08/23/2026 Weekly Bible Lesson: Influence of the Home

Who is Timothy? We know that Timothy’s mom and grandma were godly Jewish women, but his father was a pagan Gentile (Acts 16:1). Timothy was very close to the apostle Paul. In fact, Paul was a mentor to him and spoke very highly of Timothy (see Philippians 2:19-22 as an example). Paul calls Timothy his true son in the faith (1 Timothy 1:2), and he wrote two Bible books addressed to Timothy (1 and 2 Timothy). Paul wrote those two letters to teach Timothy how he should conduct his personal life as a preacher and about how things should be done in the Lord’s Church. Timothy was the evangelist at the church in Ephesus. We also know that Timothy was a young preacher (1 Timothy 4:12) and that he went on missionary journeys with Paul (Acts 16:1-3).

Let’s shift our focus now to the main idea of the lesson: the influence of our homes. First, let’s focus on verse 5. Paul recalls the sincere faith within Timothy. The Greek word for sincere literally means “without hypocrisy.” Timothy did not have a Sunday-only faith. Timothy didn’t just “talk the talk,” he “walked the walk.”

I wonder what caused Paul to be mindful of Timothy’s sincere faith while they were apart from each other? Maybe Paul had recently heard reports from travelers about the great work Timothy was doing in Ephesus. Perhaps Paul had witnessed an example of sincere faith in Rome that reminded him of his beloved son in the faith. It’s possible that as Paul prayed for Timothy, it caused him to think back on fond memories of seeing his sincere faith firsthand on their missionary journeys. Whatever the case may have been, Timothy had a genuine, sincere faith.

Paul says something we cannot miss at the end of verse 5 about this sincere faith. He says that this sincere faith first dwelt in his grandma Lois and in his mom Eunice. We learn here that Timothy had some good spiritual role models in his life. This sincere faith started in Grandma Lois’s home. She passed it down to her daughter, Eunice, and then Eunice passed it down to her son, Timothy. Here we see an example of the power and influence that we carry in our homes. Timothy’s faith did not begin in a church building. It began in his home! It began with a grandmother and a mother who loved God and taught the next generation His Word.

Discussion Question: What can we do to help our homes become a place where faith is passed down to the next generation?

I love this quote from Ken Ham, the CEO of Answers in Genesis. He says, “The family is the educational unit God created to transfer a Godly legacy to subsequent generations and for each generation to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.” Do we truly see our families in this way? Do we see the home as a training ground to raise our kids to follow Jesus?

Discussion Question: Who had the biggest influence in passing down faith to you? Can you share any examples of how they did that?

Discussion Question: What challenges do families face today in passing down the faith? How can the church help equip families to overcome these challenges?

Let’s look at more Scripture, namely 2 Timothy 3:14-16.

I love what Paul says in verse 15. From childhood, Timothy had known the sacred writings that can give wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ. From childhood, Timothy had known the Scriptures. We don’t know exactly how old “childhood” means, but I think sometimes we underestimate what kids can learn and pick up on. Also, notice that Paul points Timothy back to “The sacred writings.” This is the word of God. Salvation didn’t come to Timothy because of the wisdom of his mom and grandma. It came to him from the sacred writings. Sometimes parents can tell a child what to believe about God or Jesus and give them the reason, “Because I said so.” Wise parents will lead their children to rest their faith upon the word of God, not just on their authority as parents. If a kid asks why we believe something, the answer should never be because mom or dad says so. Not even because our preacher says so. It must be because the Bible says so.

Timothy’s sincere faith didn’t appear out of nowhere. It all began and was passed down by a family that loved God and loved His Word. Lois and Eunice probably had no idea that the little boy they were teaching the Scriptures to would grow up to become a preacher and a missionary who would help spread the gospel throughout the world. When we are faithful in passing on the faith, we never know how God might use the next generation. We must remember the great influence we carry in our homes. We all have a wonderful opportunity in front of us, specifically to pass the faith down to the next generation.