God's will & work and our responsibility
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23
-THIS SUNDAY'S TEXT- Discipleship: Knowing and following Christ, and helping others do the same for the glory of God.
Biblical discipleships are: Relational Prayerful Spirit-Led Bible-Based Committed to Holiness
Lord willing, we will wrap up our time in 1 Thessalonians over the next two Sunday’s. This Sunday we will focus on 1 Thessalonians 5:9-15.
Verses 9-10 give us a big picture truth. This is God’s will and His work. It reads, For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him.
Man cannot change God’s will and work, yet we are given instruction in how to walk or live in light of God’s will and work. Notice the transition word in verse 11 – “Therefore”. “Therefore” creates a transition from what God is doing to what we should do in light of God’s will and work.
Verse 11 says, Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Now, the following verses give us details in our horizontal relationships. They tell us, very specifically, how to encourage one another and build one another up (in love).
- The church’s relationship with its leaders: a. Verse 12 - …respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you.
b. Verse 13 - …esteem them very highly in love because of their work.
- The church’s relationship with each other: a. Verse 13 – Be at peace among yourselves
b. Verse 14 – admonish the idle (unruly, undisciplined)
- encourage the fainthearted (disheartened)
- help the weak
- be patient with them all.
c. Verse 15 – See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
In John 13:35, Jesus said, By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. I believe that in the verses we just walked through, Paul has instructed the church of Thessalonica in how to genuinely love one another.
River Family,
I am so thankful for you’re the encouragement that you have expressed of the past month. Let’s continue to pray and seek the Lord, repent of our sin, encourage one another in the Lord, and share the hope of Christ with the lost. Let us trust God’s faithfulness in His perfect work of saving through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and Peace,
Eric
-CONSIDER & MEDITATE-
Consider joining Jordan on Monday's in memorizing scripture. The verse Jordan puts in front of us each week is also at the top of this email. You can follow Jordan or The River Bible Church on Instagram or Facebook to keep up with the weekly scripture memory.
PRAYER & GIVING
It is during these times that I am reminded of the grace of God that Paul wrote about in his second letter to the church of Corinth. 2 Corinthians 8:1-3 reads, We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in severe affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord.
May we all be prayerful and give as the Lord directs our hearts. Let’s also keep in touch with one another and be honest with one another and meet one another’s needs as God leads and provides.
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