Podcasts about thesselonians

Pastor Jeff Sherwood | 2 Thesselonians 1:3-12 | 02.16.2025

Join Rev. Floriano E. Pereira as he shares The Sacred Secret! Scripture References Matthew 24:32-44, John 14:1-3, Acts 1:9-11, Revelation 22:7, 12, 20, Matthew 25:13, John 3:2-3, Titus 2:11-14, Acts 1:7, 8-11, 1 Thesselonians 4:13-18            

Week 43 - 1 & 2 Thesselonians: “Satan has convinced many in the world that there is no God, he has convinced others that there is no truth. But, even believers are not any better off if we allow him to convince us that there is no hurry. We need to feel the urgency to draw closer to God and to live in accordance with His truth”For links and information please visit us at CFMpodcast.org

Text: 1 Thesselonians 5:8-11 Teacher: Mandi Paszek Mandi continues our One Another series by exhorting us to carry a posture of encouragement over complaint.

Citizenship. Today, Pastor Michael is having Duncan Crook deliver the message.  Duncan recently required his US citizenship and is using that experience to compare it to being a citizen of God's kingdom.  What would it look like to live as a Kingdom citizen in your workplace?  What specific actions would a Kingdom citizen do?  What did Jesus say his followers would be like? In the book of Mark, Duncan discusses the parables in Mark and followed up with Michael's lesson last week, on “Getting Dirty”.   Duncan drills down a bit on the parables in Mark's gospel and explains to us that we are citizens of His kingdom and what Jesus expects his citizens do be like.  Duncan exhorts us to publicly identify with Christ, you should be faithful to listen and apply the Word and you should grow spiritually.  Jesus' parable was about an oil lamp on a stand.  Your light will not shine brighter by yourself.  We can light up the world around us and God brings light to what is hidden.  And we should show that we are believers and people should see the light of Christ in us! Kingdom citizens should also eagerly study God's Word.  God will honor the person who eagerly receives His message.  How can we be better listeners to the Word?  Prayer before going to church or bible study.  Ask the Lord to prepare your heart for His message.  Join church bible studies and devotions.  Don't listen as a critic, looking for things to argue about.  Think about what you can learn from teachings.  And take notes! Lastly good Christians are good citizens.  Ultimately it all comes down to if we have surrounded to God.  It's not about you, or anyone else.  It's all about God! (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 4:26–29. The final two parables once again liken the kingdom of God to seeds, the first parable focusing on the process of growth. A farmer plants a seed and then goes about life as usual (4:26–27a). The seed grows imperceptibly, and even the farmer “doesn't know how” (4:27b). The seed possesses a power of generation independent of the farmer, who can be absent and even ignorant, yet the seed grows (4:28). Humanity, likewise, goes about business as usual, but the kingdom of God is present and growing, even if small and unobserved. The kingdom is not dependent on human activity; indeed, apart from sowing, the only human activity noted in this parable is waiting in confidence that, in God's time and power, the gospel will grow into a fruitful harvest (4:29). Verses can be found today in Mark 4: 21-29, Phillipians 3: 20, John 8: 12, Ephesians 5: 8, Romans 1: 16, 2 Thesselonians 3: 10, Deuteronomy 6: 4, Matthew 7: 2, Luke 6: 38, and Proverbs 11: 1. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Afraid of never measuring up? Paul has this to say to the people in Thessalonica:“Don't think you have to make yourself holy OR whole! HE will! May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!”1 Thessalonians 5:24 (MSG)Here is my declaration over you:God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, makes you holy and whole, puts you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keeps you fit for the coming of your Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!Here is a declaration that you can declare over yourself as often as you like:God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, makes ME holy and whole, puts ME together—spirit, soul, and body—and KEEPS me fit for the coming of my Master, Jesus Christ. The One who calls ME is completely dependable. He said it, he'll do it!Connected Blog Posthttps://kingdomhappyhour.com/turbojoy-god-makes-you-holy-and-whole/Sign up for the Daily Emailhttps://kingdomhappyhour.com

We're in the end time, and much of the prophetic verses regarding the end time are now coming to pass and Christians need to be informed. We cannot be like Ostriches burying our heads in the sand. No, we must face the things of the end time squarely head on. We must deal with them. We must understand that they are part of devine plan. Scripture says that it is not God's will that not any man may perish. And I personally believe that God will have his will.Listen for more...Scripture referenced:Collasians 3:5-6Romans 1:302 Thesselonians 2:3-4For more Free books, Sunday teachings and bible studies, please visit us at: https://www.walkinginpower.orgDr. Bern Zumpano is a Pastor and Teacher of the Word of God who has authored several books on Spirit-filled living through relationship with Jesus Christ and walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Bern has not only been a born-again believer for nearly the past 40 years, but also dedicated 31 years of his life to the study and clinical practice of medicine and surgery in the fields of psychiatry and brain surgery. He has held medical school professorships in psychiatry and neurosurgery and worked in private practice in both areas. Bern has an immense background in understanding the physical body, as well as the soul - the mind, will, and emotions - not only from a medical standpoint but also from a spiritual standpoint. With his background and training, he has been led by the Holy Spirit to teach "the Deep Things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10) with an emphasis on Spiritual Warfare (Jer. 51:20), Breaking Generations' Curses (Ex. 20:5; Lev. 26:40-44), walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:12; 1 Cor. 4:20; Luke 17:21) and "the Restoration of All Things" (Acts 3:21). We at Word of Faith Ministries International-Miami hope and pray that these teachings of the Holy Spirit through Bern will edify and regenerate your spirit to gain a deeper understanding of God's Word and His truths so you can have a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. May God bless you all!!

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (focus on vs 1-5) 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2Isaiah 2:12 Isaiah 2:19-20Amos 5:18-20 Daniel 12:1Matthew 24:21-22 Revelation 6:15-17 1 Thessalonians 5:3Matthew 24:38-39 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 Questions for Reflection: If you knew today that the end was near how would it change you? (How would that change your approach to people who don't know Jesus?) … Continue reading 1 Thesselonians 5:1-5 (The One About the Day of the Lord) →

Thesselonians

Independence Day Message…Happy Fourth of July! Today Pastor Michael is continuing his study on the End Times as we get into Revelation, the Anti Christ and the Tribulation Period.  The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse starts us off with a rider on a white horse.   (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) The riders represent evil forces that God allows to have some limited influence on human history. The first rider, on a white horse, is a symbol of empire (6:2). The color white has so far been associated with the purity and victory of God's people (1:14; 2:17; 3:4; 4:4), but here the rider is a satanic parody of false conquest (“he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer”) and of false endurance (signified by the crown, or athlete's wreath [Gk stephanos]). Drilling down deeper, Michael covers a peace treaty for the seven years of the Tribulation period, seen in Daniel 9: 27.  This prophesy allows the temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt.  Today, this seems an unlikely occurrence, so somehow the Anti Christ will work out a peace agreement that will allow it to be rebuilt.  The Anti Christ will then be seen as the long awaited “Messiah”.   A few notes about the AntiChrist: The Anti Christ will not be revealed until the beginning of the Tribulation. (2 Thesselonians 2: 3) The believers must be removed before the Anti Christ is revealed. (2 Thesselonians 3 and 7) The Anti Christ will rise to power as the hero who makes peace in the Middle East.  (Daniel 9:27) He will be empowered by Satan and will deceive those who reject the true Christ (2 Thesselonians 2:9) Halfway through the seven years, the Anti Christ will break the treaty, defile the temple and declare himself to be God. (Daniel 9:27 and 2 Thesselonians 2:4) He will have world domination for the last half of the Tribulation period (Revelation 13: 1-10) At the end of the Tribulation, the true Christ will appear and destroy the Anti Christ, casting him into the Lake of Fire (2 Thesselonians 2:8 and Revelation 19:20) Our takeaway today is, “Don't make a Christ out of anything or anybody other than Jesus Christ.” Today's bible verses are found in Revelation 6: 2, Daniel 9:27 and 2 Thesselonians 2: 1-10. IMPORTANT CHURCH NOTICE:  Next Sunday, July 11, 2021, we are going to start meeting inside again for the first time in a year and a half!  We will continue to have outdoor meeting in the evening for those that feel more comfortable with that.  Also, Saturday, July 10th, we will meet at 6:00 p.m. for pizza and fellowship!

Mothers of Promise1. She Judges God Faithful in the Area of Her Children Hebrews 11:11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promiseFaithful – (emunah) firmness, stability, faithfulness, loyalty, devoted, reliable, trustworthy, dependable, steady, and remaining the same 1 Thesselonians 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do itLamentations 3:23 Great is your faithfulnessPsalm 91:4 (nlt) His faithful promises are your armor and protectionIsaiah 49:25 I will fight your enemies, and I will save your childrenIsaiah 54:13 All your children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their peaceDeuteronomy 7:29 the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. #generationalblessing2. Mothers of Faith and Patience Always Receive from Their FatherHebrews 6:12-15 That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 14 God said to Him “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promiseNumbers 14:24 Because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants (children's children) will inherit itA miracle is the result of a spiritual battle won through faith By faith we break family curses and release family blessingJoshua 14:12 Give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day3. Enjoy the Journey on the Road to Where You're Headed Deuteronomy 28:47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything #Dontcompare If we're not satisfied now we won't be with more laterComparison leads to envy and competition, this is an open doorJames 3:16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are therePhilippians 4:11 I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content4. A Mother's Confidence is in God's Grace and Goodness1 John 3:21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before GodThis is not a suggestion this is a command from the Lord We can't have faith for the future with a condemned heart Isaiah 43:18 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. (nlt) it is nothing compared to what I am going to doHebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised (don't let satan steal your promiseland)Psalm 128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table

Psalm 17, 47, 77, 107, and 137.Going Deeper: 2 Thessalonians 2.Copyright Psalms Cast 2020.Today’s Daily Reading read from the New King James Version® of the Bible. (NKJV)Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. Eric Brown of Trinity, Herscher brings us this week's devotion. The Scripture reading is from 1 Thesselonians 4:1-7.

Podcast from our sunday services

Podcast from our Sunday services

SERMONS FROM OUR SUNDAY SERVICE'S

Podcast from our Sunday services

Podcast from our Sunday services

Podcast from our Sunday services

Genesis 2:15; 1. Kings 19:9-13; 1. Thesselonians 4:9-12; Acts 17:24-27 / Genesis 2:15; 1. Královská 19:9-13; 1. Tesalonickým 4:9-12; Skutky 17:24-27

"Well-meant intentions are not always beneficial, or even harmless." -Bec McNew "Something often unspoken in our goody-goody world resides, and that is our lust for the sweetness of the approval that comes sandwiched between good-deeds and humble-brags." -Bec McNew"It’s difficult to be intimate with Jesus, prophetically described in Isaiah as the 'Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief,' while doing everything in our power to distance ourselves from suffering." -Bec McNew"We can delight in God’s wonders and with-us-ness, possessing appreciative awe and trust in his ways, the person of love that he is, and the good of those who love him in accordance with his purposes while also feeling hurt, disappointment, regret, sorrow, and loss- while bearing witness to the same in another." -Bec McNew“It’s quite something…I am a person who wants to love by fixing things. I want to love people by doing practical things to make things better for them. And what I have learned with her, what she’s taught me, is there’s also a love called love only to witness. Only to witness. To bear faithful witness to what someone is going through with no possibility really of fixing very much. And that is a hard love. That is a very difficult love.” -Barbara Brown Taylor, via Kate Bowler's podcast Everything Happens“Christian tragedy looks outward, upward, and beyond for redemption.” -Karen Swallow Prior, On Reading WellScripture references: 1 Thesselonians 5:16, Psalm 67:4, Proverbs 15:13, Matthew 5:4, Psalm 119:50, Isaiah 49:13, Psalm 147:3, 2 Corinthians 1:4, Romans 12:15, Romans 8:35-39

Lesson 29 - What will heaven be like? How do you know? What about after that? When does eternal life begin?   Next week: Lesson 30 - Living (Final Lesson from Christian Believer) Next week's readings: Psalm 15; Proverbs 4; Habakkuk 3; Matthew 5:1-20' Matthew 9:35 - 10:42; 1 Thesselonians 1; John 3:1-21; Hebrews 11:32 - 12:13; James 1:2-18; 2:14-26 The Nicene Creed

Today we are talking about thankfulness. But I don't want you to tune this message out just because it's a thing we tend to talk about this time of year. This message today goes far beyond the week of Thanksgiving and goes far deeper than uttering off a few quick "thanks for..." lists.  Choosing to put on gratitude and thankfulness is an essential element of the Christian faith and it's vitally important to the life of the homemaker.  Listen to the podcast: I’ve recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. You can read it here, or if you prefer, listen to it as a podcast below! And don't forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes.    Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. This is an especially important topic in our chaotic, crazy, and fearful world we live in today. Everywhere I turn there is more bad news of a couple I know getting a divorce, my heart is heavy for a family who is struggling to get by, there are new reports of child abuse and terrible things happening around the globe.  It's enough to make anyone fearful, worried, anxious, or over burdened. So as head wade through the bad news, pray for those who are hurting, and try to piece together a response, where do we turn for HOPE? How can we focus on Christ throughout all of the turmoil, bad news, disappointments, and the everyday heart ache of life?  By choosing thankfulness. November is a hard month for me personally as my mom died suddenly three November's ago. It's a time that brings up a lot of grief, anger, and even resentment. Whether you are struggling with a loss, battling anxiety over a new situation, or just wading through the every day struggles and the ups and downs, you desperately need this message.  Now of course, our natural tendency is to often sit in worry and anxiety. To wonder why God allows certain things. To stew in anger or bitterness. To get so consumed with the small details of today that we can't look forward to the future with joy and hope. That's where I am coming from today. I'm looking at this concept of thanksgiving through a lens of troubled times and anxious hearts.  So we need to recognize that thankfulness and putting on a grateful heart is a choice and that it can have a profound impact on our lives.  5 Reasons We Need to CHOOSE to be Thankful Today 1) Gratitude is a matter of obedience Thankfulness and gratitude are not simply good ideas, God commands us to have gratitude. And the kicker is, we are to be thankful in ALL things! Not just the happy things and the things we often think of as blessings. We are called to obedience and that means learning how and choosing to be thankful in our life. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thesselonians 5:16-18  "And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:14-17  If you really want to study praise and thanksgiving to God, then study through the book of Psalms. There are countless examples of turning back to God over and over again in praise and thanksgiving. In her book, Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh Demoss discusses the idea of finding God's Will. She says: "Sure, details matter to God. The specifics of what church to attend, what house to write a contract on, what position to apply for, and maybe even what hotel to stay at on vacation, are decisions He gives us wisdom to make, as we seek Him and walk in line with the principles of His Word.

Today we are talking about thankfulness. But I don't want you to tune this message out just because it's a thing we tend to talk about this time of year. This message today goes far beyond the week of Thanksgiving and goes far deeper than uttering off a few quick "thanks for..." lists.  Choosing to put on gratitude and thankfulness is an essential element of the Christian faith and it's vitally important to the life of the homemaker.  Listen to the podcast: I’ve recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. You can read it here, or if you prefer, listen to it as a podcast below! And don't forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes.    Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. This is an especially important topic in our chaotic, crazy, and fearful world we live in today. Everywhere I turn there is more bad news of a couple I know getting a divorce, my heart is heavy for a family who is struggling to get by, there are new reports of child abuse and terrible things happening around the globe.  It's enough to make anyone fearful, worried, anxious, or over burdened. So as head wade through the bad news, pray for those who are hurting, and try to piece together a response, where do we turn for HOPE? How can we focus on Christ throughout all of the turmoil, bad news, disappointments, and the everyday heart ache of life?  By choosing thankfulness. November is a hard month for me personally as my mom died suddenly three November's ago. It's a time that brings up a lot of grief, anger, and even resentment. Whether you are struggling with a loss, battling anxiety over a new situation, or just wading through the every day struggles and the ups and downs, you desperately need this message.  Now of course, our natural tendency is to often sit in worry and anxiety. To wonder why God allows certain things. To stew in anger or bitterness. To get so consumed with the small details of today that we can't look forward to the future with joy and hope. That's where I am coming from today. I'm looking at this concept of thanksgiving through a lens of troubled times and anxious hearts.  So we need to recognize that thankfulness and putting on a grateful heart is a choice and that it can have a profound impact on our lives.  5 Reasons We Need to CHOOSE to be Thankful Today 1) Gratitude is a matter of obedience Thankfulness and gratitude are not simply good ideas, God commands us to have gratitude. And the kicker is, we are to be thankful in ALL things! Not just the happy things and the things we often think of as blessings. We are called to obedience and that means learning how and choosing to be thankful in our life. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thesselonians 5:16-18  "And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:14-17  If you really want to study praise and thanksgiving to God, then study through the book of Psalms. There are countless examples of turning back to God over and over again in praise and thanksgiving. In her book, Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh Demoss discusses the idea of finding God's Will. She says: "Sure, details matter to God. The specifics of what church to attend, what house to write a contract on, what position to apply for, and maybe even what hotel to stay at on vacation, are decisions He gives us wisdom to make, as we seek Him and walk in line with the principles of His Word.

1 Thesselonians 4:1-8 (Bill Fowler) by CBC of Savannah

Series: Between the linesSpeaker: Jeff BensonKey Passage: 1 Chronicles 16:11Other passages: Exodus 33:3, Hebrews 9:24, John 16:7, Psalm 33:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 6:17, James 1:21, Psalm 139:7-8, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:5, Romans 8:12-14, 1 Corinthians 14:1, Ephesians 5:18; Acts 4, Luke 1, Acts 7, Acts 13, Psalm 51:11, 2 Thesselonians 1:9

Mark Acuff8/9/151 Thesselonians 4:13-17[sc_embed_player fileurl=”http://www.allgather.org/wp-content/uploads/audio/gc2015_08_09.mp3″] Listen to the podcast

In this sermon, Matt Adair preaches through chapter 5 of the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 One of our members, Peder Swanson, guest preaches for us. In Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians Paul starts off by offering words of encouragement in the midst of persecution. He then offers hope in the resurrection of Christ and his second coming. He charges them to stand firm and requests that the Thessalonians pray for him. We pick up in 2 Thess. 3:5 where Paul says,  May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. What does it look like to allow God to direct your heart? Peder hopes that this verse would encourage you and remind you of the love that God has for you and how that love might shape your life.  

Paragons of Interpretation How many of you have ever envisioned yourself, fantasized about, going to an exotic port of call or some place that you think would be..., you know, you either want to live there or vacation there and you just envisioned this place in your mind and you wanted to go there; it's on your bucket list, how many have a place like that? Right. Okay, on (the count of) three tell me what it is, okay? One, two three…(congregation responds in unison, each one saying his/her own answer.) Pastor: Who said Footville? (laughter) Yeah, we all have places like that that we just think are the best place, heaven on earth. I want to share a story this morning. As soon as we started this series I knew I would have to talk about these folks. They lived in northern Greece in the shadows of Mt. Olympus. Mount Olympus, that's a story place, isn't it, a place of legends and mythology? Not far from Mt. Olympus surrounded by a mountain range of their own in a sleepy little town, these believers would gather to worship the Lord. It wasn't a big city. It was a relatively small city compared to some of the larger cities around it like Athens or nearby Thesselonica, Abylonia, and some of these bigger cities. It wasn't like that at all. It was a sleepy town, it was a Roman province but there was this large group of Jewish believers who loved God and loved his Word. The Apostle Paul had gone through a very traumatic experience, if you read the book of Acts. In his visit to Thessalonica there had been a stirring up of the people against him, a mob mentality, in which they wanted to seize Paul and Silas and do bad things. So, they hid him from the people and in the shadow of night they smuggled him out of the house where they were staying through the back roads and out of the city and away from danger. They said, “We're going to bring you to a place where we know they're going to treat you right. We're going to bring you to a place where they're going to want to listen to the message that you have to proclaim.” That sleepy little town, those Grecian Jews, became a model or a paragon of biblical study. If you want to be a studier or student of the Word, theirs are the attributes and traits you need to have. We are in our 40 days—some of you are going to one of our twenty-something small groups around town, others of you are heading to the small group at 11:00 o'clock or maybe you're just doing this independently. We're trying to learn how to study God's Word together, here, I knew we would be talking about these folks and we're going to read about them this morning. Let's open or Bibles up to the book of Acts, the 17th chapter, and let's spend some time talking about these Bereans. We're only going to really be in just one verse today, that's where we're going to park, verse 11 of Acts chapter 17, it says, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thesselonians; for they received the message with great eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Let's read it one more time, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thesselonians; for they received the message with great eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Now, New American Standard says “noble minded” they were more noble minded, this translation says “of more noble character”, but I want you to notice first of all their mindset. Notice their mindset. Their mindset was a healthy skepticism; we're not going to just believe something because someone said it. We're going to think for ourselves. We're going to process it; we're going to examine it. We're going to see whether what you said was true. I want you to notice that Luke or Paul take no offense. Luke doesn't go, “Oh this is ridiculous; who do they think they are, those Bereans? Don't they know this is the Apostle Paul? Who do they think…, we'll see if what he says is true. Come on! He knows more about the Bible in his little finger than…” you know, their ego is not offended here. In fact, they esteemed them. They said they've got their act together. These are some believers who are serious about learning. They're learning how to think for themselves and that's becoming a lost art. It's becoming a lost art in our country; it's becoming a lost art in our church. I want to find out what my political view is on something. I hear something in the news, what do I think about this? So, I turn on my favorite talking head on the radio or television and they tell me now what I think. I don't have a brain to form my own opinion; I have to tune them in to find out what I think. Hurry up. Tell me what I think about this. We go to church and we go to difficult passages and we say to our pastor or our Sunday school teacher or our small group leader, what do I think about this? Tell me what I think. That's lazy. When I was in my undergraduate work I had these two contrasting professors. One was Dr. John and the other one was Dr. Joe. Dr. Joe would come to class and he had on a suit and tie every day. Clean shaven hair combed, looking professional standing behind a podium, drew his outline on the board: one, two three; A, B, C. He would ask complex theological questions, philosophical questions, ethical questions, and he would say, “Here are the answers for the test.” We'd write down: difficult question; 1,2,3; A,B,C; you know, spit it out for the test. Then I had Dr. John. I remember now, I think when I first met Dr. John, it was 1980 and maybe this unorthodox teaching style is more prevalent in schools today, I don't know, but back in 1980 Dr. Joe was the norm. You referred to Dr. Joe as Dr. Alexanian, you know, with the suit and all that; but, John would come in unshaven, hair a little bit disheveled, flannel shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes, no outline on the board, he'd sit down in his chair and put his feet up on the desk and scratch his face and go, “What do you think about this stuff?” And he would ask these complex questions and he would give us different schools of thought and then he'd leave us hanging. We'd be like, “John, (we could call him John) what are the answers? One, Two, Three; A, B, C; tell us! And he wouldn't tell us; it would drive you nuts. You'd go back to your dorm room and guys are going down to play ping pong and pool and you're trying to figure out this question. Or he'd bring someone to class who said they were a Christian but had a totally different view of something than we did. He would get us mad and then he wouldn't tell us what to think. He'd say he'd be back tomorrow and you can ask your questions or you can debate then, but he would never tell us, here is the right answer. I would go back to my dorm. Hey Jeff, we're going to see a movie, do you want to go? We're going to go shoot some buckets down at the gym. (Groaning sounds) No, I've got to do this. You'd get in the Word and you'd think. Why is that point of view wrong and why am I right? I never thought about it before but I've always just accepted it because my pastor, my mom or whatever said it's true and now I've got to dig in and find out what is the reason for what I believe? Which professor do you think I learned more from? The one who said think for yourself. Another thing, and I've said this before, the only time I'm infallible is when I'm quoting the Word of God. It's the only time. There are no perfect teachers, all of us are flawed and so people have every right to question and have a healthy skepticism and to examine the scripture for themselves to see if their teacher, their pastor, their small group leader, their one-on-one mentor is speaking truth. If someone is in a small group or a church where you can't question that, I think that's called a cult. And so Luke, the author, and Paul take no offense and say (the Bereans) are noble minded. First of all they had a desire to learn but it was mixed with a healthy skepticism, not a negative attitude. There are some people who just sit and wait for you to say something wrong so they can pounce on it. Just listening with a critical ear, not to gain knowledge but just so I can hear something that remotely has a hint of being off base so I can attack you. It actual says (the Bereans) receive the Word with great eagerness. That's the second thing I want to focus on, their expectation. It says they received the message with great eagerness; examine the scriptures, great eagerness. That means that they're saying, “God has something for me today. God has a truth for me today. There's something in here for me that's good, that I need to hear. There's some gold here for me to take home. There are some nuggets of truth that are just for me.” Do you have that expectation when you go to church? When you come to church discouraged, do you come with an expectation that you'll be encouraged? When you come to church tired, do you come with the expectation that God is going to energize you? When you come to church with a lack of direction and discernment, do you come to church thinking that today God has some wisdom for me. I guarantee you, if you come with no expectation, you're going to leave with exactly what you came in with, zero. But, if you come and say God has something for me today, there's a word I need to hear, it'll be in a song, it'll be in a media, it'll be in a prayer, it'll be in a word spoken by someone to you before or after the service, it'll be in the sermon, it'll be somewhere in that message that God will speak to you. Do you have that expectation? This word “examine” is important, too. This word “examine” means to sift from side to side, sift from side to side. When my kids were little we used to take them to a place called Wild West Town, Donley's Wild West Town, in Union, Illinois. It's a great little place for kids, a Wild West theme. They've got this place where you “mine for gold.” They've got these troughs and if you take your grandson and your granddaughters there, they'll love it. You go through these rocks and they've got these little rocks that are painted gold. You sift through it and try to find that gold. All it is a painted rock, but when they find it they just think they've found gold. There's not a lot of it, but you sift through the water and the dirt, the silt and all the little pebbles and then you find the gold and you go, “Ahhhh!” You put it in your little bag and tie the top. One year my daughter left her gold there and you'd have thought she left real gold and we had to go all the way back to pick up these dirty painted rocks, gold. But you're sifting through. So, they would take what Paul said and they would begin to sift through it and they'd begin to look for the gold that was in there; and, they had an expectation that there was. They were eager. So he says if you're going to be a student of the Word, be eager. God has something for me. God's going to speak to me today. There's something I need to hear and when you come with an expectant heart don't be surprised if you get what you're looking for, alright? I love their expectation. I also love their practice. It's a little bit intimidating; it says they examined the scriptures yearly to see if what Paul said was true. Oh, I'm sorry, it says monthly they examine…once a month they would examine, how m…? Weekly, no? Daily. Thank goodness it wasn't hourly, then they'd really make us look bad, but, it's daily. And some of you, I know when you go to your small groups it's day of reckoning time because you get your workbooks out and it's like, “I didn't do my homework today,” or, “I missed Tuesday,” or whatever. At least we're trying. We're making an effort to get there; we're improving. But these folks had it down, (with) these folks it had become a habitual part of who they were. If you want to become a true student of the Word you have to be in the Word all the time. And that's why you weren't going to pull the wool over on these guys. If you wanted to pull the wool over somebody theologically, the Bereans were the wrong group to mess with because they knew the Word. Every day they were adding to their knowledge. Every day their knowledge base was broadening because they were examining the scriptures daily. The only way you recognize counterfeit is to know the real. They knew the real and so they were daily in the Word. That has to be, if you and I are going to be students of the Word, if we're going to grow in our knowledge, we have to be in the Word all the time, habitually, regularly, always in the Word. Okay? I also want you to look at their standard, look at their standard. It says, “For they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” So, what was their standard? The scriptures. We're going to examine this and whether we keep this or not is going to be dependent upon whether it's in the Word, whether it lines up with what the Word says. This became their standard. What was Paul doing? What was his purpose? Paul was there to demonstrate. He would go into the synagogues and he would use the Old Testament to prove, what, to prove that Jesus was the Christ? That was his strategy with the Jews because they knew the Word. When the gentiles, when he's in Athens he doesn't do that. But here in this Jewish community of Berea he uses the Old Testament. So, there are certain passages he would go to and he would explain, and we know this from the book of Acts, that he would explain to them how the Christ had to suffer and die and be raised to life, and why he died. So, knowing what you know, where would he take them? He takes them to Isaiah, right? That's a big place where he takes them. He takes them to words written 700 years before Christ was born and he shows them passages in Isaiah, Isaiah 53 among them, but others as well. Isaiah 53 really takes you through that whole Passion Week, doesn't it? It takes you through the trial and him being led like a lamb to the slaughter but does not speak. It takes you through his sufferings and it says that by his stripes we are healed and our iniquities were laid upon him and he was perceived cut off from the land of the living and it talks about his burial and Paul would tell them about his burial. It talks about his resurrection, you know, in Isaiah 53. Paul would take them to Psalms 22. Psalms 22, hundreds of years before Roman crucifixion, describes a man being crucified. It talks about his joints being stretched out, his hands and feet being pierced. How he's having a difficult time breathing, how he is so thirsty, how people are around him and they are mocking him and they are waiting for him to die. They've hurt him and they've tormented him and it describes in detail a crucifixion before…when crucifixion does not exist…and Jesus on the cross quotes Psalm 22, he says, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” What know what he was doing? He was giving us a clue. When Jesus quotes Psalm 22, he's saying, “Look at Psalm 22,” okay? When you look at Psalm 22, and I would encourage you to do that sometime, look at it. Jesus was saying look, there. This had to be; this was supposed to be; this was part of the plan. He would begin to explain from those passages, you know how Daniel says the Messiah would be cut off and have nothing; that word means to be destroyed, to be killed. He's explaining all these passages. So, they're going home and they're going, really? Could the Messiah have come? And they go home and they examine Isaiah. They go home and they examine Daniel. They go home and they examine Psalms 22 and they go, Yeah, I'm seeing it. It's making sense. This is true. This is what Isaiah said. This is what Zachariah said. Look, it is right here. You know what it's like? Did you ever watch a mystery/suspense movie and there's the plot twist you didn't see coming and there's a person you didn't expect did the crime? When the movie's all done, if you like the movie, what do you do? You watch it again. When you watch it that second time you go, “Ohhh, right there. Okay. I missed that. When they said that, that was the clue we needed.” Now that you know they did it, “Look there. There's the clue right there.” You didn't see it the first time through. But, after you saw the movie and somebody else maybe even explains it to you and helps you a little bit and you see the plot twists and turns, you can say, “Now I get it.” Do you want to talk about a plot twist? If you want to talk about a plot twist that no one saw coming, a shocking ending—they had no idea the Messiah they were looking for was the God they worshipped. They thought God was going to send a deliverer, they didn't know God himself was going to be coming himself to deliver. They didn't know the one who spoke from the burning bush was going to take on flesh. He was going to come in disguise; he was going to come as us. They didn't see that coming. They didn't understand that. Paul goes back and explains it and when he did, all those Old Testament prophesies came alive. They're going, it's been there the whole time and we didn't see it. Just like when you watched your movie, you didn't see it. It was there and they went back and they just rejoiced and they'd begin to become Christians by the right and left, not only the Jews but the Greeks as well. Now they'd received the Word and examined it, after they examined it they said what Paul said was true. That village was changed. When he left Berea he left that city with a group of on fire Christians who now had their Messiah and they had a handle on the Word of God and they saw it. This is what needs to be our standard, too. This needs to be our standard. What determines right and wrong for you? What determines good and evil for you? What determines your course of actions and decisions you make, what is your standard? Is it your own gut? Is it your own emotions? Is it societal norms? What determines what's true for you? Whatever you think, whatever you feel or is it something more object than that? I had a fella, I think the spirit medium was called Ramtha or something like that. Back in the eighties there was this woman who claimed to be a 2000 year old spirit that would speak through her called Ramtha. It would just tickle your ears and tell you all the things you wanted to see. The guy comes to me and says I'm a Christian and I go to this church, this is in Rockford. This Ramtha channels a 2000 year old spirit and the spirit speaks with wisdom and it's amazing. Is it okay for me to go to that as a Christian? I said no, let's take a look at Deuteronomy. So I read Deuteronomy and he goes, that's just a 2000 year old book; who cares? I'm going to go anyway. Okay, why'd you ask? What he was saying is that book doesn't agree with what I want to do, so I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to see this medium. I never saw the guy again. He made a choice. When your will and your desires clash with this book, who wins? What's the standard? For the Bereans, this was the standard; this is what you examine truth against. If it doesn't comply here, I'm rejecting it. It can't be societal mores and norms because they change all the time. Slavery was once acceptable in this country, society changes. I want to read the words from a pastor by the name of David Jeremiah, listen to what he says: Remember when you first drew pictures with an etch-a-sketch? When you wanted to change your mind you could simply shake it. Everything would disappear and you could start it all over again. It was one of the most popular toys in history. Unfortunately, too often our society writes its moral standards on its own etch-a-sketch. Our cultural sense of right or wrong is based on societal consensus not on the unchanging Word of God and abandoning the absolute standards of a holy God we've become a world in which reality is relative and whatever people want it to be. Christians take a different view, the Lord didn't write his commandments on an etch-a-sketch, they were carved in stone indicating the durable and permanent value. The commands of God flow from his character and establish the moral basis of the universe. No matter how hard it tries, the world can never erase the truth of God's Word or the demands of his ten commandments. They are rock solid and we can base our moral code on the tablets of his holiness. That's good stuff. I couldn't say it any better, so I just ripped it off. And so, the Bereans, this was their standard. If we're going to be a true student of the Word this has to be our standard. Everything is examined in the light of his truth. This is the test. What doesn't pass the test is removed, rejected. To what passes the test, we hold fast. Let's pray together, Father we thank you for the example of the Bereans this little respite that Paul had away from the big crowd, the big city, the hostile environment. To come to this secluded little town in the shadows of Mt. Olympus and other mountains where so much tradition, so much legend had been spoken of, to find this synagogue of these believers who had their heads on straight, who received the Word with eagerness but with a healthy skepticism. They thought for themselves. They weren't going to let somebody else determine how or what they thought. They had an expectation to receive truth. There was a joy, there was anticipation that you had “gold” for them to find. Lord it was their practice to daily spend time in your Word and that's something that we're striving for. That's an example that we want to emulate and then we see their standard, a standard that was set in stone, a standard that does not change. If we can follow the example of the Bereans, not just in our 40 days but beyond, what a strong body this will be, what a strong faith we will have. Not faith, not desires or values that change like an etch-a-sketch but that which is rock solid and stands the test of time. Might we be those kinds of Christians? In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Pastor Nyron teaches from 1 Thesselonians 5

November 27, 2011 by Tom Grill from the reading Thesselonians 5:12-18

Pastor Phil encourages us to live as people of Light and of Hope, as Paul writes in 1 Thesselonians 4 and 5.

Pastor Phil preaches on 1 Thesselonians 4:1-12 and encourages us to live in a way that pleases God.