This Sunday’s order
- Sunday
- Reading
- 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
- Preaching
- Kendall Ellis
This is a sermon preview for the third week of our 1 Thessalonians series.
The reading1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
Visit FBCM’s YouTube 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
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
17Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense. 18For we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us. 19After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20You are indeed our glory and our joy. 3:1So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens. 2We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this. 4Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass. 5For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain. 6But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you. 7For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith. 8For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord. 9How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence? 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you. 12And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows, 13so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.
Berean Standard Bible, public domain
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
- What opposition in your life feels like it’s trying to push your faith off-balanced?
- 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?
- Who is someone that can help you stand firm in your faith when you feel off-balanced?
