January 04, 2026 // 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
APPLICATION: Read & watch/listen to 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
Sermon Title: 4 Marks of a Steadfast Church
Sermon Notes:
A Courage to Continue vs. 1-4
Purposeful Ministry –
Proven Steadfastness –
Courageous Declaration –
A Love for the People vs. 5-8
The Right Purpose -
The Right Heart-
The Right Relationship-
A Proclaimed Mission vs. 9-12
Hard Work -
Blameless Character –
Real Love –
A Transformed People vs. 13-16
Received the Word –
Accepted the Word –
Absorbed the Word –
Became Imitators of the Word -
Life Application:
In the far north, the wolf pack spends the summer around the den or beside the ponds or lakes. Long grasses waver in the heat, camouflaging the flickering tail of a pup as he waits to ambush his sibling; rustling bushes and snapping twigs betray the calculations of youth.
The parents lead and tend. They are the organizing authorities and the protectors. As the pups grow they learn through imitation, caring for the younger ones, helping to feed, play with, and watch them just as much as the parents.
Paul—apostle, recognized leader, and authority—wrote with affection to the young church at Thessalonica. He presented himself not as the prototype of the modern CEO/manager, the isolated individualist, or strategizing committee man, but as a tender mother and an encouraging father. These metaphors placed the Christian leader in the center of community. It is a portrait of leadership delineated by love and sacrifice, bonded to others with the same ties of affection that hold families together.
These parental images elicit strong connotations of sacrifice: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (2:8). A mother is a mother whether she is sleeping or awake, whether the child is at home or away, whether the child is two or seventeen. The same is true of the father. We can say the same of a Christian pastor or leader. Location and time do not determine who we are.
Paul’s metaphor of a mother and father, his defense of his blameless character, and his example of “working night and day” were not written so others would slavishly follow his exact lifestyle. He was not suggesting that pastors work non-stop. He wrote these words to help us examine our hearts. The questions we need to ask are: How much does culture or personal pleasure determine my workload, my dedication to Christ and his church, the time I give? Are my struggles concerned with personal ambition or the welfares of God’s people? Do I love people with the same devotion as a mother? Do I guide them with the tenderness of a father? Am I willing to sacrifice for the sake of others if that is called for?
All Christians need to invest their lives in others. We need to examine and measure ourselves against this profile of self-giving and vigorous self-discipline.
The adult wolf, having invested in its children, sees the results of its love and labor. The wolf pups imitate the hunt in snapping forays. They enjoy the tender nuzzle of belonging and understand the demands of the pack.
Sun and leaves ignite the forest with oranges, reds, and yellows. Then, seemingly the next day, only skeletal branches, a dusting of snow, and the harsh tingle of a Canadian gust. Ponds turn from blue to gray to white. Now, paths stretch along the edge of winter’s silence, tight and narrow, tamped firm beneath the gentle paws of the wolves. One behind another, all following one leader, they break through the snow, creating a path for those behind. Each wolf follows step upon step as the pack assumes the intention; deep cut and compressed, a trail emerges complete and certain in its definition. The heritage is secure.
The giving of our lives in tenderness, nurturing, listening, and encouragement—the time spent disciplining ourselves in purity, right choices, and good actions—are investments which will insure the health of the church. By devoting ourselves to others and training them in godliness, we will help those who follow, making the path clear and trackable, the faith secure. for always there comes the time of testing, of winter—for the church, the pastor, the leader, and all who claim Christ as Lord.[1]
Digging Deeper:
A. Background Experiences in Philippi (v.2)
While in Philippi, Paul commanded an evil spirit to come out of a demon possessed slave girl. This deprived her owners of their profitable fortune-telling business. A mob scene developed with angry shouts and accusations of political rebellion and anti-Roman practices. To the crowd it was not a religious issue, but a social issue. To the slave-owners it was purely economical. But the government officials, always frightened by hysterical crowds, took no chances and had Paul and Silas beaten. It was a brutal concession on to a mob, and Paul and Silas were then thrown into prison.
These were bruised and bloodied men, uncertain of what would happen next. Stuck in the dark inner chamber of the prison, their feet fastened to stocks, they began to sing hymns. Then came an earthquake.
These men held a faith firm in the conviction that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea … The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Ps. 46:1–2, 7).
B. The Word of God (v.13)
Most of us are acquainted with the playground rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” It is patently wrong. Words do have power.
Bruises and broken bones will heal, but words sink deep within our minds and souls. We carry their joy or poison with us wherever we go, and they can affect us for a lifetime. They can heal or wound, inspire or devastate.
Perhaps that is why Jesus warned that “men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:36–37). Why? Because “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34).
If our words hold that kind of power, carrying our hearts upon their breath, what about God’s words? God’s revealed words also come from the overflow of his heart: “the word of the Lord is flawless” (2 Sam. 22:31). God is perfect, complete, the source of all truth and reality. His Word carrier the dynamic of his nature; it speaks with the power of eternal reality. That is why he could speak the world into existence.
The Word of God, the Bible, is more than an interesting book to study, more than good ideas, beautiful prose or poetry. The Thessalonians recognized the implication of hearing the speech of God. We need to recapture that same awe and reverential dread at being given the thoughts of the eternal God.
God’s Word has inherent power because it is the carrier of undisputed truth. Nothing can withstand it, succeed against it, overcome it, or disprove it. In fact, God’s Word “is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
Because God is timeless, living in the continual present, his Word is always immediate. These are not mere ideas we read and study in the Bible; they are the contemporary thoughts and expressions of the boundless God who is always now. That is why they are living, used by the Holy Spirit to penetrate and effect change where mere words or ideas could not.
Even so, for the power of God’s Word to explode in regenerative change it; must be connected to faith. As James writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (Jas. 1:22). That is faith—believing and then acting on that belief. It is then that the energy of God is unleashed within us.
Weymouth’s translation says the Thessalonians “embraced and welcomed” the Word of God. They brought it into their hearts recognizing if as truth. Anyone who trivializes, ignores, or mishandles God’s Word is in danger of God’s wrath. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned” (Gal. 1:8).
This should cause us to take seriously the words of God, revealed by his mercy, to us who depend upon his grace.
Questions to Consider:
Prayer Time:
[1] Knute Larson, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, vol. 9, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 29–31.
[2] Knute Larson, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, vol. 9, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 33.
Sermon Title: 4 Marks of a Steadfast Church
Sermon Notes:
A Courage to Continue vs. 1-4
Purposeful Ministry –
Proven Steadfastness –
Courageous Declaration –
A Love for the People vs. 5-8
The Right Purpose -
The Right Heart-
The Right Relationship-
A Proclaimed Mission vs. 9-12
Hard Work -
Blameless Character –
Real Love –
A Transformed People vs. 13-16
Received the Word –
Accepted the Word –
Absorbed the Word –
Became Imitators of the Word -
Life Application:
In the far north, the wolf pack spends the summer around the den or beside the ponds or lakes. Long grasses waver in the heat, camouflaging the flickering tail of a pup as he waits to ambush his sibling; rustling bushes and snapping twigs betray the calculations of youth.
The parents lead and tend. They are the organizing authorities and the protectors. As the pups grow they learn through imitation, caring for the younger ones, helping to feed, play with, and watch them just as much as the parents.
Paul—apostle, recognized leader, and authority—wrote with affection to the young church at Thessalonica. He presented himself not as the prototype of the modern CEO/manager, the isolated individualist, or strategizing committee man, but as a tender mother and an encouraging father. These metaphors placed the Christian leader in the center of community. It is a portrait of leadership delineated by love and sacrifice, bonded to others with the same ties of affection that hold families together.
These parental images elicit strong connotations of sacrifice: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (2:8). A mother is a mother whether she is sleeping or awake, whether the child is at home or away, whether the child is two or seventeen. The same is true of the father. We can say the same of a Christian pastor or leader. Location and time do not determine who we are.
Paul’s metaphor of a mother and father, his defense of his blameless character, and his example of “working night and day” were not written so others would slavishly follow his exact lifestyle. He was not suggesting that pastors work non-stop. He wrote these words to help us examine our hearts. The questions we need to ask are: How much does culture or personal pleasure determine my workload, my dedication to Christ and his church, the time I give? Are my struggles concerned with personal ambition or the welfares of God’s people? Do I love people with the same devotion as a mother? Do I guide them with the tenderness of a father? Am I willing to sacrifice for the sake of others if that is called for?
All Christians need to invest their lives in others. We need to examine and measure ourselves against this profile of self-giving and vigorous self-discipline.
The adult wolf, having invested in its children, sees the results of its love and labor. The wolf pups imitate the hunt in snapping forays. They enjoy the tender nuzzle of belonging and understand the demands of the pack.
Sun and leaves ignite the forest with oranges, reds, and yellows. Then, seemingly the next day, only skeletal branches, a dusting of snow, and the harsh tingle of a Canadian gust. Ponds turn from blue to gray to white. Now, paths stretch along the edge of winter’s silence, tight and narrow, tamped firm beneath the gentle paws of the wolves. One behind another, all following one leader, they break through the snow, creating a path for those behind. Each wolf follows step upon step as the pack assumes the intention; deep cut and compressed, a trail emerges complete and certain in its definition. The heritage is secure.
The giving of our lives in tenderness, nurturing, listening, and encouragement—the time spent disciplining ourselves in purity, right choices, and good actions—are investments which will insure the health of the church. By devoting ourselves to others and training them in godliness, we will help those who follow, making the path clear and trackable, the faith secure. for always there comes the time of testing, of winter—for the church, the pastor, the leader, and all who claim Christ as Lord.[1]
Digging Deeper:
A. Background Experiences in Philippi (v.2)
While in Philippi, Paul commanded an evil spirit to come out of a demon possessed slave girl. This deprived her owners of their profitable fortune-telling business. A mob scene developed with angry shouts and accusations of political rebellion and anti-Roman practices. To the crowd it was not a religious issue, but a social issue. To the slave-owners it was purely economical. But the government officials, always frightened by hysterical crowds, took no chances and had Paul and Silas beaten. It was a brutal concession on to a mob, and Paul and Silas were then thrown into prison.
These were bruised and bloodied men, uncertain of what would happen next. Stuck in the dark inner chamber of the prison, their feet fastened to stocks, they began to sing hymns. Then came an earthquake.
These men held a faith firm in the conviction that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea … The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Ps. 46:1–2, 7).
B. The Word of God (v.13)
Most of us are acquainted with the playground rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” It is patently wrong. Words do have power.
Bruises and broken bones will heal, but words sink deep within our minds and souls. We carry their joy or poison with us wherever we go, and they can affect us for a lifetime. They can heal or wound, inspire or devastate.
Perhaps that is why Jesus warned that “men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:36–37). Why? Because “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34).
If our words hold that kind of power, carrying our hearts upon their breath, what about God’s words? God’s revealed words also come from the overflow of his heart: “the word of the Lord is flawless” (2 Sam. 22:31). God is perfect, complete, the source of all truth and reality. His Word carrier the dynamic of his nature; it speaks with the power of eternal reality. That is why he could speak the world into existence.
The Word of God, the Bible, is more than an interesting book to study, more than good ideas, beautiful prose or poetry. The Thessalonians recognized the implication of hearing the speech of God. We need to recapture that same awe and reverential dread at being given the thoughts of the eternal God.
God’s Word has inherent power because it is the carrier of undisputed truth. Nothing can withstand it, succeed against it, overcome it, or disprove it. In fact, God’s Word “is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
Because God is timeless, living in the continual present, his Word is always immediate. These are not mere ideas we read and study in the Bible; they are the contemporary thoughts and expressions of the boundless God who is always now. That is why they are living, used by the Holy Spirit to penetrate and effect change where mere words or ideas could not.
Even so, for the power of God’s Word to explode in regenerative change it; must be connected to faith. As James writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (Jas. 1:22). That is faith—believing and then acting on that belief. It is then that the energy of God is unleashed within us.
Weymouth’s translation says the Thessalonians “embraced and welcomed” the Word of God. They brought it into their hearts recognizing if as truth. Anyone who trivializes, ignores, or mishandles God’s Word is in danger of God’s wrath. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned” (Gal. 1:8).
This should cause us to take seriously the words of God, revealed by his mercy, to us who depend upon his grace.
Questions to Consider:
- Have you used unethical or selfish approaches to avoid ministry involvement? What were they? Discuss the issues which should be considered before responding to a ministry opportunity or personal commitment.
- What essentials must be remembered if a person wants to be a pleaser of God rather than of people?
- Name some people who love others the way Paul did. What stands out about them? What beliefs must we hold if we want to live like this?
- All of us will be judged on how we respond to the Word of God, by whether we let it influence us. Can you describe some situations in which you had to choose whether to follow the authority of Scripture?
- What are some practical ways you can express your love for others the way Paul did to the Thessalonians?[2]
Prayer Time:
[1] Knute Larson, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, vol. 9, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 29–31.
[2] Knute Larson, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, vol. 9, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 33.