ESV 2 Thessalonians 1:11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment on what it means to be made worthy of his calling....
It was the growing faith and love of the Thessalonians AND the future coming of the Kingdom of God that caused Paul's devotion to prayer for the Thessalonians...it was to that very end...the culmination of the Kingdom of God on earth with the Jesus loving, gospel believing Church that drove Paul to pray.
ESV 2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
Two things concerned Paul's prayer request:
1) That the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored...just like it did in Thessalonica.
2) Deliverance from wicked and evil men!
ESV 1 Thessalonians 5:25 Brothers, pray for us.
Prayer is usually anchored to the spreading of the gospel in some way, shape or form.
The word of the Lord is the gospel of Christ's Kingdom!
The word of the Lord is not 'experience God's presence through worship'. It is not simply the Kingdom of God. It is the gospel of the Kingdom! It is a gospel centered word that is focused specifically on Jesus Christ. However the word of the Lord is not a message simply about who Jesus Christ is. NO it is more specific than that.
The word of the Lord is a specific message that reveals the ancient shadows of the Old Testament...making them clear. What were they shadows of? The word of the Lord is specifically a msg about the sacrificial lamb...the Passover lamb...the Lamb who will take away the sin of the world...as John the Baptist said.
The word of the Lord is an unchangeable message...here he does not mean a spontaneous prophetic word...he means specifically the very gospel message that brings life!
Tell the story of my calling to preach the gospel.
Tell my quest into the gospel message. Tell the vision I had from the Lord and how the NIV answered that specific prayer request.
NIV Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Are we playing a really good game here? We are not called to play games with the holy things of God.
We are called to a real life and death struggle. This demands that we step up into the fulness of the calling that is on us.
Tell the vision of this church. What are we called to by God? Why do we exist here? What are we doing and how are we going to get there?
Prayer shield. Prayer within.
Call to prayer. My prayer for each one here. My request for prayer from each one.
We need to pray more about the word of the Lord...that is the very gospel message working in peoples lives setting them free and bringing them to Christ. We have too few prayers and ridiculously few prayers about the very power of God.
The Logos of the Stauros.....
ESV 1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The message of the Cross is the built on faith in Jesus Christ and His power.
ESV Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Growing Faith & Love Under Pressure 2 Thess 1
Title: Growing Faith and Love Under Pressure
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
Growing Faith and Love Under Pressure
There are times in our lives when we resemble a little boy who is playing hard with his friends in a field, and then without warning, trips, and lands face down in mud. He feels terrible, can't see, and all his fun suddenly stops.
The Thessalonians were under great pressure.
ESV Acts 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ." 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
The church in Thessalonica was birthed in persecution. The Jews were harassing them. People were having to fork over fines, and there was an organized effort to oppose the Church by the Jews in Thessalonica. In fact, they were so very zealous in their opposition, that the Jewish opposition traveled to Berea after hearing Paul went there to persecute him.
ESV Acts 17:10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
So after only having three weeks in Thessalonica, Paul writes to them not many months later, penning 1 Thessalonians. And after hearing of their response to 1 Thessalonians and seeing that they still had some questions, he writes 2 Thessalonians very early on in the life of that church. So we have in 1 & 2 Thessalonians the composite of what Paul was looking for in a church AND how he shored up those crucial qualities.
This is amazing to me because his concerns actually match exactly what Peter looked for in his final letter to Christians everywhere.
What are those qualities?
Paul is in essence looking for two things. Faith and Love.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Gal 5:6b NIV)
Peter used faith and love as book-ends for his final recipe for a healthy and fruitful Christian life.
ESV 2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
John Stott said:
This idea of spiritual growth is foreign to many people, not the least in the areas of faith and love. We tend to speak of faith in static terms as something we either have or have not. "I wish I had your faith." we say, like, "I wish I had your complexion." as if it were a genetic endowment. Or we complain, "I've lost my faith", like, "I've lost my spectacles, as if it were a commodity. But faith is a relationship of trust in God, and like all relationships is a living, dynamic, growing thing.
Overall Point: Thank God for a growing faith and love in the face of trials because it will lead to an ability to glorify God when Christ comes back. Adapted from Greg Beale on 2 Thessalonians.
ENCOURAGEMENT DURING PERSECUTION
A Solid Theology of trials in the N.T.
1) Suffering is not always the result of sin.
2) God provides hope and love in suffering
3) Problems can drive us to trust in God's sovereign purpose for our lives.
4) Suffering tends to rip away from our lives those things that don't really matter.
5) Suffering can reveal our true core belief, and help us re-focus our lives when otherwise we might meander meaninglessly on in life.
6) Suffering enables us to comfort others.
7) Our eternal reward outweighs our suffering.
8) Problems may be a confirmation that we are living for Christ-or they can cause us to return to Christ.
9) Trials help train us to be more fruitful.
10) Problems help us mature.
11) When we suffer, we share in the suffering of Christ.
1.3 Growing love
1.5 Counted worthy: It's paradoxical that God calls us both saints and those who need to be made worthy! Yet scripture does this repeatedly!
Learn to look upward and forward instead of inward
ESV Mark 13:35 Therefore stay awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning-- 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
ESV Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Part of being counted worthy is the process of "Building Strong Character"
ESV Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Rom 5:1 ESV)
Look for opportunities to encourage others who are suffering
You are comforted by God during afflictions SO THAT you can comfort others
ESV 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Tips to bring comfort to others.
1) Recollect: Call to your memory how you felt the last time you were seriously afflicted or grieved by a situation.
2) Shift: Put your heart in gear to sympathize, encourage or comfort someone by letting your own feelings stir.
3) Connect: The greatest error we may make is by NOT connecting. It is unacceptable to 'feel bad' for someone and not let them know you care.
Remember that biblical love, agape, is demonstrated love. To fail to connect in any way when someone you know is struggling is a failure to obey the principle
command of the Kingdom of God...to love one another. So by all means extend yourself, but be loving and careful when bringing comfort to someone.
4) Express compassion sensitively: Say things like "I'm sorry" or "I care". Don't say "I know how you feel" unless you have truly been in
that persons shoes and they know it. It's not a time to talk a lot about your own problems or past difficulties much. It's alright to say a sentence or two, but
be sensitive to those who are overwhelmed with a loss or grieving situation. If someone grieving or under affliction starts to focus on your past pain or grief, acknowledge their
sensitive comment and then refocus the conversation on their situation.
5) Offer specific assistance. General statements like "If you need anything let me know" rarely turn into anything helpful and put the burden on the one in pain, or the grieving to figure out what you can or cannot do to assist them. It's better to offer something specific, like "would you like us to bring a meal by, or can I help with
picking up some groceries, etc..."
6) Notes of comfort and small gifts are rare and usually much appreciated. It doesn't take much to write a sympathy note and drop it in the mail.
7) The worse the difficulty, the more important it is to do something and to speak less. When words are many, sin is not absent, so when bringing comfort to someone, show restraint with your words. They will probably remember that you cared enough to connect. They will probably only remember what you said if it was exceptionally helpful, or if you said something really hurtful by accident.
8) Avoid theologizing or correcting someone in pain or someone in grief. (Tell the story about my Dad's false heart attack in the middle 1980's at Westbrook Church).
In these ways you build strong character because your suffering is turned into aid for others. It's really like turning lemonade out of life's lemons.
1.7 Payback
The bible teaches eternal punishment in this and several other passages. The idea of a final judgment has several positive effects on those who understand it correctly.
1) It satisfies the internal sense of justice in us all.
Many people believe that the idea of suffering eternally is unjust, and that this is a reason to refuse to believe in the God of the bible.
"Hell is too good for us" Hebredies revival
2) In can enable us to forgive others freely.
3) It can provide a motive for living right.
4) It can encourage us to share our faith with others.
Thank God because faithfulness in suffering now leads us to glorify him later (1:1-12 Beale)
When we see others suffering, it can drive us to pray for them!
There is a time and place to tell people that you are praying for them. That is when they are face down in the mud of their trials. It is when they are in pain. It is when they need it most. Be there for those in need.
The key to all of this is to identify and encourage genuine faith and demonstrated love in others. And to encourage the growth of these two qualities!!
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
Growing Faith and Love Under Pressure
There are times in our lives when we resemble a little boy who is playing hard with his friends in a field, and then without warning, trips, and lands face down in mud. He feels terrible, can't see, and all his fun suddenly stops.
The Thessalonians were under great pressure.
ESV Acts 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ." 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
The church in Thessalonica was birthed in persecution. The Jews were harassing them. People were having to fork over fines, and there was an organized effort to oppose the Church by the Jews in Thessalonica. In fact, they were so very zealous in their opposition, that the Jewish opposition traveled to Berea after hearing Paul went there to persecute him.
ESV Acts 17:10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
So after only having three weeks in Thessalonica, Paul writes to them not many months later, penning 1 Thessalonians. And after hearing of their response to 1 Thessalonians and seeing that they still had some questions, he writes 2 Thessalonians very early on in the life of that church. So we have in 1 & 2 Thessalonians the composite of what Paul was looking for in a church AND how he shored up those crucial qualities.
This is amazing to me because his concerns actually match exactly what Peter looked for in his final letter to Christians everywhere.
What are those qualities?
Paul is in essence looking for two things. Faith and Love.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Gal 5:6b NIV)
Peter used faith and love as book-ends for his final recipe for a healthy and fruitful Christian life.
ESV 2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
John Stott said:
This idea of spiritual growth is foreign to many people, not the least in the areas of faith and love. We tend to speak of faith in static terms as something we either have or have not. "I wish I had your faith." we say, like, "I wish I had your complexion." as if it were a genetic endowment. Or we complain, "I've lost my faith", like, "I've lost my spectacles, as if it were a commodity. But faith is a relationship of trust in God, and like all relationships is a living, dynamic, growing thing.
Overall Point: Thank God for a growing faith and love in the face of trials because it will lead to an ability to glorify God when Christ comes back. Adapted from Greg Beale on 2 Thessalonians.
ENCOURAGEMENT DURING PERSECUTION
A Solid Theology of trials in the N.T.
1) Suffering is not always the result of sin.
2) God provides hope and love in suffering
3) Problems can drive us to trust in God's sovereign purpose for our lives.
4) Suffering tends to rip away from our lives those things that don't really matter.
5) Suffering can reveal our true core belief, and help us re-focus our lives when otherwise we might meander meaninglessly on in life.
6) Suffering enables us to comfort others.
7) Our eternal reward outweighs our suffering.
8) Problems may be a confirmation that we are living for Christ-or they can cause us to return to Christ.
9) Trials help train us to be more fruitful.
10) Problems help us mature.
11) When we suffer, we share in the suffering of Christ.
1.3 Growing love
1.5 Counted worthy: It's paradoxical that God calls us both saints and those who need to be made worthy! Yet scripture does this repeatedly!
Learn to look upward and forward instead of inward
ESV Mark 13:35 Therefore stay awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning-- 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
ESV Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Part of being counted worthy is the process of "Building Strong Character"
ESV Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Rom 5:1 ESV)
Look for opportunities to encourage others who are suffering
You are comforted by God during afflictions SO THAT you can comfort others
ESV 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Tips to bring comfort to others.
1) Recollect: Call to your memory how you felt the last time you were seriously afflicted or grieved by a situation.
2) Shift: Put your heart in gear to sympathize, encourage or comfort someone by letting your own feelings stir.
3) Connect: The greatest error we may make is by NOT connecting. It is unacceptable to 'feel bad' for someone and not let them know you care.
Remember that biblical love, agape, is demonstrated love. To fail to connect in any way when someone you know is struggling is a failure to obey the principle
command of the Kingdom of God...to love one another. So by all means extend yourself, but be loving and careful when bringing comfort to someone.
4) Express compassion sensitively: Say things like "I'm sorry" or "I care". Don't say "I know how you feel" unless you have truly been in
that persons shoes and they know it. It's not a time to talk a lot about your own problems or past difficulties much. It's alright to say a sentence or two, but
be sensitive to those who are overwhelmed with a loss or grieving situation. If someone grieving or under affliction starts to focus on your past pain or grief, acknowledge their
sensitive comment and then refocus the conversation on their situation.
5) Offer specific assistance. General statements like "If you need anything let me know" rarely turn into anything helpful and put the burden on the one in pain, or the grieving to figure out what you can or cannot do to assist them. It's better to offer something specific, like "would you like us to bring a meal by, or can I help with
picking up some groceries, etc..."
6) Notes of comfort and small gifts are rare and usually much appreciated. It doesn't take much to write a sympathy note and drop it in the mail.
7) The worse the difficulty, the more important it is to do something and to speak less. When words are many, sin is not absent, so when bringing comfort to someone, show restraint with your words. They will probably remember that you cared enough to connect. They will probably only remember what you said if it was exceptionally helpful, or if you said something really hurtful by accident.
8) Avoid theologizing or correcting someone in pain or someone in grief. (Tell the story about my Dad's false heart attack in the middle 1980's at Westbrook Church).
In these ways you build strong character because your suffering is turned into aid for others. It's really like turning lemonade out of life's lemons.
1.7 Payback
The bible teaches eternal punishment in this and several other passages. The idea of a final judgment has several positive effects on those who understand it correctly.
1) It satisfies the internal sense of justice in us all.
Many people believe that the idea of suffering eternally is unjust, and that this is a reason to refuse to believe in the God of the bible.
"Hell is too good for us" Hebredies revival
2) In can enable us to forgive others freely.
3) It can provide a motive for living right.
4) It can encourage us to share our faith with others.
Thank God because faithfulness in suffering now leads us to glorify him later (1:1-12 Beale)
When we see others suffering, it can drive us to pray for them!
There is a time and place to tell people that you are praying for them. That is when they are face down in the mud of their trials. It is when they are in pain. It is when they need it most. Be there for those in need.
The key to all of this is to identify and encourage genuine faith and demonstrated love in others. And to encourage the growth of these two qualities!!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Authority & Sanctification 1 Thess. 5:12-28
A) Honor, Great Respect & Love For Pastorate
NLT 1 Thessalonians 5:12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.
Check 2 Corinthians 10:8
Luke 22:25ff
ESV Luke 22:25 And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luk 22:25 ESV)
See "The Leadership Paradox" & "Spiritual Authority"
Some have argued that the role of a pastoral leader is unbiblical.
Mike Frans story
My friends on the Egalitarian issue
Clear scriptures on authority of a spiritual leader
How we should relate to Christian leaders
Vineyard philosophy: Christian leaders should take off titles and pomp, yet members should embrace biblical values concerning their leaders.
Jesus is our Shepherd: Always remember this. That does not mean we disregard spiritual leaders serving Him. It should encourage us to honor them all the more.
IF a Christian leader takes the role that Jesus has ascribed to him, a servant, then it is tempting for others in the body of Christ to disregard that leaders place in the body of Christ. Yet Paul here encourages honor. Some who have felt dishonored have sought to elevate their leadership roles and have intentionally built walls between the clergy and the laity. This is error.
The term here for honor in Greek is know. How does 'know' come to be translated as honor? This actually means here to know fully. The idea is that the Thessalonians did not realize fully how God had placed these 'elders' among them. They were being told to appreciate the true worth of these elders.
labor is tied to 1.3
Paul wants them to be loved and not thought of simply as the cold voice of authority.
B) Encouraging Fellowship & Worship
14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.
Lazy: All have a ministry
Just because there are spiritual leaders 'over you' does not mean you do not have authority. Notice the authority implied in Paul's instructions. These are not to the pastors
but to the members of the body. He tells the members to warn the idle. Encourage the timid, etc....everything is customized to the need of the individual. Lather everything with
humble patience...but know that you are a minister of Jesus Christ and you encourage those around you to be all they can be!
C) Impartation Benediction & Emphasis on Scripture Reading
23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 25 Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with Christian love. 27 I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. 28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Emphasis on the return of Jesus never leaves Paul. Neither does the concept of pursuing holiness. Paul is heavy on prayer. Paul is vulnerable. He fights for the way we greet each other! This is a community cultural value. How do you welcome people in the church, in your LifeGroup, into your home? Warm loving greetings are important. But brothers, don't hug the women front on! Be holy when greeting one another.
Be devoted to the reading of scripture. Listen to God's word!! Why? There is more power in God's word than in any other word.
NLT 1 Thessalonians 5:12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.
Check 2 Corinthians 10:8
Luke 22:25ff
ESV Luke 22:25 And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luk 22:25 ESV)
See "The Leadership Paradox" & "Spiritual Authority"
Some have argued that the role of a pastoral leader is unbiblical.
Mike Frans story
My friends on the Egalitarian issue
Clear scriptures on authority of a spiritual leader
How we should relate to Christian leaders
Vineyard philosophy: Christian leaders should take off titles and pomp, yet members should embrace biblical values concerning their leaders.
Jesus is our Shepherd: Always remember this. That does not mean we disregard spiritual leaders serving Him. It should encourage us to honor them all the more.
IF a Christian leader takes the role that Jesus has ascribed to him, a servant, then it is tempting for others in the body of Christ to disregard that leaders place in the body of Christ. Yet Paul here encourages honor. Some who have felt dishonored have sought to elevate their leadership roles and have intentionally built walls between the clergy and the laity. This is error.
The term here for honor in Greek is know. How does 'know' come to be translated as honor? This actually means here to know fully. The idea is that the Thessalonians did not realize fully how God had placed these 'elders' among them. They were being told to appreciate the true worth of these elders.
labor is tied to 1.3
Paul wants them to be loved and not thought of simply as the cold voice of authority.
B) Encouraging Fellowship & Worship
14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.
Lazy: All have a ministry
Just because there are spiritual leaders 'over you' does not mean you do not have authority. Notice the authority implied in Paul's instructions. These are not to the pastors
but to the members of the body. He tells the members to warn the idle. Encourage the timid, etc....everything is customized to the need of the individual. Lather everything with
humble patience...but know that you are a minister of Jesus Christ and you encourage those around you to be all they can be!
C) Impartation Benediction & Emphasis on Scripture Reading
23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 25 Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with Christian love. 27 I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. 28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Emphasis on the return of Jesus never leaves Paul. Neither does the concept of pursuing holiness. Paul is heavy on prayer. Paul is vulnerable. He fights for the way we greet each other! This is a community cultural value. How do you welcome people in the church, in your LifeGroup, into your home? Warm loving greetings are important. But brothers, don't hug the women front on! Be holy when greeting one another.
Be devoted to the reading of scripture. Listen to God's word!! Why? There is more power in God's word than in any other word.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Pleasing Life 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Notes
A Pleasing Life 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Notes
ESV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
1) Make it your lifelong goal to please God (rather than yourself) by following His Word: In particular the Word of Christ that Paul and the other apostles proclaimed!
ESV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
Previously referred to this in chapter two!
ESV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 ¶ And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
He is talking about what Luke describes for us in Acts 17. Paul's short term missions team arrived in Thessalonica and won some people to Christ. Their fledgling congregation was immediately attacked, with the unbelieving Jews jealously creating an uproar.
ESV Acts 17:1 ¶ Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ." 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
The concept that we ought to seek out how to please the Lord ties to 1 Corinthians 7, a passage that some believe should be used to help interpret this paragraph.
ESV 1 Corinthians 7:32 ¶ I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.
In 1 Corinthians 7 we have a discussion about whether it is best to be married or unmarried, and about self control when it comes to sex outside of marriage. In that context Paul says that unmarried men and women have fewer encumbrances around them and are able then to focus more on the Lord and serving Him whole heartedly. Whereas a married person must seek to please their spouse and therefore they come into tension. It's a tension that Paul predicts will give many people trouble.
Paul put such a premium on seeking to please God that he relegated marriage and the option of getting married as less important than living a life pleasing to God!
If we seek to please God in order to be accepted by Him, we will always come up short. What Paul teaches here is a mature view reflected in a variety of his teachings, including the idea that Christ is the bridegroom of the Church. The concept of seeking to please the Lord is a by-product of a revelation. Our identity is in the fact that God truly loves us. He is pleased to choose us! He has qualified us to enter into His courts by His Sons priceless blood shed on the cross. He truly is in love with us and we are His beloved. So we respond to the Lord Jesus Christ by saying 'yes' to His pursuit of us.
The Thessalonians were doing well, so Paul wanted to encourage them to continue on the path they were on. Remember ESV 1 Thessalonians 3:10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? This shows that Paul was praying for them. And that he longed to strengthen and help mature their already genuine but young faith.
Remember that Paul prayed for them night and day. And you were challenged last week to pray Paul style for one another. Here are the four bullet points from that message to remind you once again how to pray for one another:
1) Pray for fellowship to happen. Don't take it for granted. Notice that Satan hinders believers getting together. 2:18
2) Pray for demonstrated love to happen between believers in the church.
3) Pray for holiness in the lives of one another.
4) Pray for an awareness and an eagerness for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Paul goes on to remind the Thessalonians of their instructions. These instructions are followed, because in his second letter Paul says ESV 2 Thessalonians 3:4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command.
So Paul cared enough to show them how to live and to check on them to see if they were listening.
2) Avoid Sexual Immorality And Pursue Holiness
1 Thess 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Sanctification is being set aside totally for God, purified from unholy desire and filled with a perfected love. It is the condition of blamelessness.
A heart on fire. ESV 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ¶ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for sanctification to be completed!
ESV Hebrews 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Sanctification has been accomplished through the cross. So why do we need to pray for it to happen?
(All doctrine is eschatological). There is a future coming fulfillment in all truth that we have not touched yet. At the same time, we enter into the future coming fulfillment when the Kingdom of God expands in and among us.
ESV 1 Peter 1:16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." This is not merely the removal of evil. It is the presence also of God burning within us. Remember the burning bush that Moses encountered? "Take off your shoes for the ground you are standing on is holy ground". The burning bush, like fire generally, often symbolizes God's holiness. We are to be living sacrifices, hearts set afire with the holiness of God burning in us.
ESV Acts 15:20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
(WRITTEN A FEW YEARS BEFORE THESSALONIANS-THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH TEMPLE PROSTITUTION IN MANY PLACES)
ESV 1 Peter 3:7 ¶ Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
God avenges all evil behavior.
ESV Jeremiah 10:25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
ESV Psalm 79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
ESV Galatians 4:8 ¶ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.
Former idol worshipers were locked into a system that legitimized immorality. It is like states that legalize prostitution today, except they merged prostitution with religion.
Part of the coming of Jesus to the earth will be the affliction of all those who have afflicted God's people with injustice and all those who reject God's loving offer of mercy.
ESV 2 Thessalonians 1:6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
ESV Psalm 94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!
ESV Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
ESV 2 Thessalonians 2:13 ¶ But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
3) Witness To Outsiders By Loving One Another
1Thess 4:9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
ESV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
1) Make it your lifelong goal to please God (rather than yourself) by following His Word: In particular the Word of Christ that Paul and the other apostles proclaimed!
ESV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
Previously referred to this in chapter two!
ESV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 ¶ And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
He is talking about what Luke describes for us in Acts 17. Paul's short term missions team arrived in Thessalonica and won some people to Christ. Their fledgling congregation was immediately attacked, with the unbelieving Jews jealously creating an uproar.
ESV Acts 17:1 ¶ Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ." 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
The concept that we ought to seek out how to please the Lord ties to 1 Corinthians 7, a passage that some believe should be used to help interpret this paragraph.
ESV 1 Corinthians 7:32 ¶ I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.
In 1 Corinthians 7 we have a discussion about whether it is best to be married or unmarried, and about self control when it comes to sex outside of marriage. In that context Paul says that unmarried men and women have fewer encumbrances around them and are able then to focus more on the Lord and serving Him whole heartedly. Whereas a married person must seek to please their spouse and therefore they come into tension. It's a tension that Paul predicts will give many people trouble.
Paul put such a premium on seeking to please God that he relegated marriage and the option of getting married as less important than living a life pleasing to God!
If we seek to please God in order to be accepted by Him, we will always come up short. What Paul teaches here is a mature view reflected in a variety of his teachings, including the idea that Christ is the bridegroom of the Church. The concept of seeking to please the Lord is a by-product of a revelation. Our identity is in the fact that God truly loves us. He is pleased to choose us! He has qualified us to enter into His courts by His Sons priceless blood shed on the cross. He truly is in love with us and we are His beloved. So we respond to the Lord Jesus Christ by saying 'yes' to His pursuit of us.
The Thessalonians were doing well, so Paul wanted to encourage them to continue on the path they were on. Remember ESV 1 Thessalonians 3:10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? This shows that Paul was praying for them. And that he longed to strengthen and help mature their already genuine but young faith.
Remember that Paul prayed for them night and day. And you were challenged last week to pray Paul style for one another. Here are the four bullet points from that message to remind you once again how to pray for one another:
1) Pray for fellowship to happen. Don't take it for granted. Notice that Satan hinders believers getting together. 2:18
2) Pray for demonstrated love to happen between believers in the church.
3) Pray for holiness in the lives of one another.
4) Pray for an awareness and an eagerness for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Paul goes on to remind the Thessalonians of their instructions. These instructions are followed, because in his second letter Paul says ESV 2 Thessalonians 3:4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command.
So Paul cared enough to show them how to live and to check on them to see if they were listening.
2) Avoid Sexual Immorality And Pursue Holiness
1 Thess 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Sanctification is being set aside totally for God, purified from unholy desire and filled with a perfected love. It is the condition of blamelessness.
A heart on fire. ESV 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ¶ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for sanctification to be completed!
ESV Hebrews 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Sanctification has been accomplished through the cross. So why do we need to pray for it to happen?
(All doctrine is eschatological). There is a future coming fulfillment in all truth that we have not touched yet. At the same time, we enter into the future coming fulfillment when the Kingdom of God expands in and among us.
ESV 1 Peter 1:16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." This is not merely the removal of evil. It is the presence also of God burning within us. Remember the burning bush that Moses encountered? "Take off your shoes for the ground you are standing on is holy ground". The burning bush, like fire generally, often symbolizes God's holiness. We are to be living sacrifices, hearts set afire with the holiness of God burning in us.
ESV Acts 15:20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
(WRITTEN A FEW YEARS BEFORE THESSALONIANS-THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH TEMPLE PROSTITUTION IN MANY PLACES)
ESV 1 Peter 3:7 ¶ Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
God avenges all evil behavior.
ESV Jeremiah 10:25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
ESV Psalm 79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
ESV Galatians 4:8 ¶ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.
Former idol worshipers were locked into a system that legitimized immorality. It is like states that legalize prostitution today, except they merged prostitution with religion.
Part of the coming of Jesus to the earth will be the affliction of all those who have afflicted God's people with injustice and all those who reject God's loving offer of mercy.
ESV 2 Thessalonians 1:6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
ESV Psalm 94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!
ESV Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
ESV 2 Thessalonians 2:13 ¶ But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
3) Witness To Outsiders By Loving One Another
1Thess 4:9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Apostolic Prayer 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13
1 Thessalonians 3:6-13
ESV 1 Thessalonians 3:6 ¶ But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you-- 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? 11 ¶ Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Beale outlines this as follows:
Faith is encouraged when others endure trials 3:6-10
Witherington III & Marshall on 3:6-13
Christian growth is not produced automatically by divine grace, so that the believer needs to make no effort, but rather the believer must be encouraged to show faith and love. So Paul can both pray to God for his converts and thank him for their spiritual progress and also urge them to grow in their faith and express delight when they respond to his urging. Paul is not suggesting however that the Thessalonians have defects in their faith, only that they have deficiiencies which need to be supplied. Their undrestanding needs deepening and their adherence to core Christian values needs to be strengthened.
Pray that others be strengthened to endure the last judgment 3:11-13
Faith & Demonstrated love
How to pray for one another:
1) Pray for fellowship to happen. Don't take it for granted. Notice that Satan hinders believers getting together. 2:18
2) Pray for demonstrated love to happen between believers in the church.
3) Pray for holiness in the lives of one another.
4) Pray for an awareness and an eagerness for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!
ESV 1 Thessalonians 3:6 ¶ But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you-- 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? 11 ¶ Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Beale outlines this as follows:
Faith is encouraged when others endure trials 3:6-10
Witherington III & Marshall on 3:6-13
Christian growth is not produced automatically by divine grace, so that the believer needs to make no effort, but rather the believer must be encouraged to show faith and love. So Paul can both pray to God for his converts and thank him for their spiritual progress and also urge them to grow in their faith and express delight when they respond to his urging. Paul is not suggesting however that the Thessalonians have defects in their faith, only that they have deficiiencies which need to be supplied. Their undrestanding needs deepening and their adherence to core Christian values needs to be strengthened.
Pray that others be strengthened to endure the last judgment 3:11-13
Faith & Demonstrated love
How to pray for one another:
1) Pray for fellowship to happen. Don't take it for granted. Notice that Satan hinders believers getting together. 2:18
2) Pray for demonstrated love to happen between believers in the church.
3) Pray for holiness in the lives of one another.
4) Pray for an awareness and an eagerness for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thinking about these books for 2009
I'm pondering a study through these two epistles for 2009. These epistles are rich with themes that help believers today just as they helped the church in Thessalonica. One way to view Thessalonians brings out these themes in this order...
Thanksgiving
Relationship
Separation
Exhortations
Instructions
Watchfulness
Assembling
Right Conduct
The Day of the Lord
Comfort in affliction
The Day of the Lord
Thanksgiving & Prayer
Exhortations
I'm still praying about what to do and how to do it, but so far it seems really good to me to look at the Thessalonian letters for some part of 2009, maybe the first quarter.
Thanksgiving
Relationship
Separation
Exhortations
Instructions
Watchfulness
Assembling
Right Conduct
The Day of the Lord
Comfort in affliction
The Day of the Lord
Thanksgiving & Prayer
Exhortations
I'm still praying about what to do and how to do it, but so far it seems really good to me to look at the Thessalonian letters for some part of 2009, maybe the first quarter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
