Lesson Recap
1st Thessalonians 1:1-10
Puppy Love
In beginning our study of Thessalonians, we started with a quick quiz that covered the following facts. 1st Thessalonians was the 2 in chronological order of Paul's 13 letters. Thessolanica was and still is in Greece. Thessolanica was like Corinth that it was a good port, had lots of traffic, and was prosperous. The 3 groups that responded to Paul's preaching were Jews, God-fearing Greeks, and leading women. His message appealed to the Jews because of the Messiah, and to Greeks and leading women because of it's message of freedom rather than the legalism of Judaism. Paul stayed in Thessolinica less than three weeks, at which time he was run out of town by the non-believing Jews. Paul wrote the letter in response to Timothy's report.
Intro:
What is puppy love? About how old was your teen when they had their first bite of puppy love? How did it affect them? How old were you when you had your first puppy love? How did it affect you? In this lesson we saw what puppy love had in common with 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1-4 Recognizing God's Work
When you look here at the pronouns you notice that they are all plural. This indicates that Paul was open. We see here that Silas helped start the church and that Timothy was sent to encourage them. Paul was pleased by three things about the Thessalonians in Timothy's report. They were-their work of faith, their labor of love, and their endurance inspired by hope. Their work of faith demonstrated the motive behind their labor of love/service. Both were strengthened by their endurance of hope in the return of Christ, giving Paul reason to rejoice.
These evidences of godliness prove the reality of one's faith in Christ in this fashion; they are evidences of God's presence in one's life and are a consistent reflection of a genuine faith in Jesus.
5-6 Responding to the Spirit
Here Paul is commending the Thessalonians for responding to the message in spite of severe suffering and persecution. The Holy Spirit is given credit for the success of Paul's preaching. What do you think was behind Paul's bold statement that the Thessalonians become imitators of him and his coworkers? How important do you consider "spiritual modeling" in you relationship with others?
7-10 Influencing Others
The Thessalonians faith had a great effect on Christians in Macedonia and Achaia. This is because the Thessalonian believers made a complete break with the worship of idols, which was a radical step of faith for them. They believed the gospel, and they passed it on by deed and word. The gospel is presented primarily through the lives of believers (2 Cor 3:1-3). Paul touched on 4 basic themes of the gospel message as he observed in the Thessalonian's spiritual growth and reputation. They are:
- Turning from idols to save God.
- Anticipation of Christ's return.
- What Christ accomplished for us through His resurrection.
- The inevitability of a coming judgement for those who reject Jesus.
Conclusion:
The comparison we see between puppy love and what we have seen in this lesson about the Thessalonians is a radical change because of a love relationship.
Muny Poll
A revised (with dates!) poll of what Muny show the class should attend will be in the SPOT folder this Sunday!
Baseball Tickets
Brad Slinkard has discounted baseball tickets for sale. The game is for Saturday, June 18th against our Cross State Rival, the KC Royals. Tickets are normally $37.00 but he is willing to sell for $15.00 per ticket. It's a good Father's Day present as that is Father's Day "Eve". He has plenty in hand and willing to sell as many as you'd like. Also mention to any friends/family who may be interested as you won't find any cheaper than this in this particular section. Sec 372 of the Left Field Pavilion (right above Big Mac Land). You can contact him at:
Brad Slinkard
314-494-5081
Prayer Requests
- Carolynn Amen is improving slowly.
- New worship minister (keep your fingers crossed and your knees on the ground!)
- Keep praying for college kids as they take finals and travel home.
- Susan's sister-in-law's brother committed suicide.
and finally!!!
... a neat little graduation video here.
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