Today’s passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Helpful thoughts:
- The Christians at Thessalonica had become preoccupied with the timing of the return of Jesus Christ. So much so that it had negatively affected their lives, relationships, and perhaps even their testimony (1 Thess. 1:10, 2 Thess. 2:1-2, 3:10-12).
- In order to set them back on the right track, Paul encouraged them to:
- Love one another
- Live quietly
- Mind their own business (If we are staying busy with our own to-do lists, it’s pretty hard to be an expert in everyone else’s business)
- Work (“Working with your hands” refers to menial tasks. Christians waiting for King Jesus to return were not suddenly too good for their jobs)
- Being ready for Jesus’ return looks like humility and servitude, not like arrogance and entitlement.
Questions to consider:
- How does the Gospel message received naturally result in a desire for Christians to love? Why do we love people? (1 John 4:19)
- What kind of witness and evangelism comes from the believer who is living peaceably/quietly as opposed to the way we might present the Gospel in a confrontational/loud manner?
- Why would the presentation of the Gospel from the humble hard-working Christian be so much more powerful, accurately portraying the Savior? (Matthew 11:29)