How To Use This Guide:
listen
Listen to the weekly sermon and read through the main passages(s)
reflect
Prayerfully answer the questions below
discuss
Meet with your group to discuss
respond
Apply the truth of God’s word to your life
How To Use This Guide:
listen
Listen to the weekly sermon and read through the main passages(s)
reflect
Prayerfully answer the questions below
discuss
Meet with your group to discuss
respond
Apply the truth of God’s word to your life
latest message:
background
When it comes to showing love, actions often speak louder than words. In his letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul commends the diligence in showing mutual love, but there is room to grow. He is not dealing with a crisis but calling them to a deeper level of consistency. One of the primary ways of showing love to others is in how we approach the daily tasks of life. Paul turns the idea of ambition on its head, encouraging believers to “aspire to live quietly” in an unobtrusive way so that one is not a burden to others.
Most today have two settings: work hard and play hard. The goal is to do one exclusively or use the former to achieve the latter. For Paul, work is not primarily a means to gain self-promotion, security, or luxury. It is meant to be a vehicle for the gospel. It enables believers to conduct themselves in a respectable manner before those outside the Christian community, thus bearing witness to our faith. It also frees us to live out the gospel in the context of the Christian community.
OPEN
1. What was your first job? Did you find the experience enjoyable?
REFLECT
2. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12. According to this passage, what “ambition” are Christians supposed to have? What are the effects of leading the kind of life described by Paul?
3. How does the Christian’s approach to daily work demonstrate love for others? How does it glorify God?
4. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:14. How does Paul's encouragement here help to build a supportive and loving community within the church? What are the dangers of neglecting these instructions?
APPLY
5. There are two unhealthy approaches to work. One is to see work as meaningless and be tempted to avoid it. The other is to find our sense of identity in our career and let it consume us. Which of these temptations are you more prone to? How does a biblical view of work change how you naturally view your labors?
6. Not all work is paid work. Whether you work for compensation, support family, go to school, or seek to serve others in some way, do you find it easy or difficult to view your endeavors as a gift from God? What are some practical ways you can remind yourself that your work matters to God?
7. How does this lifestyle contribute to your witness for Christ is your spheres of influence? How can you better apply the principles here in your daily life?
RESOURCES:
Most today have two settings: work hard and play hard. The goal is to do one exclusively or use the former to achieve the latter. For Paul, work is not primarily a means to gain self-promotion, security, or luxury. It is meant to be a vehicle for the gospel. It enables believers to conduct themselves in a respectable manner before those outside the Christian community, thus bearing witness to our faith. It also frees us to live out the gospel in the context of the Christian community.
OPEN
1. What was your first job? Did you find the experience enjoyable?
REFLECT
2. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12. According to this passage, what “ambition” are Christians supposed to have? What are the effects of leading the kind of life described by Paul?
3. How does the Christian’s approach to daily work demonstrate love for others? How does it glorify God?
4. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:14. How does Paul's encouragement here help to build a supportive and loving community within the church? What are the dangers of neglecting these instructions?
APPLY
5. There are two unhealthy approaches to work. One is to see work as meaningless and be tempted to avoid it. The other is to find our sense of identity in our career and let it consume us. Which of these temptations are you more prone to? How does a biblical view of work change how you naturally view your labors?
6. Not all work is paid work. Whether you work for compensation, support family, go to school, or seek to serve others in some way, do you find it easy or difficult to view your endeavors as a gift from God? What are some practical ways you can remind yourself that your work matters to God?
7. How does this lifestyle contribute to your witness for Christ is your spheres of influence? How can you better apply the principles here in your daily life?
RESOURCES:
For more information about covenant groups, contact Doug Barnwell at dbarnwell@fellowshipjackson.com.