Stayers

This is a sermon preview for the third week of our 1 Thessalonians series. 

Visit FBCM’s Church Center Channel to view video live stream (live) or audio version of sermon (published week after).

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 

-excerpt from 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13

If you ever decide to pop-in the church office during the Pastors’ office hours on Tuesdays, you might be surprised to find what you stumble upon. One Tuesday afternoon, for reasons I cannot remember, Jim Butler and I (Pastor Kendall) started talking about easy playground games. The kinds of games that you played during recess as a kid and didn't need any special equipment. 

One of the games Jim described was new to me, though perhaps some older church members might remember playing it as kids. We don’t even know what the game is called. The whole point of the game is to knock your opponent off-balance using just the force of your interlocked arms. If you walked into the office that Tuesday, you would’ve found me and Jim face to face, flailing our arms trying to get the other off-step with a few others laughing and cheering around us. (Jim won, in case you wanted to know!) 

Isn’t that just how life feels sometimes? You are trying your best to stand firm, but it just feels like something is trying its best to knock you off your feet. 

How can Easter’s good news help us be stayers when the odds are stacked against us?  

Paul worried the Thessalonians had terrible spiritual balance. 

When Paul had to leave the baby Christians in Thessalonica in a hurry because of persecution, he worried that they weren’t ready to stand on their own. Paul eagerly wanted to find a way to return to Thessalonica so he could continue to spiritually form the young church like a mother giving her child tummy time to develop the muscles needed for them to sit up.

But much to Paul’s surprise, his co-laborer in Christ, Timothy, has an incredible report for Paul! The Thessalonian Christians may be young, but they aren’t just spiritually sitting up. They are spiritually standing. And not standing all wobbly like a toddler. The Thessalonian Christians are spiritually standing firm, even in spite of the opposition against them. 

The Thessalonians persevere without becoming hard in heart, and abound in love as their faith is strengthened. 

What a testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the local church! As it turns out, the gospel isn’t just hope for the future. It’s strength for today. Easter people stand firm in the Lord.

The ever-wise Winnie the Pooh once told Piglet, “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” As Christians, the enemy will always have us doubt ourselves, our faith, and our God. But as Easter people, we can have confidence that in Christ, the enemy cannot topple us over. In Christ, we are stronger than we seem, unmoved by the concerns of the day. 

Reflection Questions

1. What opposition in your life feels like it’s trying to push your faith off-balanced?

2. How does the good news of Jesus encourage your faith so that you can persevere like the Thessalonians–abounding in love and strengthening in faith?

3. Who is someone that can help you stand firm in your faith when you feel off-balanced?