March 23 = 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18

Paul's Prayer Request

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Warning Against Lazy, Irresponsible Behavior

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Final Greeting and Benediction

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

March 22 = 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

The Man of Lawlessness Will Be Revealed.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Stand Firm and Hold Fast Because You Are Chosen for Salvation

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

March 21 = 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Greeting

2 Thessalonians 1:1-2

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonian Believers

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

The Judgment at Christ’s Coming

2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

OPEN QUESTIONS:

• What did your parents do right in raising you? What rewards and punishments worked best?

 =====

2 Thessalonians 1

1Paul, Silas and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

5All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12We pray this 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. 

 ======

OUTLINE

2 THESSALONIANS 1

Paul opens his second letter to the Thessalonians by praising them for faith in Christ and for their love for one another. He encourages them, saying that the persecution they are enduring will prepare them for the Kingdom.

I. Paul’s Praise of the Church at Thessalonica (1:1–4)

A. The church’s testimony (1:1–3)

1. Their faith in the Savior has grown more and more (1:1–3a).

2. Their love for the saints has grown more and more (1:3b).

B. The church’s trials (1:4): They have grown spiritually in spite of troubles and trials.

II. Paul’s Promise to the Church at Thessalonica (1:5–10): The apostle says their trials will be used to accomplish a twofold purpose.

A. What (1:5–6)

1. Concerning the persecuted (1:5): Their hardships will be used to prepare believers for the Kingdom of God.

2. Concerning the persecutors (1:6): God is already preparing judgment and punishment for those who harm believers.

B. When (1:7–10): Both purposes will be accomplished at Christ’s second coming.

III. Paul’s Prayer for the Church at Thessalonica (1:11–12)

A. Concerning God’s power (1:11a): That it might strengthen them.

B. Concerning God’s purpose (1:11b): That it might be fulfilled in them.

C. Concerning God’s person (1:12): That he might be glorified by them.

 

 DIGGING QUESTIONS:

• What has happened since Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 1:4)? How has persecution affected this church? 

• What is the evidence that they are "worthy" of God's kingdom (2 Thessalonians 1:5)? 

• Who is on trial here? Who is on the witness stand? In the judge's chambers? 

• Why is God waiting until the Second Coming to punish these persecutors? Who benefits from this delayed justice? How so? 

• What quality do you think Paul admires most in these Christians? 

• What do you see as the net effect of Paul's thanksgiving and prayer?

REFLECTION & ACTION QUESTIONS:

• How will you exercise faith and love this week in a specific way or relationship? 

• Which of your current struggles are a result of being a Christian? 

• How do you feel about the punishment mentioned in verses 8-9? How might you feel if you were being severely oppressed? 

• Pray Paul's prayer (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12) in your own words for one another this week.

Devotional

How to be Saved – 2 Thessalonians 1:8 “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The main point to the above verse is the punishment God will give those who trouble the saints of God. But a close examination of this verse will reveal the way to be saved. Notice first that the vengeance of God will be taken on two groups of people: ‘them that know not God and that obey not the gospel’. Examining those two groups, we can see here how we may avoid the “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9) that our heavenly Father will bring upon the disobedient.

First, we see that one group of people who will be punished is those who know not God. In order, therefore, to avoid the vengeance of God, we must know God. How do we learn about God so that we may know Him? Our answer comes from Romans 10:13-17, hearing the word of God. Without hearing the word of God, we cannot believe in God nor know Him. If we then know Him, we will be able to avoid His vengeance and be able to enjoy eternity in heaven.

Secondly, to avoid the ‘everlasting destruction’ of the Lord, we must obey the gospel. Jesus taught that, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). That which concerns the kingdom of God is what makes up the gospel of Christ. We can find in the scriptures that Jesus is the head of the kingdom/body/church (Colossians 1:18), salvation is in Christ (Ephesians 3:6), and all spiritual blessings are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). The gospel is the “good news” of salvation in Jesus Christ.

It should really come as no surprise that 2 Thessalonians 1:8, with the same words, shows both what will condemn a person and what will save their soul. If not knowing God and not obeying the gospel will bring the vengeance of God upon us, then it must also be true that knowing God and obeying the gospel will keep us from suffering from that same vengeance.

In Christ, Steve Preston

March 20 = 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Paul's Final Exhortations (Christian Conduct) 

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

Paul's Benediction

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

OPEN:

• What causes you to "blow a gasket": Traffic jams? Christmas shopping? Bickering children? Burned dinners? Or what?

DIG:

• From this passage, what people make up the Christian community? 
• What attitudes underlie Paul's various commands here? What impressions of the Christian life do these commands give you? 
• How would you summarize the goal and hope of the Christian life (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) in your own words? 
• How do the many commands in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 relate to the multi-dimensional blessing of 1 Thessalonians 5:23? To the promise of 1 Thessalonians 5:24? To the requests of 1 Thessalonians 5:25-27? To the benediction of 1 Thessalonians 5:28?

REFLECT:

• Of the various commands, which are most relevant to your church? Your small group? Your workplace? You? Which do you feel you are already practicing well? Which one will you work on this week? How? 
• What encouragement, sanctification, and grace do you receive from God to fulfill these commands? How has your small group been a help to you in this regard?

Devotional

It’s Our Job

 

            An organization called OnePoll did a survey concerning the generous habits of Americans. The results showed that the average American commits five good deeds a month—and wants to do more. Some of the good deeds were little more than good manners (holding a door open for a stranger), while some required personal investment (carrying groceries home or paying for a stranger’s meal). When people were invited to share the nicest thing anybody ever did for them, the stories were touching tributes to human decency and kindness to those unable to pay it back.

            These stories are all around us because kind and good people are everywhere. A school bus driver in Copperas Cove (west of Temple), Texas, didn’t want children waiting in tall weeds at the bus stop—so he came back with his mower and groomed the abandoned property. A sergeant returning from overseas deployment for the birth of his son got stranded by the weather at an airport in Pennsylvania until a group of health workers on the way to a conference drove him the last eight hours in a blowing snowstorm. A 27-year-old worker at a New York Taco Bell routinely writes inspirational quotes and messages on the receipts she provides. A man on a plane found a lost wallet that contained ID and a paycheck, added some of his own cash, and anonymously mailed it back to the owner. These, and many other, stories play out every day as people do the work commissioned from the Lord—whether they realize it or not.

            “And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 NIV).

            Daily kindnesses make our lives run smoothly. When we receive kindness from another, it reminds us that almost all people have similar interests and challenges. When we perform a good deed for another, we are filled with a joyous warmth that reminds us that we are, at heart, good people who want good things for others. All of this comes to us in the teachings of Jesus. He called us to care for one another without first deciding how it might be to our advantage.

            God has been so good and generous to us that we are drawn to Him. We want to show those same character qualities to others as we go through our lives. We know that we have the ability to make another’s life brighter and happier just by a simple act of kindness. We all deplore the cruelties and crudities of our world. Here is a way to reflect some of God’s divine light and warmth across the landscape. One of the most obvious badges of Christian conduct is simple kindness. And so, with a good deed here, a kind word there, a small sacrifice now, we bless the world and imitate the One who sacrificed everything so that we might have the opportunity to be saved from certain and deserved doom. It’s our God-given job to improve the disposition around us!

-----


4 Powerful Ways To Spark Your Prayer Life

https://faithinthenews.com/4-powerful-ways-spark-prayer-life/

https://wisdomofgodwithwendy.org/want-spark-prayer-life-4-ways-can/

Here are 4 powerful ways that you can use to fire up your prayer life.

Pray Back His Word

There is nothing better, I believe, than to pray back God’s Word to Him.  We know that the psalms contain many prayers in the form of songs and David’s psalms are really prayers that were put to music.  Why not use some of these praise and prayer psalms as part of your prayer life like in Psalm 3 which says “I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill” (Psalm 3:4) or Psalm 84 “My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God” (Psalm 84:2).

Write out your Blessings

I challenged someone once who was going through a dark night of the soul to write out on a piece of paper everything that God has blessed them with.  They came up with a list that contained (first and foremost) their being saved, a job, a home, a family, food, and so many other things.  I believe that if we start counting our blessings and write them down one by one it will be easier to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:18).

Pray Whenever/Wherever you Can

Going back to 1 Thessalonians in chapter 5:16-17, it says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing” but how can we pray without ceasing?   The Greek wording used for “without ceasing” is “adialeiptōs” and it means “without intermission, incessantly” which means that we can pray throughout the day, like when we are waiting in line or in traffic, when we are showering, when we are driving, or just about any time you can think about it.  I start my day with prayer and devote certain times where I can be alone and pray in private, so don’t leave out this type of praying, but when Paul said to “pray without ceasing” I believe he meant that we can pray throughout the day so that we can be “constant in prayer” as Paul writes in Romans 12:12.

Find a Prayer Partner

I love to have others pray for me, but I also exchange prayers for them.  It is one thing to be praying for yourself, but what a privilege to have others pray for you.  Find a prayer partner and keep in touch with them on a regular basis.  Ask them to pray for you for certain things during the week, and vow to pray for them for their spiritual and physical needs.  Having a prayer partner is like having an accountability partner.  Commit to pray for them and for them to pray for you, and you may be more committed to prayer.

Conclusion

For sure, we should pray for God to be glorified, for God always seeks to glorify His name. When we pray, we focus on God’s will, and we know for certain that it is always God’s will for His name to be glorified. Pray that prayer every day because we know that is always His will.

May God richly bless you,

Pastor Jack Wellman

March 17 = 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

The Comfort of the Lord's Return (Believers Who Have Died)

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Sudden Arrival of the Day of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

SECTION OUTLINE FOUR (1 THESSALONIANS 4)

Paul discusses the glorious hope of the church in view of Christ’s return.

I.    The Challenges in View of the Return of Christ (4:1–12)

II.   The Chronology of the Return of Christ (4:13–18)

A.  The purpose (4:13, 18): Paul explains the Return of Christ for two reasons:

1.   To clarify (4:13): He does not want them to be ignorant of God’s prophetic plan.

2.   To comfort (4:18): This glorious event may be used to encourage each other.

B.  The particulars (4:14–17)

1.   The return of the Lord (4:14, 16a-c)

a.   The saints (4:14): All believers currently in heaven will accompany him.

b.  The sound (4:16a-c)

(1) A loud command (4:16a)

(2) The voice of the archangel (4:16b)

(3) The trumpet call of God (4:16c)

2.   The resurrection of the dead (4:16d): The bodies of dead believers will rise first.

3.   The response of the living (4:15, 17): The believers on earth will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

 

OPEN:

• Who was the first family member you recall dying? Who have you been closest to through their dying days? How did this affect you? What else has shaped your view of death and dying?

DIG:

• How would the Thessalonians have felt if they had remained ignorant of the Christian's resurrection and of Christ's return? How would Paul's words have encouraged them? 
• Do Paul's words about Christ coming as "a thief in the night" (at an unknown time) calm, or stir up fear? How does Paul's analogy of night and day speak to this fear? 
• How do faith, love and hope sum up what it means to "belong to the day" (1 Thessalonians 5:8; see 1 Thessalonians 1:3)?

REFLECT:

• Of all the places you live (at home, work, school or church) where do you feel the need for more faith, more hope or more love? How can your group help you? 
• How can you be better prepared for Christ's return? 
• How does this passage help you as you consider your own death?