Satan Can Hinder, But He Can’t Stop Us

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2024, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

We can have faith to move mountains, but that does not negate the fact that this is war; it is a struggle against spiritual opposition. Though the outcome is not in doubt, the fact remains that while we can always be victorious, there is no victory without a battle. Furthermore, in verse 18 of our text, Paul tells us that while Satan cannot defeat us, he can hinder us. How does Satan hinder Holy Spirit-baptized, faith-talking, and Bible-walking believers of Jesus Christ? Paul doesn’t tell us exactly how Satan hindered him. However, we can surmise some things from the Bible that hint at the ways Satan can hinder God’s people.

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THE WORD AND THE WITNESS

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2024, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

When we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are engaged in a supernatural act. Neither the message nor the power is our own, and the outcome is not dependent upon our elocution or rhetorical skills. When we open our mouths “to tell the old, old story, of Jesus and His love,” the Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses (Ac 1:8). So, we can be sure that God’s word will accomplish what God has purposed, it will not return void (Is 55:11).

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CHARACTER WITNESSES

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2024, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Paul, Silas, and Timothy had pure motives. They lived righteous lives because they never wanted anything they did or said to detract from the Good News that Jesus saves. As my mother told me when I was just a child growing up in the hills of West Virginia, God is always watching. Even now, when I return to my old home place, there is no cell service or internet. They call it being “off the grid,” but when it comes to God, there is no place where He does not know what we are doing, or saying, or thinking.

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The Sacred Trust

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2024, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Author Steven Covey is credited with coining the phrase, “The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” For Paul, the main thing, above every other thing, was the Gospel. It is significant that in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-9, Paul refers to the “gospel” four times. In Biblical interpretation, when a writer repeats a word, it usually indicates that he is emphasizing that point, and the point for Paul was that he and his team preached the Gospel in Thessalonica, and through the Gospel, a church was established.

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An Example Worth Following

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2024, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , , , | Sermon Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

If we lived in a world without Bibles, and the only thing anyone knew about Christianity was what they saw in the way we lived and heard in the way we spoke, what kind of Christians would there be in the world? We might argue that they should follow Jesus and not us, but in the first century, the main way people learned theology was through the disciple-rabbi relationship, where the disciples were expected to imitate their teachers. Paul was a follower of Jesus, and he endeavored to live "the Christ life." He tried to live the way he believed Jesus would live.

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The Keys to Success

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2024, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

All of us want our church to be a thriving church, but in addition to being a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing, Jesus-preaching, praying church, we as members of this local body of Christ must be prepared to engage in works of faith and labors of love, while maintaining our patience of hope in Jesus Christ.

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The Church that Grace Built

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2024, Basic, Sermon | Tags: | Sermon Series: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

When Paul proclaimed peace over the Thessalonians, he did not promise the persecution would end. He was not saying that the culture was suddenly going to embrace them. He was not saying that their external realities were going to change dramatically. He was saying that regardless of what anyone did or said to them, they could remain Christlike. Irrespective of the cost or consequences of living for Christ, they could do it without living in constant fear, anger, or anxiety.

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