circumstances appear chaotic.

Daniel 11

Jan 5, 2025

In Light of Eternity

Because heaven is our true home where we will see Jesus face-to-face and experience eternal joy, we must live now in light of eternity — investing our talents, treasures, and daily decisions for God's kingdom rather than temporary earthly pursuits.

Hebrews 11:8; Revelation 21:3-4; Revelation 22:4

Jan 12, 2025

A Life Well Lived

A well-lived life is one that invests in what will shine with eternal beauty rather than what will pass away with this world.

Daniel 12:1-4

January 19 · This sermon

The Lifeblood of the Christian Church

The gospel torch is passed through gospel relationships—vertical transformation with God creates horizontal transformation with others, and this relational transmission is the mechanism by which the faith moves from generation to generation.

2 Timothy 1:1-2

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

In 2 Timothy 1:1-2, Paul addresses Timothy as 'my beloved child' rather than simply as a church leader or student. What do you notice about…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week we trace the lifeblood of the church: gospel relationships. From God's transformed relationship with us, through the intentional discipleship Paul modeled with Timothy, to the warmth that marks Christ's people—we walk the arc of how the gospel torch actually passes from one generation to the next.

Prayer

A Prayer for Gospel Relationships

Father, we come before you in awe of your grace. You have transformed us—rewritten our entire biography through Christ—and made us your belo…

Family table

Who Passed the Torch to You?

This sermon is about how the gospel moves from person to person through real relationships—not programs, but people. Use this prompt to help…

Couples

Gospel Relationships: Passing the Torch Together

What relationship in your own life has most shaped your faith? How did that person or people help you encounter Christ more deeply?…

Memorize

2 Timothy 1:2

This verse captures the relational heart of the sermon: Paul addresses Timothy not as a distant authority but as a beloved child, and the greeting itself—grace, mercy, and peace—models the warmth that marks gospel relationships. It is the template for how mature believers are to transmit the faith to the next generation through love and God's own character.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

In 2 Timothy 1:1-2, Paul addresses Timothy as 'my beloved child' rather than simply as a church leader or student. What do you notice about the relational warmth in Paul's opening, and how does that shape the way you understand what Paul is about to teach Timothy?

2 Timothy 1:1-2

→ When you think of the most formative spiritual relationships in your own life, what role did personal affection and warmth play alongside the teaching of doctrine?
The sermon emphasizes that 'the gospel torch is passed through gospel relationships'—both our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationships with one another. Where do you see evidence of this two-directional flow in the story of Paul and Timothy (you might reference Acts 16:1 or Acts 19)?

Acts 16:1
Paul's relationship with Timothy was marked by intentional discipleship with 'progression and movement'—Timothy was brought into the work of ministry step by step. How is this different from simply attending a church service or a Bible study, and what does progression in discipleship require from both the mentor and the younger believer?
The sermon teaches that our vertical transformation with God—our new identity in Christ—rewrites our entire biography and makes horizontal gospel relationships possible. Can you think of a specific way your own relationship with God in Christ has changed how you relate to someone else, or how you see them?

→ What would it mean for that transformation to go deeper or become more visible in that relationship?
Paul writes that God gives us 'grace, mercy, and peace' in our standing before Him. The sermon suggests we are meant to become conduits of that same grace, mercy, and peace to one another. Where is it hardest for you to extend that kind of warmth—and what would change if you believed you had already received it lavishly from God?
The sermon claims that gospel relationships 'transcend all human categories of difference, producing a diversity of unity that is impossible in the world.' Looking at your own church community or small group, where do you see that kind of unity across difference, and what makes it possible?

→ Where do you sense that unity is being tested or fractured, and how might a deeper rooting in the gospel address it?

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday Genesis 3

Genesis 3 shows us where all broken relationships begin: the fracture between us and God that shatters everything downstream. But Paul's opening to Timothy assumes a radically different story—one where that vertical relationship with God has been healed through Christ. When we understand that our identity has been fundamentally rewritten by the gospel, we become capable of the kind of gospel relationships Paul describes. The torch cannot pass through broken people; it passes through those who have been transformed from the inside out.

Tuesday Acts 16:1

Luke tells us simply that Timothy was in Lystra, already known for his faith—and Paul chose him, took him, involved him in the apostolic work. This is not casual mentorship; it is deliberate selection and progressive responsibility. Paul didn't hand Timothy a book; he brought Timothy into the mission. When we read 2 Timothy years later, we're seeing the fruit of that relational investment: a young man who has moved from follower to laborer to leader, all because someone older intentionally pulled him forward into the work.

Wednesday Matthew 28

Jesus doesn't establish a corporation or publish a manifesto; he calls eleven men and says, 'Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.' The Great Commission is fundamentally relational: older disciples making younger disciples, who make younger disciples still. This is the pattern Paul inherited and lived out with Timothy. The warmth of personal relationship, the vulnerability of being known, the movement from hearer to doer to teacher—this is how the gospel actually travels through time.

Thursday 1 Timothy

Paul wrote 1 Timothy to instruct Timothy in sound doctrine and church leadership. But the letter itself is dripping with affection: 'my true son in the faith,' 'beloved.' Paul doesn't separate instruction from relationship; they flow together. When we pastor one another, when we disciple one another, when we pass the torch, we do it with the same grace, mercy, and peace that Jesus extended to us. The temperature of our relationships matters—not because feelings matter more than truth, but because warmth is the vehicle through which truth is received and believed.

Friday Isaiah 55

Isaiah speaks of God's word going out and not returning empty, accomplishing what it purposes. When we become conduits of God's grace to one another—when we extend the same mercy we've received, the same peace we've been given—we become the means by which God's word accomplishes his purposes in the next generation. This is the call: to stand in the gap between God's endless grace and a world that has never experienced it, and to let that grace flow through us to those we disciple, mentor, and love. Warmth is not optional; it is the posture of a people who have been overwhelmed by grace.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

A Prayer for Gospel Relationships

Father, we come before you in awe of your grace. You have transformed us—rewritten our entire biography through Christ—and made us your beloved children, no longer separated by sin but united in the gospel. We praise you that this vertical transformation with you overflows into horizontal transformation with one another, creating relationships that transcend every human boundary and testify to your power. We ask that you would make us conscious of this miracle every time we gather, every time we speak, every time we open our lives to one another.

We confess, Father, that we often fail to be conduits of your grace, mercy, and peace. We grow cold when we should grow warm. We withhold affection when we should pour it out freely. We treat our relationships as transactions or obligations rather than as gospel opportunities—places where the torch of faith is passed from one generation to the next. We admit that we do not always see the person in front of us as a beloved son or daughter, as Paul saw Timothy, but sometimes as a task, a burden, or a stranger.

But here is the good news: the same grace that transformed us vertically can transform our relationships horizontally. The gospel does not just save us from sin; it births in us the capacity to love as Christ loved—with warmth, intentionality, and a father's or mother's heart. Christ has made us family. He has given us his peace and his example. We receive this gift today and ask that you would work it into the very texture of how we relate to one another—in our small groups, in our marriages, in our mentorships, in our casual conversations after worship.

So we petition you: make us a church where warmth is the default temperature, even in difficulty and conflict. Raise up among us spiritual mothers and fathers willing to pour their lives into younger believers, bringing them into the work of ministry with intentionality and progression. Help us to see that every gospel relationship is the lifeblood of the church—that discipleship is not a program but a passion, not a duty but a delight. And grant us the courage to pass the torch faithfully, knowing that this is how the gospel moves from generation to generation, from heart to heart, from your hands to ours and out into the world. To your glory, O God. Amen.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

Who Passed the Torch to You?

For the parent

This sermon is about how the gospel moves from person to person through real relationships—not programs, but people. Use this prompt to help your family think about the spiritual people in their own lives who have shaped their faith. Listen for names and stories that matter.

At the table tonight, think about one person who has shown you what it means to follow Jesus—maybe a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a coach, or a friend. Who is someone who has passed the torch of faith to you? What did they do or say that mattered?

works for ages 7+; younger children can name someone and say one thing they remember; teens and adults can go deeper into how that person's faith shaped theirs

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Gospel Relationships: Passing the Torch Together

What relationship in your own life has most shaped your faith? How did that person or people help you encounter Christ more deeply?
Where do you see the gospel torch being passed between us—in how we've discipled one another, challenged one another, or drawn each other closer to Jesus? Where might we be missing an opportunity?
How can we be more intentional this week about extending God's grace, mercy, and peace to one another, especially when tiredness or conflict tempts us toward coldness?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

2 Timothy 1:2

To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Why this verse: This verse captures the relational heart of the sermon: Paul addresses Timothy not as a distant authority but as a beloved child, and the greeting itself—grace, mercy, and peace—models the warmth that marks gospel relationships. It is the template for how mature believers are to transmit the faith to the next generation through love and God's own character.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Cross of Grace Church

About us · What we believe

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# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Holding the Pen This Christmas (Daniel 11, 2024-12-22)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2024/12/holding-the-pen-this-christmas)
- [In Light of Eternity (Hebrews 11:8; Revelation 21:3-4; Revelation 22:4, 2025-01-05)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/01/in-light-of-eternity)
- [A Life Well Lived (Daniel 12:1-4, 2025-01-12)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/01/a-life-well-lived)
- [The Lifeblood of the Christian Church (2 Timothy 1:1-2, 2025-01-19)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/01/the-lifeblood-of-the-christian-church)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

The page itself ships with Schema.org Article + Church markup, Open Graph + Twitter cards for share previews, and a canonical URL. Transcripts are server-rendered HTML — no JS dependency for the readable body.