Children of the Light (1 Thessalonians 5:12-28)
God has saved us into a new family, and he’s growing us in love together. He’s growing us in love for the older siblings he’s placed in leadership over us. He’s growing us in love for the younger siblings in our church who need different forms of wise and patient love. And he’s faithful to […]
Living in Light of the End (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11)
How we think about the future changes how we act now. So how would it change your life if you really, truly, deeply believed that Jesus was going to return soon? In this talk, our guest speaker David Cook helps us to think through the Christian life, the end of the world, and everything in […]
The Light of Holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12)
Holiness is a topic that can seem archaic or self-righteous. But in this passage Paul says that it’s essential to life in Christ. He tells the Thessalonian church to be holy, because they are holy. The test-case he uses for their holiness is their attitude to sex, and how much their attitudes about sex have […]
Standing in the Light (1 Thessalonians 3:6-13)
“And now we truly live.” We all have different things that would make us speak like this. But Paul said it when he was thinking about this baby church standing firm in the faith.Their faith was what making his life abound. And when he thinks about it, he bursts into prayer, asking God himself to […]
Children Across the Sea (1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5)
What do you have to do to be a Christian? Nothing. What kind of person do you have to be? The joy and glory of someone else: of Jesus Christ, and of his apostle Paul. Paul was burdened for these Thessalonian infants in the faith, longing to hear about their faith, as they lived in […]
Light From Darkness (1 Thessalonians 2:13-20)
When the word of the gospel came to Thessalonica, people were divided. Some accepted the word, and became the first Christian church. Because of the faith and love of those people, they became Paul’s joy and crown. But others rejected the gospel, and persecuted the church. Because of their unbelief and hatred, Paul says that […]
The Light of Love (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
When Paul remembers his life with the Thessalonians, he uses many images of family, with incredibly tender words. “We were like infants among you,” “we were like mothers to you,” and “we were like fathers to you.” In the face of Christ, God woke us up to his love, and to the family of the […]
Born Into the Light (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)
Have you ever bought something that wasn’t “authentic”? As we begin our series through the first letter to the Thessalonians, we hear of Paul’s encouragement from hearing about the church, and his encouragement to the church. He encourages them in the hallmarks of authentic Christianity: work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by […]