1 Thessalonians – St. George's Church Ramsgate

Rejoice Always, Pray Continually! (1 Thessalonians 5:12-28)

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Today is the last in our series of talks on 1 Thessalonians.

Ready for the Day (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:10)

They Think It’s All Over (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

“For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

Living to Please God (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12)

“Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

Faith and Love (1 Thessalonians 3:6-13)

“For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 3:8)

We continue the series learning from 1 Thessalonians

Our Hope, our Joy, our Crown (1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5)

“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Dare to Share (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12)

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

We will be considering how Paul and his team went about sharing the good news of Jesus in the early days of the church and what lessons we can learn today.

True Discipleship (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

Why do you do what you do? It is not an easy question to answer. We all have mixed motives for our actions in life, but some will be more important to us than others.

So, what drives your life? A desire to seek pleasure or comfort for yourself? A belief that life will be much better and more secure if only you had more money? Wanting to please others? To look good in front of the crowd? To please a loved one, a boss or someone you admire? Perhaps it is a desire to feel that you have made a success of your life or that you have achieved something meaningful or lasting?

As Paul writes to the baby church in Thessalonica, he starts by giving thanks for what is driving their actions: faith, love and hope. These new Christians have found a new reason for living: Jesus Christ. Knowing that they have been saved through his death and resurrection, they have re-oriented their lives to live for God and to live like Jesus. Their faith has not just changed the way they think it has led to a life of action that is prepared to put in the hard graft and to keep going despite the challenges.

For us this raises two questions: “Does our faith lead to action?” and “Are our actions motivated by our faith?” The more we can honestly say, ‘Yes’ to both these questions, the closer we are to being true disciples of Christ.