1 Thessalonians 5
June Memory Verse: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
Read: 1 Thessalonians 5
Paul is closing out this book encouraging the Thessalonians and us to live for Jesus because of one main thing… HE IS COMING BACK. We don’t know when, but we know that He is. He is coming back for those who believe in Him.
I love Paul’s conclusion because of this in verse 6, “So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” In other words, live in light of this truth. Walk in the light… Don’t walk in the darkness. Keep awake. Be sober minded. Prepare.
Paul goes on, bringing to memory things he told the Ephesians in Ephesians 6, PUT ON the breastplate of faith and love… PUT ON the helmet of salvation. Build one another up in TRUTH (v.10).
Our lives should not just look different because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection but our lives should also look different because He is coming back for us.
Then Paul closes with some final encouragements about a life lived for Jesus:
What would our lives look like if they were marked with this? What kind of movement would God start through us for His kingdom?
Remember, the best way to help other people passionately walk with God is for us to passionately walk with God.
What is an encouragement that Paul said that stuck with you? How can you take a step and practically obey this this week?
By: Nick Parsons
Read: 1 Thessalonians 5
Paul is closing out this book encouraging the Thessalonians and us to live for Jesus because of one main thing… HE IS COMING BACK. We don’t know when, but we know that He is. He is coming back for those who believe in Him.
I love Paul’s conclusion because of this in verse 6, “So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” In other words, live in light of this truth. Walk in the light… Don’t walk in the darkness. Keep awake. Be sober minded. Prepare.
Paul goes on, bringing to memory things he told the Ephesians in Ephesians 6, PUT ON the breastplate of faith and love… PUT ON the helmet of salvation. Build one another up in TRUTH (v.10).
Our lives should not just look different because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection but our lives should also look different because He is coming back for us.
Then Paul closes with some final encouragements about a life lived for Jesus:
- Follow the spiritual leaders God has placed in your life.
- Be at peace with others.
- Admonish the idle to actively follow Jesus.
- Encourage the fainthearted to keep following Jesus.
- Live with patience.
- Don’t repay evil but always seek to do good.
- Rejoice always.
- Pray without ceasing.
- Be thankful.
- Do not stifle the Spirit of God with sin in your life.
- Live rooted in God’s Word.
- Hold fast to things that are good and godly.
- Abstain from evil. Run from sin.
- Allow God to sanctify you and make you more like Jesus (Live repentant and keep a soft heart toward God).
What would our lives look like if they were marked with this? What kind of movement would God start through us for His kingdom?
Remember, the best way to help other people passionately walk with God is for us to passionately walk with God.
What is an encouragement that Paul said that stuck with you? How can you take a step and practically obey this this week?
By: Nick Parsons
3 Comments
21) but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.
This verse made me think of the Berean Christians mentioned in Acts. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11) We should be doing the same today. God’s word is the final authority on everything for Christians. When I consider many things “the church” has changed to adapt to our American culture in 2021 it reflects a gross ignorance of the commands of scripture. Perhaps it’s not ignorance but willful disobedience to please people rather than God.
My prayer is that God’s people are rooted in the Word and stay true to scripture rather than the shifting sands of culture. There is no substitute for time in the Bible so that we know what is true and what is from the evil one. Thanks for the commentary today Nick!
Such valuable and encouraging comments from both Nick and Mike. So grateful for the unadulterated teaching at CPC. I thank God every day that He placed me in this body of believers.
As believers we have so much to look forward to, with eager expectation! Our ears should be attentive to the trumpet sound and our eyes should be watching the sky for His appearance. God is so good! I am more than excited to spend eternity in His presence.
“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
1 Thessalonians 5:24 NASB1995
Love this verse, it shows that God will be with us, and God will work through us since he’s called us. God’s faithfulness is one of the main reasons we can be so secure in our faith, because he is faithful time and time again. This should give us great encouragement, even when things aren’t going as we think they should, because God is still working as his word says!