Session 10 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12

THANKFUL (2 THESS. 1:3-4)

listen for how Paul assured the Thessalonians
that they would see justice and relief at the return of Jesus.

3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so,
since your faith is flourishing and the love each one of you has for one another is increasing.

4 Therefore, we ourselves boast about you among God’s churches —
about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.

EMPHASIZE:

Notice that Paul thanked God for the church.
He did not thank the church family for the church.
His focus was expressing gratitude to God for the church.

Paul desired to be with the church at Thessalonica,
but circumstances forced him to leave them (1 Thess. 2:17).

1 Thessalonians 2:17 NASB

But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while --
in person, not in spirit --
were all the more eager with great desire to see your face.

Yet he was still thankful.
Being thankful or expressing gratitude is much easier to do when everything is going the way we planned.
But it gets much more difficult when things don’t go as planned.

SEARCH:

Guide the group to search the Day 1 Daily Exploration (p. 89)
for commentary on these words:

• always,
• faith,
• flourishing,
• love.

Discuss:

• How do a flourishing faith and sacrificial love work together? (p. 87)

CLARIFY:

Focus on the word boast (v. 4),
and explain that it means to speak proudly of another
concerning specific accomplishments.
Note that Scripture speaks clearly that God opposes the proud
and gives grace to the humble.
Enlist two volunteers to read aloud
James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5.

James 4:6 !n

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."

1 Peter 5:5 !n

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders;
and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

Clarify that the object of Paul’s boasting was not the people
but rather what God was doing in and through the church family.

DISCUSS:

Lead the group to consider how Paul boasted about the church’s perseverance and faith.

Ask:

• What characteristics might make a group of believers worthy of being models for another believer to follow? (p. 87)

TRANSITION:

Paul assured the Thessalonian believers that their suffering was not in vain.