1Thessalonians Encouragement to a fledgling Church

Paul’s Greeting Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians faith (verses 1-3) Paul is specifically thankful for to them for what?

Paul’s Thankfulness Works produced by faith Contrast and compare with Ephesians, James… James: Faith without works is dead, show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works Ephesians: For it is by grace that you are saved…not by works lest any many should boast Both are stating that our faith is a living one that produces work and fruit that points to and glorifies God the Father.

Paul’s Thankfulness Labor prompted by love Doing something for the right reasons Working for something other than ourselves and our own motives

Paul’s Thankfulness Endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ Coping with struggle is hard enough Coping with struggle is impossible without Christ We can fight through when we know we will have the victory All three of these require an eternal perspective from someone changed by the Gospel Works, labor, and endurance done in faith, love, and hope

A snapshot of Election For we know…that he has chosen you Why?

We know you are chosen Chosen because: Because they weren’t just words They were delivered with power With the Holy Spirit With deep conviction

Paul knew they were chosen Because there was a clear two-way communication of the Holy Spirit. Empowering the apostle’s words, causing deep conviction and repentance in the hearers. God needs to do this, or it is simply words, or logic, that may produce knowledge, but not real transformation So did Paul preach to them because He knew they were elect ahead of time? Does this make it easier or harder to evangelize?

How did Paul know He was right? Knowing what we know about faith/works…what should Paul be hearing about the Church in Thessalonica? What was He hearing about them?

The Word on the Street Became imitators of the way the Apostles lived among them In turn, became imitators of the Lord Despite the difficulties of being identified as Christians…still received and lived out the message with joy Became a model worthy of imitation for other churches in need of encouragement

Reputation of the Church Paul didn’t even need to have a special investigative unit to figure out how they were progressing in growing with the Lord They had become known everywhere for their faith Everyone knew that they had repented turned away from idols and were living a different life What would be the “single sentence” about our church? What would be the “single sentence” about our life?

Chapter 2 The mission was a success Why? Because of a pure methodology in keeping with the purity of the message

Missionary Methodology Willingness to share the good news despite danger and difficulty This is powered by God, not something we would probably do otherwise Did not use flattery The gospel is not a message that paints us in a very positive light in most senses Did not pretend in order to make gain The gospel is its own promise We do not add to it to make it seem more appealing

Methodology continued Not looking for praise from men We don’t share the message in order to look good From the other angle, it’s okay to be viewed as weird and different, because hopefully we are different! Not abusing our power or authority Could have played the “apostle card” anytime he wanted to That would fly in the face of: All being equal in God’s eyes All being hopelessly lost without God’s intervention in our life Every member of the body gifted and useful for ministry Serving God humbly provided an example that was causing the gospel to be spread everywhere

Methodology continued Formed deep and transparent personal relationships Worked hard to avoid being a burden to the fledgling church Why are these important?

Putting off the Old Man Who was Saul? What was He like?

One final proof of a living faith Verses The fact that they were persecuted even unto death for their faith proves that it is real faith True living faith will yield conflict and struggle Please note: We shouldn’t have to seek out conflict and struggle, it will find us as we live out our faith in a humble fashion as imitators of Christ

Wrapping up Ch. 1 & 2 Results of a transformed life: Works done because of faith in God Labor done in love for others Endurance because of hope in Christ Gospel is preached to everyone, regardless of who the elect are, because we can’t know ahead of time who they are The way that we carry out our mission can help or hinder the spread of the Gospel Done in humility Without burdening others In deep, honest, transparent relationships

Final Question What would a paragraph about your faith, written by your spouse, kids, coworkers, or neighbors look like?

Next Week 1 Thessalonians 4-5 Living a life that is pleasing to God The Day of the Lord