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Weekly UpdateMonthly Memory Verse:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” ~ Revelation 4:11 (NIV)
A Note from the Pastor:
On Sunday we began taking a look at the book of 1 Thessalonians – a study which will take us until sometime in the beginning of May. We started this past week by looking at the first few verses of 1 Thessalonians 1 in which we saw the beginning of the Apostle Paul’s thanksgiving for the favorable report he has heard about the Thessalonians. At the outset of the letter Paul notes that his extreme gratitude for what he has heard about and seen in the believers in the church of Thessalonica, specifically their faith, love, and hope: “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 1:2-3) Because we moved quickly on Sunday I want to take a moment to reiterate two vitally important truths we see in these verses. (If you were here Sunday and were able to track with me then consider this a quick review!) The first thing I want to reemphasize here is the depth of Paul’s gratitude. Verse 3 is really only the tip of the iceberg for Paul’s thanksgiving, since he will continue to add reasons upon reasons why he is thankful in the verses that follow. But even in verse 3 we begin to see that Paul’s thanksgiving is grounded in very deep realities. Paul is not merely thankful for “how nice the church was to him while he was there,” or “how obedient they were,” or even “you have a good reputation.” Paul’s thanksgiving cuts right to the heart of what it means to be a believer in Jesus Christ, since “faith, love, and hope” are some of the non-negotiable marks of a true believer. Paul is extremely grateful for the report he received about this church, because what he has seen and heard are not trivial observations! They are the essence of what it means to be a follower of Christ! The second point I want to draw your attention to again is the object of Paul’s thanksgiving. Paul is writing to the Thessalonians and he’s talking about the Thessalonians, but he is thankful to God! Notice he says “we thank God” and “we remember before our God…”. Quite clearly God is the recipient of Paul’s gratitude…not the Thessalonians. Why does this matter? Because it helps us to see that faith, love, and hope – that for which Paul is thankful – is not something the Thessalonian people produced in and of themselves. Rather, God is the source of their faith, love, and hope. What is true of these believers is true of all believers, since this truth is confirmed throughout Scripture:
Who is the source of faith, love, and hope in these verses? God himself! Any faith a Christian has, any love he has for others, and any hope he has is that which has been given to him as a gift from God himself. In a subtle way Paul is helping us to see that the Christian experience is not about what we do, but it’s about what God does in us! As we observe Paul’s gratitude for the Thessalonians we see that Paul is most thankful that God has continued his work in the lives of these believers. Does this leave us off the hook for any “doing”? No, not at all! As we saw on Sunday, this triad of traits is accompanied by action in every instance! It was the Thessalonians’ “work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope” which stirred Paul’s gratitude. In other words, God’s work in our hearts always shows in our actions.
The takeaway for this is twofold. First, we can’t take any credit for the external evidences of our relationship with Jesus. This is God’s work in us, not our work for him! When others see the display of his work in our lives all glory must go to him! Second, the “faith, love, and hope” for which Paul is thankful, and the actions that necessarily follow, serve as evidences of God’s work. This means that we don’t have to guess if God is at work in a person’s life, because it will be evident to us by the way he or she lives. The other side of this reality is that if we don’t observe the “work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope” in our lives, then we can’t just manufacture it! The only way to see these fruits is to have our roots firmly planted in the soil of the gospel. Rather than expending any effort in trying to produce fruit we ought rather to ensure that our lives are wholly surrendered to God by trusting in Jesus Christ and repenting of our sin. There is no hope for the person who strives to demonstrate faith, love or hope in his life by his own strength. This is God’s work! Surrender your life to him and allow him to produce the fruit.
May the Holy Spirit use these words powerfully in our lives, either for encouragement or conviction, and may we continue to yield ourselves to his work and his Word.
Pastor Andy This Week at Faith:
Bible Reading Challenge: Starts TODAY!
Since today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, we're kicking off our 40-day reading plan, in which we're reading through the book of Hebrews and the latter portion of the book of Isaiah. The readings are not long at all, and they’ve been carefully chosen to help us consider who Jesus is and what he has done. Please join us by in this Bible reading challenge and as you do pray expectantly that God will apply his Word to your heart. If you didn't receive the reading plan on Sunday you can download at the link above or pick one up in your bulletin this Sunday.
Wednesday Night FOCUS: Resumes Next Week!
Continuing NEXT WEEK (no FOCUS this week) at 7:00pm we'll have our weekly Bible studies here at the church! This installment of FOCUS will run for an additional 6 weeks and consists of two adult options and 1 study for the students. The two adult options will be "Study & Prayer" with Ken Houghton, and "Consider Jesus - A Study of the book of Hebrews" with Pastor Andy. To read more about FOCUS, click here. You won't want to miss this great opportunity for fellowship and study here at the church. Join us again next week at 7:00pm!
Extreme Faith Youth Group: Extreme Faith Youth Group will be meeting this week at 4:30pm; please bring your Bible.
Couples Movie Night: Saturday, March 3
Next Saturday, March 3, at 5:30pm couples are invited for a "date night" here at the church to enjoy dinner and a movie! The movie will be "Courageous", which is produced by makers of Fireproof. You can read about the movie go to http://www.courageousthemovie.com/. For more information about the Date Night, see Jean Squire, and please let her know if you're planning to attend.
Parsonage Open House: Saturday, March 10
Pastor Andy and Carrie would like to you invite you to the Parsonage for an open house on Saturday, March 10 from 6-9 pm. Feel free to drop in anytime to stay for a few minutes or the whole time! We'll provide appetizer-type foods and drinks, a place to get to know each other better, and perhaps some friendly competition in a few games. If you're planning on coming please just let us know so we have an idea on how much food to prepare and so we can give you directions. No RSVP is necessary, but if you are planning on coming and need directions please let us know. Hope to see you there!
Denominational Weekly Update:
Do you get the Weekly Update from Advent Christian General Conference? It's a great way to stay on top of what's going on in our denomination, including reading about what's happening in our churches and mission fields around the world. If you'd like to read the Weekly Update, click here. If you'd like to sign up to receive their update directly, click here.
Save the Date: Couples Date Night w/ the movie "Courageous": March 3 at 5:30pm
Parsonage Open House: March 10
Penny Crusade: March 11-May 6
Good Friday Service: April 6
Sermon Copies: Interested in a copy of the message from Sunday? Email the church office at faithchurch@faithchurchac.org and we will see that you get a copy. Past sermons are available at www.faithchurchac.org on the Media Page. |
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