A CALL TO COURAGE (3 OF 13)
by Drew Hunter
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
This content is part of a series.
A Call to Courage (3 of 13)
Series: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 2: 1-12
Our prayer as a church is that God would make us an increasingly outward-oriented church. That he would make us a church that shared the gospel more in everyday life.
One of the refrains in the book of Acts is: ''and the church multiplied and increased... and many were added to their number.''
So the prayer is that God would bring people to Himself in Christ through our friendships.
And this morning, our text shows us why this is such a challenge.
Why is it that many of us haven't sincerely shared the gospel in a very long time. Or that we find ourselves thinking that it's someone else's job. Or that we seem to be content to just live a godly life in front of people, and don't feel the burden to share the gospel with them?
This text shows us that in order for us to be a church that is truly outward-oriented. We need courage in order to be Christians who share the gospel in everyday life, it will require boldness.
And, the cultural winds are shifting further away from openness to hearing about Jesus. So that means, for us to share the gospel, it will bring a level of social rejection.
This is what it was like for the first Christians. It is what it was like for the Apostle Paul. And so this text shows us how to be outward-oriented, Christ-trusting, people-loving, gospel-sharing, awkwardness-embracing, Christians.
So, we'll see first, the boldness we need. And then we'll see three motivations that we need in order to have this courage.
THE BOLDNESS WE NEED (V1-2)
First, verses 1 and 2 show us the boldness we need. It is the boldness that Paul and his coworkers had.
PAUL'S SUFFERING
The key phrase in this text is right here at the end of verse 2: ''we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God.''
Paul's message was this gospel of God. God created us and all things. We rejected his rule and pref ...
Series: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 2: 1-12
Our prayer as a church is that God would make us an increasingly outward-oriented church. That he would make us a church that shared the gospel more in everyday life.
One of the refrains in the book of Acts is: ''and the church multiplied and increased... and many were added to their number.''
So the prayer is that God would bring people to Himself in Christ through our friendships.
And this morning, our text shows us why this is such a challenge.
Why is it that many of us haven't sincerely shared the gospel in a very long time. Or that we find ourselves thinking that it's someone else's job. Or that we seem to be content to just live a godly life in front of people, and don't feel the burden to share the gospel with them?
This text shows us that in order for us to be a church that is truly outward-oriented. We need courage in order to be Christians who share the gospel in everyday life, it will require boldness.
And, the cultural winds are shifting further away from openness to hearing about Jesus. So that means, for us to share the gospel, it will bring a level of social rejection.
This is what it was like for the first Christians. It is what it was like for the Apostle Paul. And so this text shows us how to be outward-oriented, Christ-trusting, people-loving, gospel-sharing, awkwardness-embracing, Christians.
So, we'll see first, the boldness we need. And then we'll see three motivations that we need in order to have this courage.
THE BOLDNESS WE NEED (V1-2)
First, verses 1 and 2 show us the boldness we need. It is the boldness that Paul and his coworkers had.
PAUL'S SUFFERING
The key phrase in this text is right here at the end of verse 2: ''we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God.''
Paul's message was this gospel of God. God created us and all things. We rejected his rule and pref ...
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