2010-02-07
1 Thessalonians: Be a Model
Steve Lane

A. Introduction/Review
Paul cane through Thessalonica on his second missionary journey - around 50 A.D.
In Acts 17: 1 - 9 he established the church, but had to leave sooner than he would have liked.
1 Thessalonians gives us a good picture of a vibrant, growing church and individual.

Faith, love and hope
A Great Commission Church, full of Great Commission believers.
This is amazing, but expected. They did the same for others that was done for them!
Not be mere talkers, but doers of the Word.
The Christmas day burpee challenge.
One of the beauties of a mission trip is the taste of intensity of being about God's calling

B. Be a Model
1 Thessalonians 1: 7 How were they a model?

1 Thessalonians 1: 8 He also goes back to their faith.

1 Thessalonians 1: 9 The focus of their life changed. Their heart passion -- their core purpose.

1 Thessalonians 1: 10 They gained an external perspective.

The responsibility of the individual for the church to be a model.

C. Motive and Method of Being a Model

To please God -- not man, and not self.

1 Thessalonians 2: 1 - 6
Accused of manipulation of the sneakiest kind: flattery.

God counting us worthy of His calling to serve Him.
[Love, faith, hope, core purpose]

1 Thessalonians 2: 7 - 9
A glimpse into the ministry of Paul and what the Thessalonians were imitating. He was like a mother, like a father and, later in this chapter, a friend.
This sounds risky in many ways.
Paul was continuing to put his heart on the line, because he was out to please God and not man!

1 Thessalonians 2: 10 - 12
Exhorting, encouraging, imploring.
Hebrews 3: 12 - 13

If we are going to be like the church at Thessalonica, first of course...
But, we must also share the gospel and our lives as well. This is where the Thessalonians moved ahead and the others stopped.

Peru example: The intensity of the labor and the focus that a group can have.

I resolve to...
2 Thessalonians 1: 11 - 12