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Relax, God is in Control

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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
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The Hope of Certainty

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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
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Good Preachers and Good Listeners Pt 2

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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
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A Good Preacher and a Good Listener Pt 1

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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
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The Right Role Model

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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
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The New Identity

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Living a New Life Colossians 3:1-17 “Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.”                   What does it mean to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus?  This is the fundamental question we all must answer.  For some, it means going to church on Sunday and being a member of a local church.  For others, it involves engaging in the social problems confronting our society.  For others, being a Christian is about following religious rules and regulations.  While there are some elements of truth in each of these statements, Paul paints a different picture.  Being a follower of Christ involves a complete and radical shift in our worldview and understanding of life itself.  Before Christ, our focus is on this world.  We focus on our career goals, financial security, and desire for stability and safety for our family.  However, Paul c
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The Foundation of Truth

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The Foundation for All Truth Colossians 2:8-15 “See to It that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”                   The most critical question today is the question of truth—or, to put it even more succinctly, the basis by which we determine what is true. C.S. Lewis wrote, “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.” How do we determine what is true in a world of conflicting viewpoints, especially when it becomes a matter of eternal consequence?                   For Paul, truth was not just a philosophical question to be debated.  For him, it was literally a matter of life and death.  Paul lived with the constant threat of death and imprisonment for the message he preached and lived by.  Paul would eventually be executed for these truths (2 Timothy 4:3).  
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