CHURCH ANNIVERSARY
But their privileges were
CHRIST-CENTERED CHURCH
1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-10
ITNRO:
40th years- Ruby
Ruby is a stone of divine creativity
Symbol of good fortune, pure love and loyalty
Anniversary is a time to reflect How God has been faithful and preserved
since the church establish, who are the people were God using to manage
the church.
6 mind-blowing thoughts on the church.( Francis Chan)
1. What people want from church is different to what the Bible commands
2. Being relevant, pursuing popularity and using entertainment won’t grow
your church
3. We say we value the Bible. But our actions suggest otherwise
4. We’ve been wasting our most precious resource
5. It’s time to free the animals and open the cages
6. Suffering is part of the deal
GOD WANTS (BHFBC) TO BE A CHRIST-CENTERED CHURCH.
A CHURCH THAT IS WORTHY TO IMMITATE
A letter of Paul that taught them how to live in the light of eternity.
Bakground:
The city of Thessalonica was a thriving city on a major Roman highway, the
Via Egnatia (show map). Thessalonica was the capital city of the
Macedonian province. A poet named Antipater called Thessalonica “the
mother of all Macedonia.” The city laid in the lap of the Roman Empire. It
had a statue and temple to Caesar Augustus and emperor worship was
already occurring in this city by the time Paul came to it. There is another
aspect that made this city special. Thessalonica was a free city. It did not
have Roman military occupation. It had its own government, controlled
their own affairs, and minted their own coins. If problems arose, the Roman
government would easily come in and take all of these freedoms away. In
fact, this did happen under Emperor Tiberius.
returned Thessalonica in 44 AD by Emperor Claudius, about 6 years before
this letter was written. With this in mind, consider how this influences what
we read about Paul and his companions in the city of Thessalonica. Turn to
Acts 17:1-9.
I. ELEMENTS OF WHOLE TESTIMONY
3 characteristics of the believers stood out in Pauls minds.
1. Work produced by faith.
Work of faith- working to show your faith, our walk with God daily
shows us our Faith in Him.
:DO NOT FOCUS ON THE WORK BUT FOCUS ON FAITH”
2. LABOR PROMPTED BY LOVE
Labor of love- they exhibit their labor of love
Love is vital in ur working for the Lord.
‘ DO NOT FOCUS ON THE WORK BUT FOCUS ON THE LOVE”
Again, we need to see that the focus is not on the work, but on love. True
love works for another person. Love is displayed through labor and sacrifice.
Love is the giving of oneself to another. God wants our work to be
generated from love. We do not work because we have to work for the
Lord, as if we have a job to do. We love God and love each other and
therefore we work. Love drives our work.
3. ENDURANCE INSPIRED BY HOPE IN CHRIST
Patience of Hope-
Third, the Thessalonians possess a steadfastness of hope. Hope is the
confident expectation that the future is in God’s hands and he does as he
says. Our hope is what makes us steadfast. Our hope is what gives us
confidence. Hope is what makes us unshakeable. Think about it this way: do
you have hope if it is not steadfast?
We are seeing that faith, hope, and love are not merely traits of the
spiritual, but describe how any Christian is able to weather the storms of
life. If you have hope in God, then you will endure and remain steadfast. If
we struggle with endurance and steadfastness, the answer is to not try to
endure better. The answer is to build your hope in God. Hope produces
endurance.
Challenge:
Living for the world to come and not this life, faith will work, love will labor,
and hope will be steadfast.
II. EXEMPLARY IN THEIR WALK v.7
v.7 and you became a MODEL..- the church in Thessalonica became a
model to other church in the region of Macedonia and Achaia.
Macedonia and Achaia—were the two provinces into which Greece had
been divided since 142 b.c.
In what way that church is became Model?
1. Received God’s Word
Received God’s word in the midst of suffering..
The Thessalonians endured their trials because of the joy they had from
receiving the Holy Spirit.
2. Reflects God’s workers
You ( Thessalonians) became and imitator or model us- ( Workers)
You are imitators of Leader and of the LORD..
So Flourishing Followers can absolutely lean and grow from other
imperfect people following a perfect God. Every Leader I have
“imitated” and those who I have learned a great deal from have been
flawed people. But I have followed them regardless because it was
evident they were Followers of Jesus First before they were leaders.
Followers become followed.
3. Respected by their watchers
vv.8-9- (YOUR FAITH IN GOD HAS BECAME KNOWN OT EVERYWHERE)
a reputation rang out to the Merchants who travel widely.
From you sounded out—As Thessalonica vas very conveniently situated
for traffic, many merchants from thence traded through Macedonia,
Achaia, and different parts of Greece. By these, the fame of the
Thessalonians having received the doctrine of the Gospel was doubtless
carried far and wide. And it appears that they had walked so
conscientiously before God and man, that their friends could speak of
them without a blush, and their adversaries could say nothing to their
disgrace.
III. EVANGELISTIC IN THEIR WALK
In what way?
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we
had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he
raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
a. Receiver and transmitter of the word.
Their powerful testimony of:
CONVERSION- HOW THEY TURN FROM IDOLS
CONVERSATION- TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD.
Flourishing Followers serve the living God The call to follow Jesus is
more than merely no longer following that which is false but is a call to
begin serving the Living God. Abandoning idols will only lead to
emptiness if it is not replaced with something truly great and live giving.
He created you for a purpose; He has prepared ‘good works’ for you
that you should walk in them. We will serve something, serve God.
b. Readiness or wait for Christ return.
Flourishing Followers wait for the return of the resurrected Jesus. Not a
passive waiting but purposeful life lived in the reality of Jesus resurrection
empowering us to live a new life now AND the reality of His every closer
return where everything will be restored, sin and death will be no more and
we will be perfectly, Flourishing followers, who will have everlasting joy as
we eternally Trust Jesus.
CONCLUSION:
BE ENTHUSIASTIC
BE EXAMPLE
BE EVANGELISTIC