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Resounding Faith | Creating Community

September 15, 2024
1 Thessalonians 1:8-2:4

1 ⁸For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 

⁹For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

2 ¹For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. ²But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. ³For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, ⁴but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

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Purpose

To discover and experience Jesus Christ in our midst

To cultivate mutually encouraging relationships

To participate in God’s mission to the world 

Opening Prayer

Lord, let your continual pity cleanse and defend your church, and because it cannot continue in safety without your aid, keep it evermore by your help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Responsive Prayer — Psalm 107

Praise the Lord!

In the company of the upright, in the congregation,

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.

Great are the works of the Lord,

Studied by all who delight in them.

Full of splendor and majesty is his work,

And his righteousness endures forever.

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

The Lord is gracious and merciful.

Summary and Connection

This study explores the difference that the gospel makes in the church. As we follow the passage, Paul says that changed lives (verses 9-10) result from the gospel (verses 1-2) which is true (verses 3-4). Not only does the gospel transform our present life and give us future hope, the gospel is also refreshingly authentic, proclaimed in spite of suffering and for no other motive than that it pleases God. We are in a sermon series called Resounding Faith, and we want to ask: How does the gospel transform us? And what are the results?

Discussion Questions

1. Looking at the Bible

Observation: Read the passage privately. What does the text say? What is the theme of this passage? Do you notice any keywords?

• In verses 9-10, what does Paul say are the marks of true conversion?
• In verses 1-4, what does Paul say are the marks of true gospel preaching?

2. Looking at Jesus

At Central we believe that all of Scripture points to Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the theological center of the Bible. Every passage not only points to Jesus, but the grand narrative of the Bible also finds its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus.

• Look at verse 10. How much of the gospel story can you describe from this single verse?
• Look at verse 2. Why does Jesus’ mission — and the gospel — involve so much conflict?

3. Looking at Our Hearts

• Look at verse 10. What does it mean for us to live free from idols?
• Look at verse 4. What does it mean to have our gospel message “approved by God" while at the same time God is “testing our hearts? 

4. Looking at Our World

• Look at verses 8-10 and the reputation of this new church. Does Central Presbyterian live as a church that is known for rejecting idolatry, serving God, and waiting for Jesus’ return? 

Sending

• View Study Guide Notes

  Question 1: True conversion, Paul says, is a transformation of your worship and your hope. You used to worship idols (past), now you worship God (present), and you hope in Jesus’ return (future). Worship is to give something ultimate “worth,” and part of conversion is realizing that we are all already doing this. Worship is inevitable. And therefore, so is hope. We hope that what we love and worship will save us. But the ultimate salvation we need is from God’s judgment on all of us who have been “looking for love in all the wrong places,” and the ultimate savior is Jesus, who delivers us from that final judgment.

  Gospel preaching, according to Paul, is marked by “boldness … in the midst of much conflict.” Its motive is merely to please God, not man (verse 4). And its root is God’s approval (verse 4), not man’s deception (verse 3). Finally, gospel preaching is marked by productivity. The good news that Jesus saves us from the wrath to come — and lived, died, rose, and will return for us — leads to radical life change.

  Question 2: Verse 10 is tightly packed. In it, we see almost all of Jesus’ life and mission. Give the group time to explore this verse. For examples of what to draw out of the verse, see: 1) Jesus, the savior, delivers us from God’s wrath. 2) Jesus was raised, which implies his death on the cross for the sake of saving sinners and states the fact of his resurrection. 3) Jesus is in heaven, which reminds us of his ascension to heaven and the reality that he rules and reigns right now. 4) Jesus will return, bringing in the new creation. 5) Finally, Jesus’ return will bring judgment, which means that all things wrong will be set right. This is a terrifying prospect for those who oppose Jesus, but a wonderful promise for the hurt and the oppressed — and especially for those who trust in Jesus. He delivered us from the wrath to come by taking our wrath on himself.

  Question 3: John Calvin writes that “although all do not worship idols, all are nevertheless addicted to idolatry.” Only the true and living God can free us. Guide members in thinking through what desires, habits, or thoughts they have left behind. Was it difficult? Burdensome? Freeing? 

  Every Christian is entrusted with the gospel. Or, as Paul says elsewhere, “we have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Consider with the group what it means to have your message “approved by God.” Does this mean the content of the message? The truthfulness of the message? The motive behind the message? And, how is God’s approval balanced with his testing of our hearts? Paul seems to have in mind an approved message and a tested messenger. One test for our hearts that Paul implies here is who we want to please when we share the good news: other people, or God himself?

  Question 4: Paul S. Jeon has two probing questions for us here: “Are you intentional about suffering well?” and “Are you a people-pleaser or a God-pleaser?” (Living Intentionally Before God). As you lead the group toward prayer at the end, give thanks for the ways in which Central, by God’s grace, does live up to this call, and pray for God’s correction and change for the ways in which we fail.