Elements City Church
Living Hope week 11 - 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
Join us Sundays this Fall 2022 as we walk through a powerful couple books of the Bible that the Apostle Paul wrote to a church he planted in Thessaloniki. In these works, he inspires a people that are living in uncertainty, to keep living by a dynamic faith in Christ and to persevere with hope, even as they were facing opposition and pressure from a culture that didn't believe or so much care for their beliefs. Followers of Jesus Christ should live with one foot in this world and the other in the world to come. We should be fully engaged with this life AND we should also live with an awareness of eternity. Having this double perspective - gives us wisdom for our 'here and now'. It shapes our priorities, impacts our schedules, influences our dreams and our decisions. It fuels our hearts for the gospel and for people around us to know and experience Jesus.
Locations & Times
Elements City Church
1825 N Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85712, USA
Sunday 5:00 PM
Thanks for joining us!
Whether you're on-site or online, we are praying that tonight will be an encouragement to your soul. May God whisper to you and help you in taking your next steps in a journey with Him. If you're new, we'd love to have you fill out our connection card.
https://connect-card.com/yr4Y0g8VLBSqzKXeubjb1 & 2 Thessalonians Recap:
- Paul, Timothy, and Silas planted the church in Thessalonica. (see Acts 17)
- Thessalonica is the second largest city in Greece, even today! The city had a special status due to its loyalty to Caesar, so citizens were tax exempt.
- Citizens could freely worship any god, so long as they acknowledged Caesar as lord. Christians wouldn't, and this upset the Thessalonian citizens for fear they could lose their tax-exempt status.
- This led to heavy persecution of the Christian church, and Paul is forced to flee the city to save his life.
- Both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians encourage the church to remember what he taught and modeled for them while he was with them.
- Paul addresses what the Thessalonians could expect to know that Jesus has returned. This was certainly something Paul taught them in person, but some false teaching on the matter has led to some Thessalonian Christians setting aside their responsibilities and causing disruption in the community.
- Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers to stand firm in the traditions passed on to them so they can endure the persecution they're experiencing to the end.
- Paul, Timothy, and Silas planted the church in Thessalonica. (see Acts 17)
- Thessalonica is the second largest city in Greece, even today! The city had a special status due to its loyalty to Caesar, so citizens were tax exempt.
- Citizens could freely worship any god, so long as they acknowledged Caesar as lord. Christians wouldn't, and this upset the Thessalonian citizens for fear they could lose their tax-exempt status.
- This led to heavy persecution of the Christian church, and Paul is forced to flee the city to save his life.
- Both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians encourage the church to remember what he taught and modeled for them while he was with them.
- Paul addresses what the Thessalonians could expect to know that Jesus has returned. This was certainly something Paul taught them in person, but some false teaching on the matter has led to some Thessalonian Christians setting aside their responsibilities and causing disruption in the community.
- Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers to stand firm in the traditions passed on to them so they can endure the persecution they're experiencing to the end.
Verse 4:
What are the traditions Paul commands them to follow?
If we stand firm in these five practices, we can grow in our spiritual formation.
What are the traditions Paul commands them to follow?
If we stand firm in these five practices, we can grow in our spiritual formation.
Five Practices to Grow in Your Spiritual Formation:
1. Prayer
1. Prayer
"Nothing can blunt a church’s effectiveness at spreading the gospel more than having a church filled with people who are not really Christians. In addition to the existence of pseudobelievers in Paul’s churches, there are likely true Christians so influenced by false teaching that they have no concern to be witnesses. Contemporary Christians may also lose their zeal for the unevangelized because of the distraction of false teaching, the lack of continually confronting themselves with God’s Word, the presence of unconfessed sin or the mere ignorance that prayer is the power that propels the effective advance of the gospel in the world."
-G. K. Beale
-G. K. Beale
Five Practices to Grow in Your Spiritual Formation:
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
Five Practices to Grow in Your Spiritual Formation:
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
3. Fast
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
3. Fast
Five Practices to Grow in Your Spiritual Formation:
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
3. Fast
4. Confession
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
3. Fast
4. Confession
Five Practices to Grow in Your Spiritual Formation:
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
3. Fast
4. Confession
5. Work Heartily
1. Prayer
2. Apply God's Word
3. Fast
4. Confession
5. Work Heartily
Notice the end . It’s the grace of the Lord that holds this all together. For Paul, it always comes back to the Gospel.
May this be true for all of us, as well!
May this be true for all of us, as well!
Thank you for financially partnering with us!
Thank you for enabling us to be the Church in our city! Your gifts help fuel the mission of Elements City Church, as well as our capacity to share His love with as many as we can. You help us bring the HOPE and LIGHT of Jesus to our city! You can give online at the link below or through the Elements app.
http://elementscitychurch.org/giveWhether you are on-site or online, we're grateful you chose to worship with us tonight!
Don't forget to the check the Elements City Church app for the latest info on upcoming events!
Don't forget to the check the Elements City Church app for the latest info on upcoming events!
Father Spirit Son now available!
We've been singing the song, "Father Spirit Son" written by our very own Anya Mykoliuk Thompson for over a year. This weekend she's finally released the song on the major streaming platforms!
Check it out on Spotify and Apple Music. Click the link below to hear it on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcKjeQGEh7QCheck it out on Spotify and Apple Music. Click the link below to hear it on YouTube.