Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoQxVeJ4gsY
Program Transcript
Living in Hope and Faithfulness: 2 Thessalonians
There’s a tension every traveler knows when your plane is delayed, your train is late, or your ride hasn’t yet arrived. You stand at the curb or in the terminal, watching the minutes tick by, scanning for signs that it’s finally time to move forward. Do you grow restless? Lose confidence? Or do you stay ready, trusting the one who said they’re coming?
Waiting well requires faith.
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes to a church in the tension of waiting, not for a train, but for the return of Jesus. These early believers were facing pressure, persecution, and false teachings. Some were tempted to give up. Others were tempted to give in. But Paul urges them: stand firm.
2 Thessalonians reminds us that what we hope for shapes how we live now.
Paul calls the church to remain faithful, hopeful, confident, and fearless, no matter what opposition they face. He reminds them that God is just, Jesus is coming, and his victory will bring justice and relief to all who trust in him.
He encourages them to hold fast to the traditions they received, to work diligently, and not to be shaken by fear or deception. This isn’t passive waiting, it’s active faithfulness. Even in the presence of evil and uncertainty, the people of God are called to endure, strengthened by grace and guarded by the love of Christ.
2 Thessalonians is a powerful reminder that waiting for Jesus is never wasted time. In the in-between, we are being shaped into a people of hope, endurance, and unwavering faith. So let us live as those who believe the promise: that Jesus will return, evil will not win, and our labor in the Lord is never in vain.
“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”
May the words of 2 Thessalonians remind us that the call to faithfulness is not a burden, but a grace filled invitation. In every trial, every delay, and every moment of uncertainty, we are not alone. We are strengthened by the hope of Christ’s return, sustained by his love, and established by his Spirit. So let us live each day with courage and conviction, shaped by the promise of his justice and the certainty of his presence, until he comes again.
Program Transcript
Living in Hope and Faithfulness: 2 Thessalonians
There’s a tension every traveler knows when your plane is delayed, your train is late, or your ride hasn’t yet arrived. You stand at the curb or in the terminal, watching the minutes tick by, scanning for signs that it’s finally time to move forward. Do you grow restless? Lose confidence? Or do you stay ready, trusting the one who said they’re coming?
Waiting well requires faith.
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes to a church in the tension of waiting, not for a train, but for the return of Jesus. These early believers were facing pressure, persecution, and false teachings. Some were tempted to give up. Others were tempted to give in. But Paul urges them: stand firm.
2 Thessalonians reminds us that what we hope for shapes how we live now.
Paul calls the church to remain faithful, hopeful, confident, and fearless, no matter what opposition they face. He reminds them that God is just, Jesus is coming, and his victory will bring justice and relief to all who trust in him.
He encourages them to hold fast to the traditions they received, to work diligently, and not to be shaken by fear or deception. This isn’t passive waiting, it’s active faithfulness. Even in the presence of evil and uncertainty, the people of God are called to endure, strengthened by grace and guarded by the love of Christ.
2 Thessalonians is a powerful reminder that waiting for Jesus is never wasted time. In the in-between, we are being shaped into a people of hope, endurance, and unwavering faith. So let us live as those who believe the promise: that Jesus will return, evil will not win, and our labor in the Lord is never in vain.
“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”
May the words of 2 Thessalonians remind us that the call to faithfulness is not a burden, but a grace filled invitation. In every trial, every delay, and every moment of uncertainty, we are not alone. We are strengthened by the hope of Christ’s return, sustained by his love, and established by his Spirit. So let us live each day with courage and conviction, shaped by the promise of his justice and the certainty of his presence, until he comes again.
Psalm 119:137–144 • Habakkuk 1:1–4; 2:1–4 • 2 Thessalonians 1:1–4, 11–12 • Luke 19:1–10
This week’s theme is God’s faithful righteousness. Our call to worship psalm is soaked in proclamations of God’s righteousness despite the backdrop of ongoing injustices. Our Old Testament reading from Habakkuk begins with a protest to God against injustice and ends with reassurance that the righteous live by faith. The reading from 2 Thessalonians is the letter’s salutation which includes a thanksgiving for the recipients’ growing faith and love during persecution and confusion along with the confident hope that God will continue to make them worthy of his calling. The Gospel reading from Luke presents the familiar story of Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus that leads to his conversion and corresponding generosity.
Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.
How to use this sermon resource.
The Metrics of Grace
2 Thessalonians 1:1–4, 11–12 – ESV
Beginning today, we will have three Sundays in a row in the book of 2 Thessalonians. So, we should start today with a brief overview of the book.
First, this letter is written by Paul, who has two traveling partners, Silas and Timothy. It’s the second letter to the church in Thessalonica made up of several new converts who are mostly Gentile. Thessalonica was no second-rate city during Paul’s day. In fact, it was considered the chief city of Macedonia, partly due to being a seaport on the Aegean Sea as well as being located on the Egnatian Way, a route that connected Rome with Byzantium.
In short, it was a bustling city of trade and commerce. The citizens of Thessalonia worshipped a multitude of “gods,” like Aphrodite and Zeus, and residents were expected to worship the current emperor as divine. In their culture, personal ethics were not valued. Abusive, cruel treatment of others was commonplace, even accepted.
Paul is writing to these new Gentile believers to offer further encouragement during a time of suffering and persecution. He is also warning them against some who were going around in Paul’s name claiming that the Lord’s return had already taken place. Paul is particularly upset at these imposters and emphasizes the sure judgement coming to them. Paul is also following up on a persistent problem of some who are being idle and not working. He is exhorting them, like in his first letter, to work with their own hands and contribute. In response to these issues and concerns, Paul uses this letter to offer the reassurance of salvation of the Thessalonian believers and God’s judgment on those who are causing them trouble. Paul also makes clear that the Lord’s return still lies in the future, and they should not be idling away their time in the present.
For today, we will only look at two sections in the greeting of Paul’s letter. These sections point our attention to some of the issues Paul wants to address and give us an insight into what Paul truly values in a church. We will take note of how Paul measures “church growth” which may challenge some ideas that are common in many popular “church growth” movements today.
We will be reminded that it is God’s grace that gives us the growth, a growth that finds its source and goal in the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read Paul’s greeting, may we be greeted by the Lord’s grace, who calls us to himself and grows our faith and love to his glory in us and ours in him.
Let’s begin:
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Thessalonians 1:1 ESV
This greeting is fairly standard for letter writing at the time. Paul identifies himself along with Silvanus and Timothy as the authors of the letter. Then he writes, “To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:” If you look at other greetings from Paul in his letters to other churches, he often addresses a church by their location. But his address here has a subtle change. Instead of addressing them as the “church in Thessalonica” he calls them the “church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:” He has departed from locating the church in the city which they reside and instead locates them in God. Why do you think Paul chose this slight deviation in address?
Remember, Thessalonica was a very prominent and prosperous city. These are new Gentile converts. There could be a real temptation for these believers to want to find their identity in the successful and prosperous city in which they reside. Paul seems to want to remind them right up front that their true identity, where they really belong, is in God, not some temporary city in Macedonia. This temptation may be all the stronger since they are undergoing some form of persecution. We are not told exactly what the persecution is, but it could be placing some pressure on these new believers to conform to their surrounding culture in some way that is not fitting to their faith in Christ.
This is also a good reminder for us today. When we are experiencing pressure to “fit in” with our surrounding culture, there is a real temptation to make compromises and justify certain behaviors or ideas that do not glorify God. When God’s call to us makes us stand out like an oddity, it is the witness of the church that is lost when we conform and comply. What we need is the reminder Paul gives. We belong to God the Father and Jesus our Lord. From that perspective, we are not outsiders. We are in the very life and love all creation was made for. That is a reality worth taking a stand for and making a witness to.
Paul’s next line of greeting tells us why:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:2 ESV
This line is important. In fact, we could say it’s a summary of all that God is up to. God gives us grace which leads to peace. When going through persecution and also being thrown into confusion on account of false rumors, being reminded of the source of peace can certainly have a grounding effect. And to be certain, the peace Paul is talking about is not just some fuzzy feeling on a sunny day. It’s a real and abiding peace with God, with self, and with others. This is a peace that God intends to bring to his whole creation. The Thessalonian believers can also discern from this address that the persecutions and the confusion from false teachers they are experiencing is not from God. God is a God of grace and his gift to us is his peace. These new believers may need the reminder that they have not fallen out of favor with God, nor is he the one who is trying to confuse them regarding Jesus’ return. Those voices come from other sources.
Paul goes further by expressing gratitude for these new believers:
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3 ESV
In Paul’s expression of gratitude, we are given a few indicators of what is really important for our churches. First, notice that Paul adds the odd wording that we “ought” always to give thanks to God. Paul points out that being thankful for fellow believers is something we should do. It’s a fitting response to God’s grace, a grace that has provided us with fellow travelers and partners in the gospel. The reason we “ought” to or should be thankful is because thankfulness means we are in a posture of receiving what the Lord is giving. You don’t say “thank you” for something you are refusing to receive. Paul’s gratitude for the Thessalonian believers means he sees these believers as a gift from God to be received. And certainly, the last thing this church needs is further rejection.
It is God’s grace at work that these Thessalonians have turned to God and put their trust in the Lord. This is a good reminder not just for pastors and church leaders, but for us all. Are we thankful for the fellow believers God has given to us to walk with? Or do we let other agendas or ideals prevent us from receiving our “brothers,” as Paul calls them, because they perhaps don’t measure up in some way that we think they should. This doesn’t mean we don’t work for their betterment through correction as Paul will do later in the letter. But it’s correction that aids the further growth of our fellowship with one another, not a correction towards some impersonal goal or personal ideal. Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are a precious gift; one we should never take for granted. Gratitude for those God has given us is a sure safeguard to do just that.
Also notice Paul says it is “right” to give thanks for his brothers “because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” Not that numerical growth is bad or something we shouldn’t be thankful for. But what seems to be key for Paul is the growth of faith and love. That’s the measurement of grace. Only the grace of our Lord Jesus by the Spirit will grow a person’s faith and increase their love for others. That’s a gift to receive, not a goal to achieve. This is what Paul is thankful for. And, as often is the case, a church growing in faith and love may experience numerical growth as well. But that would simply be a nice by-product of the real fruit God is producing in us.
Paul has more to say about this.
Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. 2 Thessalonians 1:4 ESV
Paul is thankful to God for these brothers and sisters. But he goes further; he says we “boast” about them to other churches. This is an appropriate boasting; it’s not like bragging out of vanity or conceit. It is fitting to boast of that which the Lord has done. This type of boasting doesn’t seem to sell many books these days. Typically, the churches that are put up for boasting are those that have grown to staggering numbers or have caught the public eye for some grandiose community service. But that doesn’t seem to even be on Paul’s radar. There is no mention of the size of the church. As far as making a splash in the community — well, they are being persecuted. But it is actually in their “persecutions and in the afflictions” they are “enduring” that displays their “steadfastness and faith.” And for Paul, that is worth sharing with other churches. And this kind of boasting can encourage other churches as well. This kind of boasting is a reminder that God is working, even in the worst situations.
How often do we need that reminder? When we hear of fellow believers who are growing in their trust of the Lord and increasing in their love for one another while undergoing persecutions and disruptive rumors, it is an encouragement for others who are going through similar challenges. It reminds us that God is present and doesn’t measure our worth according to the standards of the culture around us. He is more interested in our growing in our relationship with him, a relationship of trust where we can receive and live out his peace and love.
From here in the next six verses, Paul assures his “brothers” that God will vindicate them and set things right. It bears mentioning to know that our suffering and persecutions have a shelf life and our faithfulness through it is not in vain. In this way Paul helps the Thessalonian believers keep their heads up and eyes forward. It’s a forward-looking orientation that will also inform Paul’s prayers for them. That’s the remaining two verses we are given to cover from Paul’s greeting.
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 ESV
When we arrive at Paul’s final words of greeting in verse 11, we see Paul shift from thanksgiving and boasting to praying. What is the “end” God has in mind for us? Namely that “our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him …” God will continue doing what he is already doing in the Thessalonian believers. They are growing in faith and love, and his prayer is that God will continue to grow them into true citizens of God’s kingdom in which they are called, a kingdom full of those who live in faith and love.
Maybe you can relate to this journey. Sometimes it may feel we are going in circles but as we go through suffering and even persecutions, God grows our faith and love even more. From this faith and love, we are able to receive more from the Lord. As we receive more from the Lord, we then grow more in faith and love, and the cycle grows and grows until we reach the mutual glorification held out to us by “the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
And perhaps that is a final action point for us today. Pray for one another that we will grow to receive God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ. Pray for a growth marked by trusting in the Lord and receiving the love he has for us. Pray for a love we can then extend to others. In this faith and love, we can receive and live in the grace and peace God has for us. This is a growth we can be thankful for, a growth to boast in, and a growth to pray for. In circular fashion, we can end by returning to Paul’s opening greeting: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Dr. Dwight Zscheile—Year C Proper 26
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/GReverb/GR069-Zcheielle-YearC-Proper26.mp3
Sunday, November 2, 2025 — Proper 26 of Ordinary Time
2 Thessalonians 1:1–4, 11–12 NRSVUE
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Program Transcript
Dr. Dwight Zscheile—Year C Proper 26
Anthony: Let’s move on to our lectionary text for the month. Our first text is 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition. This is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 26 in Ordinary Time, November 2.
We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.
11 To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dwight, if you were giving an expository sermon from this text, what would you herald to the congregation?
Dwight: It’s a beautiful text and I love the spirit of it. And what I want to begin with is how the text begins with this posture of gratitude and thanksgiving. Right now, it seems like in American culture, one of the predominant emotions is resentment, which I think of almost as the opposite of gratitude.
There’s a lot of grievance. There’s a lot of divisiveness. There’s a lot of sense of scarcity, right? That’s zero sum, that we were all competing and if someone else is thriving, that means that I might, must not be, they’re taking it away from me. There’s all kinds of dynamics and you see it across the political spectrum right now.
So, to begin with a posture of gratitude, like giving thanks for this growth of faith that Paul is seeing in these sisters and brothers in love. It’s increasing, which — this is the game, right, that we as Christians are playing. It is growth in faith and it is love for one another and for our neighbors. And there’s a simplicity to that, that I think it’s easy to lose sight of, right? Growth in faith is about growth in our capacity to be led by God, to place our trust in God, to obey God, to be dependent upon God in a culture that says, informs us, has these messages around that you should really just be only self-reliant, look out for yourself. You can do it yourself. Justify yourself, right? I think we have a massive culture right now of self-justification in a lot of ways.
So, growing in a faith abundantly and loving one another is we learn how to live into, if you will, the life of the Trinity, this life of love that is also about differentiation. It’s like we don’t need to be the same, and yet we need, we can love one another and be joined in one community. So, the fact that Paul is boasting about their love and faith among other churches is I think a beautiful idea. If there’s anything to boast of, right? Paul boasted of his suffering and he boasts of other people’s faith and love rather than all the things that we might be tempted to boast about in a self-justifying way.
Self-justification is very much there in the church too right now. We think about it as all the ways in which, again, we’re trying to save ourselves or do right or deal with whatever sense of guilt we have on our own. And this is a text that just comes out of a spirit, I think, of freedom, spirit of love, spirit of celebration.
And then I want to just touch on verse 4, there, the end of verse 4: “During all your persecutions and the afflictions that you’re enduring.” So, it’s not okay, this is coming, that you’re growing in love and faith because everything’s just so easy. It’s actually very much in the midst of suffering and resistance and persecution.
And I think there’s a piece to that’s important to keep in mind as well. There’s a lot of resistance, just suffering happening generally for people in our world today. We don’t need to remind anyone of that, but also the resistance of what does it mean to follow Jesus in this culture that I think is increasingly post-Christian and many ways, increasingly kind of neopagan right now resembling more in some weird ways, the culture of the first century, Roman imperial context.
So, if I were preaching on this text, I would wonder what does it mean to live as a person of gratitude amidst resistance, persecution, suffering that happens. And to be free to grow and love even amidst that. And I think so often. We look back in our lives on those moments when we’ve faced resistance and adversity and we say, okay, those were the times I did grow in love and they’re painful, but what might God be doing in your life right now through those tough passages to grow you in faith and love?
Anthony: I saw quote just recently, and I’m not sure who the source was, but it said, “Gratitude is the wine of life, and so, it’s okay to get drunk drinking gratitude. Live a life of gratitude.” And I agree with you, brother.
Verse 11 says, “God will make you worthy of his call.” What in the world does that mean, and how do we interpret that?
Dwight: Yeah, it’s like another great text in this: “God will make you worthy of his call.” I think, again, just to go back to this basic theme of gratitude and gift. So, I hear this as a message about grace. Again, you don’t need to make yourself worthy of God’s call by being the one who’s just trying harder or again, justifying yourself. It is God’s gift. God will make you worthy. You don’t need to do it. It’s God’s work. And I’m a real kind of student of the reformation in the great breakthrough that Martin Luther had around justification as gift in this as I hear this text, so that we have this gift. God’s making us worthy of his call. And then it goes on to say, we’ll fulfill it by his power. By his power, not our power. By his power. Every good resolve and work of faith. So, you have this sort of justification then vocation, service, loving, work of faith that follows from that dynamic going on in this text that I think is really important.
And I think for us to be really clear about that. Again, I just think there’s not enough grace in today’s culture, in today’s society by any stretch, and not enough grace so often in the church as well. It’s so easy for churches to simply ask people, “What are you doing to make yourself worthy of God,” rather than just going back over and over again, “God will make you worthy.” And that is, it’s God’s action. It’s God’s claiming and calling, and then it’s God’s power that will bring forth from us those good works, those works of service so that God’s, that Jesus’ name may be glorified. I love again how Paul ends this passage with “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ,” just in case you missed it. Let’s come back to the grace thing.
Anthony: Yeah, this reminds me of a statement that Eugene Peterson made about discipleship, and I see a connection here, and what he said at first can sound counterintuitive because he said discipleship is focusing less and less on ourselves and more and more on Christ.
And it’s his work. It’s his power, it’s his presence. And yes, we have to be attentive to what the Lord is doing in us. I don’t think Eugene would ever say, you’re not attentive to that, but let’s fix our gaze on him. He’s the one who fulfills these things by his power. And that’s what I hear when we come to a text like this. This is God at work in us, right?
Dwight: Yes, exactly. Exactly. And I don’t know about you, but I just find that to be great news. Because if it’s up to me, forget it. And I think one of the reasons why we see a real kind of stream of dimension of despair and anxiety in our culture right now is because this theme of grace is less and less present.
And I think people who are living in a more secular or neopagan kind of cultural orientation where it’s all up to you to figure it out, it’s all up to you to secure your place — that is an enormously heavy burden to place on people. And the message of grace is just not being heard by people. And in fact, what you get instead is condemnation, judgment all over the place.
Anthony: Yeah. If Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, if he doesn’t condemn us, I don’t think he’s calling us to do it. Let it be so, Lord.
Program Transcript
Dr. Dwight Zscheile—Year C Proper 26
Anthony: Let’s move on to our lectionary text for the month. Our first text is 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition. This is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 26 in Ordinary Time, November 2.
We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.
11 To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dwight, if you were giving an expository sermon from this text, what would you herald to the congregation?
Dwight: It’s a beautiful text and I love the spirit of it. And what I want to begin with is how the text begins with this posture of gratitude and thanksgiving. Right now, it seems like in American culture, one of the predominant emotions is resentment, which I think of almost as the opposite of gratitude.
There’s a lot of grievance. There’s a lot of divisiveness. There’s a lot of sense of scarcity, right? That’s zero sum, that we were all competing and if someone else is thriving, that means that I might, must not be, they’re taking it away from me. There’s all kinds of dynamics and you see it across the political spectrum right now.
So, to begin with a posture of gratitude, like giving thanks for this growth of faith that Paul is seeing in these sisters and brothers in love. It’s increasing, which — this is the game, right, that we as Christians are playing. It is growth in faith and it is love for one another and for our neighbors. And there’s a simplicity to that, that I think it’s easy to lose sight of, right? Growth in faith is about growth in our capacity to be led by God, to place our trust in God, to obey God, to be dependent upon God in a culture that says, informs us, has these messages around that you should really just be only self-reliant, look out for yourself. You can do it yourself. Justify yourself, right? I think we have a massive culture right now of self-justification in a lot of ways.
So, growing in a faith abundantly and loving one another is we learn how to live into, if you will, the life of the Trinity, this life of love that is also about differentiation. It’s like we don’t need to be the same, and yet we need, we can love one another and be joined in one community. So, the fact that Paul is boasting about their love and faith among other churches is I think a beautiful idea. If there’s anything to boast of, right? Paul boasted of his suffering and he boasts of other people’s faith and love rather than all the things that we might be tempted to boast about in a self-justifying way.
Self-justification is very much there in the church too right now. We think about it as all the ways in which, again, we’re trying to save ourselves or do right or deal with whatever sense of guilt we have on our own. And this is a text that just comes out of a spirit, I think, of freedom, spirit of love, spirit of celebration.
And then I want to just touch on verse 4, there, the end of verse 4: “During all your persecutions and the afflictions that you’re enduring.” So, it’s not okay, this is coming, that you’re growing in love and faith because everything’s just so easy. It’s actually very much in the midst of suffering and resistance and persecution.
And I think there’s a piece to that’s important to keep in mind as well. There’s a lot of resistance, just suffering happening generally for people in our world today. We don’t need to remind anyone of that, but also the resistance of what does it mean to follow Jesus in this culture that I think is increasingly post-Christian and many ways, increasingly kind of neopagan right now resembling more in some weird ways, the culture of the first century, Roman imperial context.
So, if I were preaching on this text, I would wonder what does it mean to live as a person of gratitude amidst resistance, persecution, suffering that happens. And to be free to grow and love even amidst that. And I think so often. We look back in our lives on those moments when we’ve faced resistance and adversity and we say, okay, those were the times I did grow in love and they’re painful, but what might God be doing in your life right now through those tough passages to grow you in faith and love?
Anthony: I saw quote just recently, and I’m not sure who the source was, but it said, “Gratitude is the wine of life, and so, it’s okay to get drunk drinking gratitude. Live a life of gratitude.” And I agree with you, brother.
Verse 11 says, “God will make you worthy of his call.” What in the world does that mean, and how do we interpret that?
Dwight: Yeah, it’s like another great text in this: “God will make you worthy of his call.” I think, again, just to go back to this basic theme of gratitude and gift. So, I hear this as a message about grace. Again, you don’t need to make yourself worthy of God’s call by being the one who’s just trying harder or again, justifying yourself. It is God’s gift. God will make you worthy. You don’t need to do it. It’s God’s work. And I’m a real kind of student of the reformation in the great breakthrough that Martin Luther had around justification as gift in this as I hear this text, so that we have this gift. God’s making us worthy of his call. And then it goes on to say, we’ll fulfill it by his power. By his power, not our power. By his power. Every good resolve and work of faith. So, you have this sort of justification then vocation, service, loving, work of faith that follows from that dynamic going on in this text that I think is really important.
And I think for us to be really clear about that. Again, I just think there’s not enough grace in today’s culture, in today’s society by any stretch, and not enough grace so often in the church as well. It’s so easy for churches to simply ask people, “What are you doing to make yourself worthy of God,” rather than just going back over and over again, “God will make you worthy.” And that is, it’s God’s action. It’s God’s claiming and calling, and then it’s God’s power that will bring forth from us those good works, those works of service so that God’s, that Jesus’ name may be glorified. I love again how Paul ends this passage with “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ,” just in case you missed it. Let’s come back to the grace thing.
Anthony: Yeah, this reminds me of a statement that Eugene Peterson made about discipleship, and I see a connection here, and what he said at first can sound counterintuitive because he said discipleship is focusing less and less on ourselves and more and more on Christ.
And it’s his work. It’s his power, it’s his presence. And yes, we have to be attentive to what the Lord is doing in us. I don’t think Eugene would ever say, you’re not attentive to that, but let’s fix our gaze on him. He’s the one who fulfills these things by his power. And that’s what I hear when we come to a text like this. This is God at work in us, right?
Dwight: Yes, exactly. Exactly. And I don’t know about you, but I just find that to be great news. Because if it’s up to me, forget it. And I think one of the reasons why we see a real kind of stream of dimension of despair and anxiety in our culture right now is because this theme of grace is less and less present.
And I think people who are living in a more secular or neopagan kind of cultural orientation where it’s all up to you to figure it out, it’s all up to you to secure your place — that is an enormously heavy burden to place on people. And the message of grace is just not being heard by people. And in fact, what you get instead is condemnation, judgment all over the place.
Anthony: Yeah. If Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, if he doesn’t condemn us, I don’t think he’s calling us to do it. Let it be so, Lord.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- Why do you think it was important for Paul in his greeting to locate these believers “in God” rather than “in Thessalonica?”
- What are Paul’s metrics of faith and love, of “church growth”?
- Why is it important to be thankful for our fellow believers?
- How can “boasting” of what God is doing in others be an encouragement for us?
- Spend some time praying for your church and other churches to grow in faith and love.
