This week, we complete our study of the Thessalonian epistles. In the final verses of the text we find that Paul ends his letters right where he starts them, emphasizing grace and peace. From these final verses, we identify two key principles of grace and peace:
1. The secret to experience the peace of God is practicing God’s presence (16)
2. The secret to experiencing grace is to understand the ongoing work of the grace of Christ in our lives (18)
In the end, the thrust of the sermon is that God wants believers to practice peace and walk in grace.
2 Thessalonians 3:16-18
Practicing Peace and Walking in Grace
January 10, 2021 • Dr. Peter Radford
More from
The Books of Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 3:13-15
January 3, 2021 • Dr. Peter Radford
In this brief passage, Paul instructs the church how to address brothers and sisters who fall into sin. This sobering text outlines the responsibility of believers to those who walk in disobedience: 1. Keep doing right (13) 2. Take note of the sinning brother or sister (14) 3. Disassociate from the person who has chosen a lifestyle of sin (14) 4. Don’t consider the sinning brother or sister an enemy (15) 5. Keep admonishing the Christian caught in sin like a brother (15) In the end, the Big Idea we emphasized was that you have a responsibility when your brother/sister falls into sin.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-12
December 13, 2020 • Dr. Peter Radford
In this text, Paul corrects a problem that occurs within the church of Thessalonica: Some believers are choosing to be idle and likely freeloading on the generosity of church. Paul offers the solution of grace-filled living to correct this behavior. From this week’s text, we find three principles for living in a grace-filled community: 1. Your sin can quickly infect another believer. (v. 6) 2. Your example can inspire others to follow Christ. (vv. 7-10) 3. You may need correction to continue following Christ. (vv. 11-12) The Big Idea we identify is that God calls Christians to live graciously in Christian community and to use their influence in the lives of others to bring about Christlikeness.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
December 6, 2020 • Dr. Peter Radford
In this text, Paul requests prayer for himself and his missionary team, and shares his prayer for the Thessalonians going forward. With each request, Paul reveals a core value. You see, Our prayers reveal our core values. Below is a list of core values from this text: 1. A passion for the advance of the Gospel. (1) 2. A desire to overcome opposition for the sake of the mission. (2) 3. A deep concern for spiritual well-being and deliverance from spiritual enemies. (3) 4. A resolute focus on obedience to God’s truth. (4) 5. A heart determined to love like God and be steadfast like Christ. (5) The challenge of the message is to examine our own core values and see how they compare to those represented in Scripture. One important way to assess our core values is look at how we pray.