Introduction: 1 Thessalonians is the Apostle Paul’s epistle on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 — To be effective, the Gospel must be more than merely verbalized, it most be divinely energized, confidently testified, and humanly exemplified.
To make followers of the Lord we must faithfully practice what we forcefully preach.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 — The prerequisite for God’s Word working powerfully in us is for us to receive it as the Word of God, not as the word of men.
To believe the Bible is the subjective opinions of men rather than the divinely inspired oracles of God is to render it no more consequential in your life than the editorial page of The New York Times.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 — If converts will be our crown of rejoicing at Christ's Second Coming, how much hope do you have of rejoicing over such a crown at the coming of Christ?
Apart from our own conversion, nothing should bring us more joy than being instrumental to Christ in the conversion of others.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 — Christians are to keep themselves chaste for Christ, always set apart for their Lord and never seduced by sinful lust.
The bride of Christ is to save herself for her coming Groom by never being seduced into worldly affairs.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 — To pray without ceasing is to live in constant communion with God and in constant reliance upon God. It is more an attitude of the heart than the verbalizing of petitions or the posture of the body.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 — To give thanks in all things, which is what God wants us to do, we must believe that all things are either allowed by God or an act of God, which God ultimately intends for our good and His glory. We must see ourselves as always under God's providential care, never as the helpless prey of haphazard happenstance.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 — It is not what we do for Christ that will prove to be of eternal consequence, but only what Christ does through us. What He has called us to do, He will do, so that it will eternally glorify Him!
Are you a driven man, one who tries to beat out abiding works on his own personal anvil, or a called man, one who trust Christ to do His ageless works through him?
1 Thessalonians 5:24 — It is not our work for Christ, but His working through us that will prove to be spiritually significant, eternally consequential, and glorifying to God!
1 Thessalonians 5:24 — Christians are not those charged to do the work of God, but those God has called to do His work through.
1 Thessalonians 5:26 — I guess from here on out, to protect us from pandemics, we'll have to greet the brethren with holy blown kisses from at least six feet away.
