The Attributes of God:

The Foundation of A Christian Life 2 Thess. 2:13-17 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”                   In a confusing world filled with contradictory views and people questioning Biblical truth, how do we know what truth is and what God genuinely desires for us?   Where do we turn to discover what is true? While we want to know God and follow His purpose, we struggle to understand His purpose. Having encouraged the believers to stand firm in the face of opposition and having warned them of the danger of deception, Paul now points them to the truth.  Truth and wickedness are irreconcilable.  God judges people by allowing them to be deluded in their thinking and to believe what is false. However, for His followers, He has given His Word so that they might know the truth.                   This confronts us with a question

Relax, God’s in Control 2 Thess. 2:1-13 “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.”                     We live in a time of rapid change, uncertainty, and disagreement where people live in fear.  No longer is there any moral consensus, so people of every political or moral ideology fall prey to the fear that our world and culture are moving on a downward spiral toward oblivion.  Fear is the opposite of faith, and when our focus shifts away from God and his word, we no longer have a foundation for security.                   As strong as the faith of the Christians in Thessalonica was, they were beginning to be captured by fear. False teachers were infiltrating the church and proclaiming that the day of the Lord had already happened. In the p

The Hope of Certainty 1 Thess. 4:13-18 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.”                   When confronted with the certainty and reality of death, I can leave us overwhelmed with a sense of powerlessness and hopelessness. Of all the events that happen in life, there is no more certain and disruptive than death.  When it strikes, it always comes unexpectedly, leaving us with a sense of powerlessness and hopelessness. With all our technology and advancements in medicine, we can only delay death for a short season, but in the end, we are ultimately powerless. For many people, death is the one topic we avoid talking about or even thinking about.  We believe that if we ignore it, it will go away.  But it does not. It still strikes with impunity.                    However, death was not part of God’s plan; instead, it is what we chose.  When given the option of life and eternal commun

Preachers and Listeners Pt 2 1 Thessalonians 2:1-13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs it work in you who believe.”                   What do we expect when we go to church on Sunday and listen to a message?  When we listen to a sermon, we expect the pastor to have carefully prepared the message that he is going to give.  We trust that he has studied the passage and prayerfully considered how it might relate to our lives.  We would be concerned if he got up on a Sunday, just randomly picked a passage, and then said he was going to talk about it without any preparation or study. We expect a pastor to be prepared when he enters the pulpit. What we often fail to recognize is that there are two people involved in the message of the sermon. There is the pastor communicating the message, and second, there are those

Good Preachers and Good Listeners (Pt 1) 1 Thess. 2:1-13 “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak, not pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. …For this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but for what it really is: the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”                   Communication is always a two-way dialogue.  Not only does it involve a person speaking, but it also involves the other person listening to what is said. So when we listen to a message, how do we not only evaluate what the pastor is saying, but how do we listen to what is being said? It's crucial for us to not only question if the preacher is preaching what is true, but also to engage in self-evaluation and ask, am I a good listener?  In the passage before us, Paul describes not only what is the characteristic of a good preacher but

Following the Right Role Models 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”                   Who we emulate is who we become.  Everyone has people they admire and look up to, who serve as examples.  Many of these role models are based upon what we like and want to become, and we follow them because they have achieved success in areas we desire to excel in or affirm values we uphold.  Our role models may be a person we know, a public figure we admire, or an author we read. They can have a positive influence as they challenge us to improve or be negative role models because they affirm the values that lead us in the wrong direction.  In other words, our role models can affirm both what is suitable as well as what is incorrect.  One of the most critical questions we must ask is who we want to become and w