2 Timothy 3: Rediscover Your Hunger for the Word of God

Introduction

Michael Volland, Bishop of Birmingham in the Church of England, preaches this Sunday evening, 4 October 2026, at Gas Street Church. He steps into the pulpit with a big Bible full of tabs, the one he received when he was consecrated as a bishop. His aim is clear: that everyone would leave "more inspired to read the word of God", more enthusiastic, more engaged, more focused, with this thought in mind: "I'm going to read my Bible more often."

The timing is well chosen. On 6 October, the Church remembers William Tyndale, and 2026 marks 500 years since the publication of his New Testament in English. From this story and from 2 Timothy 3, the bishop shows why the Bible is not like any other book, how to get started in practice, and why we must never take for granted the fact that we can read it in our own language.

Outline of the Message

1. A Delivery Driver Hungry for the Bible

Michael Volland lives and works in the bishop's house, called Bishop's Croft. One day when he is there, a delivery driver in his twenties rings the doorbell. The bishop is wearing his clerical collar.
The young man looks him up and down and asks: "Are you a Christian?" Then, with his parcel still in his hand: "Could you help me read the Bible?"
He explains that he has tried several times, reading the Bible like any other book, starting from Genesis. He finds the stories amazing, then gets stuck on the long lists of laws, feels guilty, puts the book down, and starts again later from page one.
The bishop turns the question back to the congregation: if someone said to you at your door, "I'm stuck in my Bible reading", what advice would you give them?
What strikes him is this young man's hunger: in the middle of his working day, without any embarrassment, he seizes the opportunity. "How hungry are you for the Bible? How hungry am I?"

2. Three Tips for Reading the Bible

Pray first. No special formula is needed: "Lord, I want to hear you, speak to me, open my heart, help me understand what you have to say to me." This prayer puts you in the right frame of mind: you sit down expecting God to speak to you.
Keep this posture of prayer throughout your reading. "It's not Pride and Prejudice." The Bible is not there to entertain you, even if some of its stories are gripping. It is the living Word of God, inspired by the Spirit of God. Ask him to help you hear it, even when it rebukes you and shows you that your life is not in line with it.
Start with a Gospel. Genesis is fascinating, but it is better to come back to it later or to read it with someone who can explain the context. Matthew, Mark and Luke share many accounts, while John has a different form.
The bishop recommends Mark: the oldest, the shortest, and fast-paced. "If Netflix were to make a series out of one of the Gospels, it would be Mark." In the Gospels you meet the life, the teaching and the works of Jesus Christ, "the one you need to meet".
Ask for help. When, not if, you come across a passage you do not understand, go to a Christian who has been reading the Bible for longer. These texts were written two thousand years ago in a very different culture. The bishop recommends going to a person rather than settling for Google or an artificial intelligence. If two people do not know, go and see a third, and do not give up.
He also invited this young man to come to church, to meet other Christians who love the Lord and who will help him grow in faith.

3. William Tyndale, the Price of a Bible in Your Language

In many countries, holding up a Bible and encouraging people to read it exposes you to arrest. This book is powerful, and it is seen as a threat. "Let's not take that for granted."
Five hundred years ago, in England, the New Testament was only available in Greek and Latin. Only a small elite could read it. The people heard Scripture read in church in a language they did not understand. "Imagine me reading Scripture to you in Latin, without you understanding a word."
William Tyndale was born in Gloucestershire in 1494 and put his faith in Jesus from childhood. He studied at Oxford, then at Cambridge. He became fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
After working as a tutor, then as a preacher in London, he left for Germany. It was there that in 1526 he completed his translation of the New Testament from Greek into English, printed thanks to Gutenberg's printing press, a technology that was still recent.
But this book was illegal. Tyndale was considered a heretic and hunted down. He lived in exile, far from his family and friends, unable to trust anyone. He was eventually betrayed by a friend, imprisoned, then executed on 6 October 1536, strangled and burned at the stake, for having translated Scripture into English.
His vision: that ordinary people, farmers, blacksmiths, brewers, innkeepers, would hear Scripture in their own language, even if they could not read. That they would discover the miracles of Jesus, his compassion, his death, his resurrection, his ascension and his return, and that by believing they would be forgiven and receive eternal life.
His translation influenced all the English translations that followed. "It is no accident that you have a Bible in your language", whether that is English, Farsi or another.

4. What Paul Writes to Timothy

Paul writes his second letter to Timothy around the year 67, from his prison in Rome, as he nears the end of his life. Timothy is a young pastor, probably in his twenties, serving in Ephesus, in present-day Turkey.
Paul warns him to stay away from false teaching, because it is his job to feed the flock with God's teaching. He encourages him to persevere in the faith and to stand firm in his ministry despite the difficulties.
He also calls him to take up his role as a leader despite his youth. The bishop addresses young people who sense a call to leadership: do not hold back, step forward. And do not be ashamed of the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:8).
Ministry is a long and demanding road, "never a sprint". The faithful God gives grace and strength for the journey.
Paul describes the people of the last days: selfish, lovers of money, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without self-control, fierce (2 Timothy 3:2-3). The bishop admits he sees this around him, and even a little in himself. How should we respond? By reading Paul's answer: continue in what you have learned (2 Timothy 3:14). The Scriptures are the source of wisdom and direction.

5. Who Has Shaped Your Faith?

Paul reminds Timothy that his faith was shaped by his mother and his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). The bishop asks everyone the question: who has shaped your faith?
For him, it is first of all his parents. As soon as they knew he had been conceived, they prayed for him every day. When he was born, his father took him in his arms and dedicated him to God. He did the same for his three children.
Then there were his youth leaders, who put up with him when he was "a nightmare" in the youth group, and everyone who had the courage to tell him things he did not want to hear when he was drifting.
If someone needs to tell you that you are drifting, have the humility to listen. If you are the one who has to say it, ask God for wisdom, courage, love and tact to know what to say, when to speak and when to stay silent.
"No one is a Christian on their own." We are baptized into a community of faith and we shape one another. Others see how you live, how you speak, how you react, and it influences them, often without you seeing the fruit before eternity.

6. The Holy Writings That Make You Wise for Salvation

In verse 15, Paul writes: "from infancy you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus". The New Testament did not exist yet: Paul is speaking of what we call the Old Testament, the law, the Psalms, the books of wisdom and the prophets.
These writings tell of creation, the calling of Israel, the covenant, slavery in Egypt, deliverance through the Red Sea, and God's faithfulness despite his people's repeated unfaithfulness. They announce the Messiah, the one who would perfectly fulfil the law, give his life for the sins of all, defeat death and establish the kingdom of God.
That is why Paul urges Timothy to stay attached to the Scriptures: it is through them that he knows how to be saved. "And if Paul says it to Timothy, then let's listen to him too."
The bishop tells how he became a Christian at around the age of three. In his own childlike way, he understood that God loved him and he asked Jesus to come into his life. God treasures this, and he breathes on that small flame to make it grow.
To parents, grandparents and those who look after children: nurturing the faith of the little ones entrusted to you is the most important thing you will do. You will sometimes get it wrong, life is tiring, but you can at least pray for them and ask God to act powerfully in their lives.
Tyndale also knew Scripture as a child, about fourteen centuries after Timothy. But he knew that the English people did not have access to these holy writings that make one wise for salvation, and God gave him the gifts and the determination to put that right.

7. Put Down Your Phone, Open Your Bible

"How can we leave our Bible closed on the bedside table while we scroll our phone three, four or five hours a day?" Even one hour is a lot. The bishop himself admits to catching himself scrolling Facebook for no reason.
His advice: when you read your Bible, do not read it on your phone. Switch it off and put it somewhere else. Otherwise the notifications arrive, you check tomorrow's weather, then the news, and your reading stops there.
"Your phone is not your friend." It will not help you understand the deep things of salvation. You will not miss anything. Take your paper Bible and read it without interruption. If it is hard, persevere and ask God for his grace.
One concrete suggestion: in the evening, in bed, put down your phone and read a psalm or a passage from a Gospel, so that the last thing you see in the day is the Word of God. "I promise you will sleep better."
He quotes Psalm 23: "Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing." By rereading it again and again, this psalm has sunk down into his heart and shapes his whole inner life. When he asks himself why God allows what he is going through, he can lean on it.
The bishop insists: he is not saying this to make you feel guilty. If you fail, do not feel guilty, simply get back on course and ask for God's help. He concludes with a prayer of thanks for Tyndale's courage, and asks for the grace to commit again to reading the Bible regularly in order to grow in faith, hope and love.

Key Takeaways

The Bible is not a novel: it is the living Word of God. Read it prayerfully, expecting him to speak to you.
To begin, pray, open a Gospel, and ask a more experienced Christian for help when you do not understand.
Having the Bible in your language is no accident: men like William Tyndale gave their lives for it.
The Scriptures can make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and faith is passed on from childhood, from generation to generation.
Your phone is not your friend when it comes to reading the Bible: switch it off, put it somewhere else and let the Word have the last word of your day.

Personal Application

How hungry are you for the Bible right now? What has dulled that appetite?
If someone told you today, "I can't manage to read the Bible", what advice would you give them?
Who has shaped your faith? Take a moment to thank God for these people, and ask him to use you to shape someone else's faith.
How much time do you spend on your phone each day, and how much with the Word of God?
Are you ready, this week, to put down your phone in the evening and read a psalm or a passage from a Gospel before going to sleep?

Verses Quoted

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I start when reading the Bible?

Michael Volland gives three simple tips. First, pray before reading and keep that posture of prayer throughout your reading. Next, start with a Gospel, for example Mark, the shortest and most fast-paced, because that is where you meet Jesus. Finally, when a passage is difficult, ask for help from a Christian who has been reading the Bible for longer.

Who was William Tyndale?

William Tyndale was an English translator born around 1494. He translated the New Testament from Greek into English, published in 1526, at a time when, in England, the Bible was only available in Latin. Considered a heretic, he lived in exile, was betrayed by a friend, imprisoned, then executed on 6 October 1536. His work has marked every English translation that followed.

What does Paul mean when he speaks of the holy writings that can make you wise for salvation?

In 2 Timothy 3:15, Paul speaks of the Scriptures that Timothy has known since childhood, that is, what we call the Old Testament. They tell of God's covenant with Israel and announce the coming of the Messiah. For Michael Volland, Paul encourages Timothy to stay attached to the Scriptures, because it is through them that he knows how to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.