GOSPEL THANKFULNESS (1 OF 13)
by Drew Hunter
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5
This content is part of a series.
Gospel Thankfulness (1 of 13)
Series: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5
For the next few months we'll be these two letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church.
These letters have a lot to teach us as individuals and as a church. Our purpose here is to glorify God by being and making disciples of Jesus who are a community of worshippers on mission. At the heart of our purpose is discipleship. We want to grow as disciples, we want to help one another grow as disciples, and we want to help others follow Jesus.
And these letters exist to help us do this. They were God's word to those Christians then, and they are God's word to us today.
Here is what I'm hopeful God would do for us through these letters. Here are three reasons why we're in these letters.
1. First, because we need encouragement in discouraging times. And these letters offer that. The believers in Thessalonica were in a pluralistic culture. They were marginalized. They were persecuted in various ways. And yet they were thriving, and joyful, and growing, and hopeful. So, these letters show us how to flourish as Christians in difficult days.
2. Second, because we need to have our hope in the return of Christ reinvigorated. Most of us think too little about Christ's second coming. And when we do, we often focus on the controversial or secondary matters. And these remind us of the main point of that coming day: Jesus Christ himself, our king and our friend, is coming. And he's coming to make all things new.
3. Third, these letters give a vision of a church that is earnest in it's commitment to growing as disciples of Jesus. And that's what kind of church we want to be. We want to be and make disciples of Jesus. And these letters fill out that vision for us.
We can summarize this with the title of this series. We're calling it ''Until He Comes.'' These letters hold out the hope of his coming, but they also call us to a certain kind of hopef ...
Series: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5
For the next few months we'll be these two letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church.
These letters have a lot to teach us as individuals and as a church. Our purpose here is to glorify God by being and making disciples of Jesus who are a community of worshippers on mission. At the heart of our purpose is discipleship. We want to grow as disciples, we want to help one another grow as disciples, and we want to help others follow Jesus.
And these letters exist to help us do this. They were God's word to those Christians then, and they are God's word to us today.
Here is what I'm hopeful God would do for us through these letters. Here are three reasons why we're in these letters.
1. First, because we need encouragement in discouraging times. And these letters offer that. The believers in Thessalonica were in a pluralistic culture. They were marginalized. They were persecuted in various ways. And yet they were thriving, and joyful, and growing, and hopeful. So, these letters show us how to flourish as Christians in difficult days.
2. Second, because we need to have our hope in the return of Christ reinvigorated. Most of us think too little about Christ's second coming. And when we do, we often focus on the controversial or secondary matters. And these remind us of the main point of that coming day: Jesus Christ himself, our king and our friend, is coming. And he's coming to make all things new.
3. Third, these letters give a vision of a church that is earnest in it's commitment to growing as disciples of Jesus. And that's what kind of church we want to be. We want to be and make disciples of Jesus. And these letters fill out that vision for us.
We can summarize this with the title of this series. We're calling it ''Until He Comes.'' These letters hold out the hope of his coming, but they also call us to a certain kind of hopef ...
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