Wide Awake and Ready! Week 7

Centerpoint Church Simi Valley

Wide Awake and Ready! Week 7

1 Thesalonians 3:6-13

June 9, 2019 • Pastor Steve Pope

Growth Group Discussion Guide
Week of June 9th

Q: What bit of “good news” have you received lately?

READ FIRST: I Thessalonians 3:6-13
Q: The good news included both their “faith and love.” Why were both important in order for this to be “good news?”

Q: What does Paul mean when he says, “For now we live?” What does this reveal about the apostle’s heart?

Q: In a time of harassment and persecution, what would it mean to “stand firm in the Lord?” How does “standing firm in the Lord” look today?

Q: Paul prayed earnestly that the Lord might cause them to increase and overflow in love for one another “just as we do for you.” How would our church family look and act differently if this prayer were answered at Centerpoint?

Q: Paul prays that God might make our hearts “blameless in holiness before our God at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” What might change in your life if this prayer were fully answered today?

Sermon Devotional
Wide Awake and Ready!
Stand Your Ground!
I Thessalonians 3:6-13

I always fill my coffee cup too full at Starbucks. When I add my usual dose of half-n-half, I judge the mixture of coffee and cream by it’s color. Then, when I pop the lid back on my beverage, a puddle forms around my cup. I’m the guy you see cleaning up his own mess with napkins from the dispenser. I guess it’s possible to have too much of a good thing after all.

Is it possible to have too much love for God and people? Paul prays for the disciples in Thessalonica that their love would continually increase and overflow for God, the church, and everyone! The love of God is so powerful it even produces lives that are holy and blameless before God and people.

We can so thoroughly overflow with love for God and others, that our love splashes onto those around us. When it comes to loving God, we can never have too much.

See you Sunday!
Pastor Steve

Wide Awake and Ready! Week 6

June 2, 2019 • Pastor Steve Pope

Wide Awake and Ready! I Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 It’s 9am Sunday morning, and after a long work-week, the sunshine arouses us from slumber. Before coffee, we look at one another across the pile of pillows and ask, “want to go to church this morning? I’m pretty tired.” With this confession, our decision is made. Another Sunday morning sabbatical from worship. If we wait until a sleepy Sunday morning to decide the day’s worship priorities, rest will be our foregone conclusion. Sleep it is! The great apostle desired to be with the Body of Christ “eagerly” and with “great desire.” (v. 17) If a way could be made to be with the church “face to face,” wild horses couldn’t drag him away. If we wait until Sunday morning to make our decision concerning worship attendance, the discussion will be submitted to the Tempter (3:5). The conviction of the importance of gathering with the church body for worship is an act of intense spiritual warfare! (2:18) A song written by Keith Green in the 70’s is more poignant today than ever before. Green wrote, “The world is sleeping in the dark, which the church just can’t fight, ‘cause it’s asleep in the light . . . Jesus rose from the dead, and you - you can’t even get out of bed!” Choose today to make worship an unbreakable commitment. If you don’t make this commitment today, the Tempter will lead you another direction on Sunday morning. Can’t wait to see you all! Pastor Steve

Wide Awake and Ready! - Week 5

May 26, 2019 • Pastor Luke Dailey

Wide Awake and Ready! - Week 4

May 19, 2019 • Pastor Steve Pope

Growth Group Discussion Guide Week of May 19th Q: Who was your most influential mentor? At work? At home? At church? READ FIRST: I Thessalonians 2:7-12 Q: Paul, Silas, and Timothy were bold and courageous witnesses. In what sense were they like a “nursing mother” to the Thessalonian Christians? Q: In what sense did they “impart” their lives to these new believers? What did they give? What was their motivation? What did they hope to accomplish? (v. 8) Q: What were the virtues modeled by Paul and friends? (v. 10) The three virtues sound similar, but how do they differ? Q: Does the use of the “father” imagery work for you? How where the like a father to these believers? (v. 11) Q: What is meant by the exhortation to “walk in a manner worthy of God? (v. 12) What specific characteristics of this “walk” do you think the apostle had in mind? Sermon Meditation for Sunday, May 19th Wide Awake and Ready! I Thessalonians 2:7-12 The beloved American folk song “Home, Home on the Range” promises a place “Where never is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.” This depicts life in Heaven far more accurately than life on the American plain. According to a Gallup poll published in mid-April, the discouraging word for today is that church attendance in America has steadily declined each year since 1999. Some who previously attended worship faithfully now only attend one to two Sundays a month. And many who used to “hop” from church to church have now hopped out of church altogether, with no intention of returning. While church attendance numbers have declined, there has been a corresponding increase in reported anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicide. As the nation’s heart shifts away from God and His word, reliance upon man-centered medications and solutions is producing only more despair and spiritual death. This should motivate us as true followers of Christ to; Share the gospel more passionately and frequently Never forsake gathering for worship Invest our lives in encouraging the young one’s to rise up in service to God’s Kingdom Pray like our nation’s future depends upon the church’s prayers (because it does) The final chapter of our nation’s history is now being written. Will the final chapter be one of increasing despair and self-destruction, or will it be a brand-new journey into America’s third great-awakening and rebirth? I guess the answer is up to each of us. Hope to see you on Sunday, Pastor Steve