Taking a break

I had surgery on my shoulder may 25th and will not be preaching for the next 3 weeks. I will continue the study at that time.

1 Thessalonians 2:4

1 Thessalonians 2:1-6

INTRODUCTION: Approval is important to our world. If you look on most products you’ll find some seal of approval, UL, USDA, CPA, ADA, from steaks to tooth paste, from cars to toys, all have someone giving approval. Approval or the lack of approval, by parents or peers can lift us up or cast a cloud over our lives. Many of us work in jobs where we have to be certified through apprenticeships, state board exams, or academic test. In this passage we have Paul describing himself and his fellow missionaries as “men approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel. How often have we considered that God has an approval system and our life may be greatly affected by that approval? Yet for the most part we live our lives as if there is no test, no evaluation, with little concern for how God’s approval affects our lives.

1. APPROVED BY GOD

A. MATTHEW 25 JUDGEMENT PARABLES

a. THE FINAL DAY COMES AND THE DOOR IS CLOSED

b. EACH PERSON ACCOUNTS FOR WHAT THEY WERE GIVEN AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE WITH IT.

c. THEY ARE SEPIRATED FOR REWARD AND PUNISHMENT

B. REVELATION 20:13 THE BOOKS ARE OPENED AND EACH PERSON IS JUDGED BY WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN LIFE.

C. 1 CORINTHIANS 3:12-15 OUR WORK WILL BE TESTED BY FIRE.

D. THERE ARE CONSQUENCES

a. ETERNAL DISPOSITION REV 20:13

b. ETERNAL COMFORT 1COR 3:14

c. PRESENT TRUST 1 THESS 2:4 APPROVED TO BE ENTRUSTED

d. MATTHEW 25:23 THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL ARE TRUSTED WITH MORE.

2. STRIVE FOR EXECLANCE AND APPROVAL

A. IF THIS IS TRUE WE SHOULD STRIVE FOR EXCELANCE

B. PHIL 3:13 WE FIND PAUL DESCRIBING HIS WORK

C. 2 TIM 4:7 PAUL EVALUATES HIS LIFE

D. 1 CORINTHIANS 9:24-27 PAUL ENCOURAGES US TO STRIVE TO WIN

E. THE GOAL OF OUR LIFE IN CHRIST IS MATTHEW 25:21 “WELL DONE”

3. GETTING THERE

A. SO HOW DO WE GET THERE, BECOME THE PERSON APPROVED BY GOD?

B. 1 COR 3:12 BUILD OUR LIFE WITH QUALITY

a. WOOD, HAY, OR GOLD, PREACOUS STONES

b. INCLUDE IN YOUR LIFE THINGS OF REAL VALUE AND EXCLUDE THE TRIVIAL.

c. PHIL 4:8 FOUCUS YOUR HEART AND MIND ON THE GOOD.

C. AVOID SIDE TRACKS

a. 2 TIM 2:4 DISOPLINE YOUR FOCUS

b. LK 16:13 NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTORS

D. USE THE BIBLE CORRECTLY 2 Tim 2:15

a. Read what it says not what you want it to.

b. James 1:23-25 do what it says

E. JOHN 14:25 BE LEAD BY THE SPIRIT

F. COL 3:23 WORK AS UNTO THE LORD

CONCLUSION: Have you been settling for a mediocre life with God? Do you want to hear “well done good and faithful servant” at the end of your life? Let us strive to be workmen approved by God who need not be ashamed but can say with Paul;

^{2Ti 4:7} I have fought the good fight, ^f I have finished the race, ^g I have kept the faith.

^{2Ti 4:8} Now there is in store for me ^h the crown of righteousness, ⁱ which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day ^j —and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. ^k

1 Thes 1:8-10

INTRODUCTION: Often we look at the people around us and think they are closed off to hearing about Jesus. We are sure they have no interst in spiritual things. They make mart remarks or poke fun at Christians, throw up smoke screens and ask impossible questions. From that it is easy to draw the conclusion that they don’t care. Yet they are looking and listening. The world is full of slick cons, self seekers, compromisers, snake oil salesman, and fony faith. The result is they just put up walls and road blocks yet they realy do want to know about God but they want the truth. The Thessalonians were getting the message out. “The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,” Just as they got the message out to their world we can get it out to ours, and in just these few sentences Paul tells us how the Thessalonians did it.

1. RECIVING THE MESSAGE

A. WHAT KIND OF RECEPTION YOU GAVE US.

B. GOSPEL, WORDS, POWER, DEEP CONVICTION, HOLY SPIRIT (5)

C. KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE REALY SAYS ABOUT GOD

D. LET THE WORDS EMPOWER YOU

E. ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO OPEN YOUR MIND AND HEART TO THEM

F. TAKE THEM SEROUSLY

2. TURNNING FROM IDOLS TO SERVE GOD

A. TURNED FROM IDOLS TO WORSHIPING THE LIVING GOD

B. THEY TURNED FROM THE WORSHIP OF THE WORLD

C. THEY TURNED FROM THE FOCUS OF THE WORLD

D. THEY STARTED SERVING THE LIVING GOD

E. PEOPLE SAW THE CHANGE IN THEIR LIFE

F. WE MUST ALLOW OUR FAITH TO MAKE OUR LIFE SIGNIFAGANTLY DIFFERENT.

3. LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAY

A. THEIR FOCUS OF LIFE WAS NOT ON THIS WORLD BUT THE NEXT

B. WE MUST HAVE A SECOND WORLD FOCUS

C. Heb 11:13-16, 1Pet 1:17, 1 Pet 2:11-12

CONCLUSION: When we truly receive God’s word with conviction and power. When we allow that word to change our life and living, and when we shift our focus to life beyond this world, people will see, people will listen, and lives around us will be changed.

Crazy Love Book

We bought the Crazy Love Book by Francis Chain. We gave away 60 so far. I hope they will make a real difference in members lives. Check out www.crazylovebook.com Some people have already shared how it has had an effect on their lives. We are having a discussion group on Sundays at 9:00 in the social hall.

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

“Imitators of the Lord”

INTRODUCTION: Paul commends the Thessalonians’ for becoming imitators of God. The rest of Thessalonians is about how to be imitators of the Lord. To imitate something you have to get to know it. To imitate God you have to get to know God, not God as you make Him up but God as He really is. Francis Chan in “Crazy Love” starts out by telling us we need to get a hold on who God is. “A lot of people say whatever you believe about God is fine, so long as you are sincere. But that is comparable to describing your friend in one instance as a three-hundred-pound sumo wrestler and later describing the same person as a five-foot-two, ninety-pound gymnast. No matter how sincere you are, both descriptions of your friend simply cannot be true.” It does not matter how sincerely you believe if you are sincerely wrong. But I do not want to go off on a tangent here so let’s focus on this call to be imitators of the Lord. How far does this go? How radical do we get? Can we not enjoy a movie, must we become missionaries?

1. YOU BECAME IMITATORS OF THE LORD

A. John 15:12 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you”

B. John 14:23 “if anyone loves me he will obey my teaching”

C. James 1:22-25 listening and doing

D. John 13:15-17 setting an example for you

E. Romans 12:2 be transformed

F. Romans 8:29 “be conformed to the likeness of His Son

2. HOW TO IMITATE GOD

A. ALL POWERFUL AND ALL KNOWING (JOKE)

B. VALUES

C. COMPASSION

D. LOVE

E. JUDGEMENT

F. GIFTS (which enable us to serve God in our own unique way)

3. HOW TO START

A. CLEAN YOUR SLATE (put all your ideas, values, and notions a side, giving God a new canvas to paint on.)

B. BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND

C. START KNOWING AND ACCEPTING GOD AS HE REALLY IS

D. START LETTING GOD DRAW A NEW PICTURE OF WHAT YOUR LIFE SHOULD AND WILL BE.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, here I am. My life is filled with many things, values and attitudes that I have acquired. Lord I give them all to you for you to wash them all away so that I might know you as you really are. Lord reveal yourself to me today and each day that I might become the person you want me to be. Help me to know and imitate you in every part of my life. Lord whatever your will for my life is, may your will be done. AMEN

Romans 21:1-3

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 “Faith, Love and hope”

INTRODUCTION: Today millions of people will walk through church doors all around our country. Few will be rememberd, few will make a difference, in their church, family or world. But there will be some that will make a difference, some who will turn their lives and the world upside down through the living out of their faith in God. The Thessalonians were those kind of people. As Paul gives prise to them he tells us how we can be one of those people that others will praise God for.

1. WORK IS THE OUTCOME OF FAITH

A. work that comes from faith

B. not working to earn merit or favor from God

C. work that reflects your faith in God and your gifts

D. One church may have the best worship service, another the soundest theology, Other still have great sence of organization.

E. We seem to have a heart for caring others.

F. Camp Daniel, the Food Pantry and many other things

2. LABOR IS PROMPTED BY LOVE

A. Their labor was not promted by guilt or a sence of earning salvation, but love

B. Our labor must flow out of our love for God and our love for each other

C. You can not shame it, or regulate it, What each of us chooses to do as a work of faith must flow freely from our heart.

3. ENDURANCE IS INSPIRED BY HOPE

A. In the face of persecution they endured by the hope they had in Jesus

B. Endured by the hope that their work was not in vain

C. Endured by knowing they made a difference for God.

CONCLUSION: What will we be known for, what will people praise and thank God for?

Will our faith have produced work for God? Will our love for Jesus propt us to labor for the building of the kingdom. Will the hope we have in Christ inspire us to endure? If so than People will remember us as people of faith and praise God for efforts. Will you be part of that church?