Sermon Video: What is Goof for Everyone - 1 Thessalonians 5:5-12

As he begins wrapping up his letter with a variety of instruction for the church at Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul weaves his insight around the theme of, "what is good for each other and for everyone else."  In shorter form: What is good for everyone.  As a local church, this is always going to be a significant challenge.  We have to come to agreement on what is good in various situation, decide how to pursue it, and peaceably work together to try to achieve it, for everyone.  Difficult, but not impossible for a people called and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Sermon Video: Awake and Sober - 1 Thessalonians 5:6-11

In light of our foreknowledge that Jesus will return to gather his followers, both the dead in Christ and the currently living, the Apostle Paul encourages us to live our lives in a way that is awake and sober?  What does this mean?  Metaphorically, it means we have an important job to do in sharing the Gospel and making disciples, and we need to be properly focused upon it.

How do we do this?  By embracing faith, love, and hope.

Lastly, Paul ends the discussion of the impact of the return of Christ by reminding us to use this wisdom of what will one day happen to encourage and build each other up.

Sermon Video: Like a Thief in the Night - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5

Having established that both those who have died in Christ and those who are still living when he returns will both be gathered to the Lord, the Apostle Paul now talks about the timing of the return of Jesus.

As Jesus told his disciples, the Father will not reveal when Jesus is coming back, which means that everyone will be surprised, right?  Not actually.  

Those who will not rejoice at his return will certainly be caught off guard, but those who anticipate that day with joy will be ready no matter if the day come sooner or later than we expected.  Why?  Because the wicked are walking in darkness, but the righteous are living in the light of the day.

Sermon Video: The Dead in Christ Will Rise - 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

In answering the concerns of the 1st generation Christians at Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul reassures the followers of Jesus that those who have died in Christ will be at no disadvantage when he returns.  In fact, the dead in Christ will be in line ahead of the living in Christ.

In the end, death has zero power to interfere with God's redemptive plan, all those who are in Christ (who have saving faith), whether they be living or dead, will be united with their Savior.

Sermon Video: We do not grieve like those without hope - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Death and the grief that it causes are as real for followers of Jesus as they are for everyone else.  Because we have faith our grief is not eliminated, it is transformed, transformed by our hope.  Hope in what?  the resurrection of those who are in Jesus Christ.

Sermon Video: Love and a Quiet Life - 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

 The words of the Apostle Paul to the church at Thessalonica about how to please God in this text feel like they have a strong disconnect with life in the modern information age.  It is more difficult for us to make the genuine connections that lead to the type of fellowship he describes that embraces love, and it is much more difficult to lead a quiet life that avoids the turmoil of being involved in other people's business.

And yet, we need Paul's wisdom more than ever.  Our social media and smartphone fueled lives are causing emotional, psychological, and yes, spiritual harms, including to those who are part of the kingdom of God.

Sermon Video: "how to live in order to please God" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

In this text, the Apostle Paul establishes two key truths that we take for granted, but that would have been mind-blowing in the Ancient Near East: (1) We can KNOW how to please God, and (2) we can please God in the way in which we live.

Now, Paul makes this assertion by building on the foundation of salvation by grace through faith.  One cannot please God without the forgiveness of sins and the relationship that faith creates.  

How do we know what pleases the Lord?  His Word tells us.  Who can please the Lord?  Every man, woman, and child who comes to Jesus Christ by faith, who is empowered by the Holy Spirit, and who is joined together into a community of fellow disciples.

Sermon Video: A Prayer for a Church that is already Standing Firm- 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Having learned from Timothy that his worst fears (see previous sermon in this series) had not come about because the church at Thessalonica was actually doing well in his absence, the Apostle Paul shifts to thanksgiving and prayer.  

When a church is already standing firm, what prayer need does it have?

Paul offers three possible needs: (1) outside support and encouragement, (2) overflowing love, and (3) blameless devotion to God.

Sermon Video: Labor Not in Vain - Paul's concern for a church, 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

In sharing his own anxiety over their well-being with them, the Apostle Paul opens up to the church at Thessalonica by telling them that his prolonged (unwanted) absence from them has caused him turmoil.  His reasons?  (1) The relationship that they have will be celebrated when Christ returns. (2) They needed his assistance, which meant sending them Timothy in Paul's stead. (3) Paul knew that they would be facing persecution. (4) He feared that temptation might have caused them to be unfruitful.  

Paul's openness demonstrates the importance to us of our relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ, the need that every local church has for its own version of Timothy to support and encourage it, and our collective reliance upon faith to overcome temptation.

Sermon Video: Receiving God's word in a hostile environment - 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

 

We know the stories of the missionary martyrs, those who risked their lives and gave them to share the Gospel.  Less well known are the persecutions of those who chose to accept Jesus in those dangerous settings.  The persecution that Paul endured is familiar to us, but what about the ordinary men and women of Thessalonica, what was it like for them?

In our text today Paul doesn't detail the hostility they faced, rather he focuses on what they did in response: they accepted the Gospel as the very words of God.  This remarkable faith is encouraging to us, reminding us of the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit.  Persecution didn't stop the redeeming power of God's grace in Paul's day, it won't in ours either.

Sermon Video: The spiritual parents of a new church - 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12

The Apostle Paul tells the young church at Thessalonica that he and his team  were related to this congregation as its spiritual mother and father.  Both the tenderness of a mother and the encouragement of a father were needed by the community of new Christians as they grew in maturity.

This same principle applies to individual new Christians within an established Christian congregation, a reminder to mature disciples of Jesus that we are called to serve as mentors of the discipleship of others.

Sermon Video: "a model for all believers" - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10

What makes a church one that is worth emulating?  Contrary to the numbers-based way in which much of the Church today decides which congregations are successful and which are not, the Apostle Paul offers to the new believers in Thessalonica his own praise by declaring that they are, "a model to all believers."

What was it about this congregation?  (1) God chose them, (2) the Holy Spirit worked powerfully among them, (3) Paul and his team lived in a Christ-like way while there, (4) they chose to imitate Paul's team and Jesus, (5) all while maintaining their joy in the midst of suffering.  This combination of God's will and their faithfulness in response to what God and Paul's team had done, led to God utilizing them as an example throughout Greece.

Our question: What can we do, as a local congregation, to also be worthy of being emulating, better yet, what can we and the other local congregations around us do to help shine the light of the Gospel in our community?  Paul has shown us the roadmap.

Sermon Video: Faith, Hope, & Love manifested in Work, Labor, & Endurance - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

At the beginning of his letter to the very young church at Thessalonica (most of the believers had known Christ for a year or less), the Apostle Paul begins by commending them for how Faith, Love, and Hope had propelled them to Work, Labor, and Endurance.  While those three virtues have their own worth, in this case Paul chooses to focus on what each of them was able to accomplish for the Kingdom of God through the actions of these followers of Jesus.

Sermon Video: Jesus: Destroyer of Death & Bringer of Life - 2 Timothy 1:9-10

 

In this Easter message, we look at Paul's inspiring explanation of what Jesus Christ has accomplished through his death and resurrection.  Among its many blessings, this hinge moment of history achieved: (1) Our salvation and calling to live a holy life, (2) the fulfillment of God's plan of grace set forth before time, and (3) the final triumph of life and immortality in Christ over death.

Christ is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!

Sermon Video: Will Esau Forgive Jacob? - Genesis 32-33

As the moment of truth approaches, Jacob prepares to meet his estranged brother with a multi-step plan designed to mollify Esau's anger.  But will it work, or does Esau intend to kill his brother as he vowed twenty years ago?

In the end, it isn't Jacob's planning that makes a difference, but the change in Esau's heart that God wrought.  When Esau sees Jacob he rushes to embrace him (as in the Prodigal Son) with tears.

We have been given the ministry of reconciliation by Jesus, the forgiveness that Esau gave to Jacob reminds us how powerful this task can be.

Sermon Video: Laban Confronts Jacob - Genesis 31:19-15

 

Jacob's choice to abruptly leave with his family and property without even informing Laban prompts Jacob's father-in-law to pursue him.  When Laban catches-up with Jacob he confronts him and both men air their grievances with each other.

In the end, the relationship between Jacob and Laban is beyond repair, especially when both men continue to insist they are in the right.  God intervenes to prevent the situation from ending in violence, but sadly not harming each other is the only thing they will commit to. 

The episode serves as a reminder of the consequences of schemes, deception, and grudges.  For Jacob, it serves as a stark reminder of what might await him when he is confronted by Esau.

Sermon Video: Jacob turns the tables on Laban - Genesis 30:25-31:18

 

In this chapter of his life story, Jacob's relationship with his father-in-law Laban deteriorates, eventually breaking.  Both men are to blame, as both seek to cheat the other.  In the end, Jacob is successful in obtaining most of Laban's wealth, and then leaves with his wives and children to head back to Canaan.

Sermon Video: Leah & Rachel: Sibling rivalry and cultural expectations - Genesis 29:31-30:24

 

In a soap opera worthy long-running tragedy, the family of Jacob is repeatedly convulsed by jealous rivalry between his wives who happen to be sisters.  That this was entirely foreseeable, by both their father Laban and husband Jacob, doesn't make it any less tragic for these women.

In the end, the passage sees Jacob fathering 11 sons with 4 wives, all whilst the sibling rivalry rages and everyone is negatively impacted by going along with cultural expectations.

Sermon Video: The Divergent Paths of Jacob and Esau - Genesis 27:46-28:22

The contrasting narratives in Genesis 27-28 of Esau's wives whom his parents dislike immensely and Jacob's journey to find a wife akin to how Rebekah was sought for Isaac are a reminder to ancient Israel, and to us, that the key difference in the course that any life takes is the role of God.  Both Esau and Jacob were flawed men (the Genesis narrative painting Jacob as significantly worse), but Jacob's path was contained within the promise of God's blessings, Esau's was not.  Why?  Grace.  God's grace.

Sermon Video: Isaac's Covenant with the LORD - Genesis 26:1-33

Having introduced the rivalry between Jacob and Esau in chapter 25, Moses now recounts the ways in which God's interactions with Isaac echo the interactions with his father Abraham.  In addition to reiterating the promises regarding the land, numerous descendants, and a blessing to the world through them, the LORD takes the time to tell Isaac that he will be WITH him.  The element of relationship is emphasized, purposefully, setting this covenant apart from others in the A.N.E.   God wanted to be with Isaac, a trait that hasn't changed with God's people today because it is an outflow of God's unchanging love.