1 Thessalonians 2:7b-12

1 Thessalonians 2:7b-12

“The expectation, once again, is that all genuine believers, those who should have confidence that they are brothers, loved and chosen by God, will be imitating the holy, righteous and blameless conduct of the apostles as the apostles themselves emulate Christ. Those who follow Christ will not only emulate the apostles and Christ himself in what they abstain from, but they will be seeking to imitate them in the sense of their service, labor and toil, and caring for the people of God as if they were their own family. They will be utilizing every opportunity to be on mission, working day and night for the Lord, integrating gospel labor with manual labor, never setting aside the ministry to which they have been called…”

Mark 13:1-23

Mark 13:1-23

“Instead of worrying about how to prove our innocence, or defend against the maliciousness of slanderers and accusers, we are told instead to share the hope we have in Christ. And that’s playing a whole different ball game. It’s not fighting with the weapons of this world. It’s meeting persecution with joy, and opposition as opportunity; because every time it’s win-win. It’s a win if people are changed in the process of hearing the truth. And it’s a win if none are converted but the Good News is simply proclaimed. Church: God is glorified when his people give witness to his faithfulness, share generously of his provision, and praise him for his good salvation. And this is how God’s people will remain faithful and obedient until he comes or they are called home.”

1 Thessalonians 2:1-7a

1 Thessalonians 2:1-7a

“Church, we must be on guard against deception. Now you might think, ‘But Josh, our message is divine revelation, how could deception come into play?’ In many ways. When believers are not bold, they are tempted to reduce the offense of the gospel. We think it wise to only share certain things or certain aspects of the gospel with our friends and family, so as to win them over with deception. It is a temptation to deceive regarding our own activity, presenting ourselves in a finer light than is reality; presenting ourselves as more sanctified, or more knowledgeable than we really are. It is a temptation to walk in deception in order to keep the peace, to fit in with the others around us, to reduce offense. But when deceit is considered a pathway to peaceful coexistence, then disaster is around the corner

Church, the Bible classifies deception as a sin, and it is found on nearly every sin-list in the NT. For this reason the Christian preachers shunned it as a legitimate means to gain converts. The motives were not personal enrichment; the message was not tailored for mass appeal…“

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-10

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-10

“Have you ever played Mario Kart? There have been several iterations, but the original was the first to have the unique feature of being able to race against the track record, the fastest completion of whatever track you are on. An ephemeral version of the track champion (a ‘ghost’ if you will) would be projected directly in front of you so that you could learn every twist and turn of the track. And if you were to follow directly on the heels of the fastest time ever, well then you too would finish the race in record time…It was of great benefit, then, that the new Thessalonian Christians were able, even if only for a few short weeks, to observe the behavior of Paul and his associates…Christ Jesus, of course, is our exemplar. He alone ran a perfect race. I like how the NIV translates Hebrews 12:1-2: ‘And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.’ But Jesus did not merely leave the church with a WWJD bracelet. He granted the Holy Spirit. I do not have to wonder ‘what would Jesus do?’ because I am given Spirit empowered models in the church to observe.”

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5a

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5a

“Many who have grown up in the church, like me, have endured prayer meetings where the content of the petitions are expressed only as a “technique for acquiring blessings;” long incantations for the purpose of procuring God’s favor. Or, alternatively, in reaction to such demanding and boisterous prayers of past experience, one can readily fall into the ‘fatalistic’ sort of prayer, where we only ask that ‘God’s will be done’ — which sounds quite pious, but quickly becomes insipid and anemic. I must admit to having lived in both of these ditches described, until I began to learn from the content and framework of the prayers found in Scripture. The prayers of Paul, for instance, are neither fatalistic nor magical, but relational. This means that we pray according to God’s will, in line with his values, and in conformity with his own character and purpose.”

1 Thessalonians 1:1

1 Thessalonians 1:1

“As John Stott observed, “What stands out of Paul’s vision of the church is its God-centredness.”…Grasping this point will fundamentally change the way we think about church. We will think of the worship service less and less in terms of what it does for us, and more and more as an opportunity for us to glorify, praise, and worship God…We will view gathering together with other believers for worship less and less as an intrusion into our weekend, and more and more as an opportunity to declare our allegiance to the one true God.”

Mark 12:35-13:2

Mark 12:35-13:2

“Church, this is the ultimate question, there is none greater: Who do you say this Jesus is? Who is the Christ?Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (quoting C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34

Christian, the cross has freed you up, you have nothing else pressing. Because of Jesus, you can now love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. Anything less shows you have not yet understood the grace and freedom you are now in. You are free now to fully obey and to love and to serve the Lord. If this is hard, your job is not to try harder, but to study the word and sit with God and his son more. Love cannot be forced, but when you know him more and more deeply, you will love him more and more deeply.”

Philippians 2:12-30

Philippians 2:12-30

“There is no such thing as a lone wolf Christian…It’s only together, as the church, that we can, with fear and trembling, work out our salvation as God works in us. This message is not for individual Christians, alone and isolated from the church. That’s not what the promise is for…Christian: Accept that you are a small part of the whole. You are a cog in the machine of the church. It is only when you are plugged into the life of the church that you can fully embrace the blessed work of the father to will and to work for your benefit and for the benefit of those around you…"

Hosea 14:1-9

Hosea 14:1-9

“Hosea calls us here to confess our sins, reject past objects of deceptive faith, and recognize that there is hope only in the sure character of God. Will we humbly admit our own need to receive from the only Savior?Genuine repentance is not bringing a gift in order to bribe or appease God, nor is it a feeling of sorrow or shame about getting caught for doing something wrong. It is not making a deceptive speech about turning over a new leaf when we can do nothing at all to change our own hearts. It is a genuine turning from a life of sin—a life lived for ourselves—to serve the one living and true God. Hosea’s final message to us is this: How do you read the words of this book? Do they enlighten or confound? Are they life or death?”