Sermon 1 Thessalonians 1 Missional Church

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon 1 Thessalonians 1 Missional Church

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

October 22, 2017

When Paul and Silas left Philippi they went to Thessalonica.  There they found an active synagogue of worshipers.  So Paul went there as a visiting rabbi and taught them, from scripture, that the Messiah they had been waiting for had to suffer and die.   And then he proclaimed to them that the Messiah had already come and had suffered death on a cross.  This Messiah, Paul said, was Jesus.

Paul and Silas then established a new church in the home of a man named Jason.  This church had some people from the synagogue but many more gentiles from the community.   Many of these were the leading women of the city.   So we see in Thessalonica the same thing that we saw in Philippi, that women were leading the church.

As this church grew, the people in the synagogue became jealous.  They resorted to violence and formed a mob.   Jason and some of the other believers in his house were seized and brought before the magistrate.    Upon paying bail, probably a bribe, they were freed.

Paul and Silas then left Thessalonica, but they were concerned for the church they left behind.   They stayed in touch with them, and today we will turn to a letter Paul, Silas and Timothy sent to this beloved church.   We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, Silas, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We 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.

4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

The church in Thessalonica was suffering from violence.   In this environment, you might suppose that they would turn inward avoiding contact the surrounding hostile culture.   But this did not happen.   Instead, the church looked outward and became a model of faith for others.   They became a missional church leading others to Jesus Christ.    We can find clues about how they did this from the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians.   Let's look closely.  

The first lesson we learn from Paul is that effective mission starts with prayer.  We need to pray for the people in our community.  And we need to be thankful for everyone that comes through our doors.  I have heard of a church that goes into the community and knocks on doors offering prayer for whatever concerns the family inside.  They use no sales pitch to get people to come to worship.  Rather they just want to pray for the community and they keep doing it.  If we prayed for all the people in Middletown, if we prayed for our neighbors, we would quickly become the most powerful church this community has ever seen.  So I urge you to pray every day.  Pray for your family and friends and neighbors that they will all be blessed by God with faith. So prayer is where we start.  Let’s now move to the second lesson.

In this second lesson, the Apostle teaches us to always remember the virtues of the people who come to our church.  Too often people in the church are concerned about how someone looks or what kind of job someone has.   We naturally want to be with people who act and dress like us and have incomes like us.  Sometimes this leads to a condescending attitude when someone unlike us comes to church.  When this happens we criticize people for how they appear or the kind of job they have or where they live or how much money they make.  But Paul always focused his attention on the strengths of his community.  No matter what obstacles Paul faced or the dissension he found in the church Paul always focused on their great faith, works, and hope in Jesus Christ.  

Also, when we talk about this church to others don’t talk about our problems or the obstacles we face.  Rather always talk about the faith of our members, the love we have for one another, and our hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That way people will be drawn to our church and the church’s ministries can grow.  This leads us to the third lesson that Paul gives us.

The third lesson we learn from Paul is to proclaim the good news that we have received: that we have been chosen by God.  Too many churches reverse this when they do mission.  They demand that people choose God.  Some Christians even threaten others that failure to choose God will lead to eternal damnation.  But Paul tells us that God has already chosen us.  And therefore all we need to ask others to do is to respond to their election with gratitude.  We can proclaim this good news to our friends and neighbors without fear and threats.  All we have to do is to invite people to enjoy the blessings of God and respond in gratitude.  And this takes us to our fourth lesson.

The reading and proclamation of God’s Holy Word is essential in any missional effort. That is why it is so important to read scripture every day, attend Christian education classes, and listen as the Gospel is read and proclaimed every Sunday.  But just reading and studying scripture is not enough.  For us to engage in mission we must not only be firmly grounded in scripture, but we must also be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to talk with people about our faith and precedes us into the community where it is already preparing the hearts of people who live in our neighborhood.   All we need to do is to share with our friends and neighbors the good news we have heard and the blessings we have received.  The Holy Spirit will do the rest to convict people of their sin and give them the desire to respond to the grace and forgiving love of God in Jesus Christ.   Let’s now turn to our fifth lesson.

Even though we experience obstacles, problems, lack of money, and dissension we must always be a people of great joy.  Others will be attracted to this church only when they see that we are a joyous people.  Our joy comes from the good news of the Bible where we read of our salvation in Jesus Christ.  And this joy is ours because of our faith which is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  So whenever we talk to others about this church always tell them about the great joy you experience when you come here.  Your experience of joy is the magnetic force that will attract people in our community to our fellowship.  Now, we just have two more lessons to learn from Paul.   Here is number six.

When we follow these lessons that Paul has given us we become a model of faith for others to follow.  The Presbyterian Church has had declining membership for fifty years because we have forgotten these basic principles.  We need to follow the simple strategy that Paul developed two thousand years ago.  If we, in this church, follow these seven simple steps of evangelism then we will not only grow, but we will be the model for other churches to follow.  And this leads to our final lesson from Paul.

Our seventh and final lesson is that we have to take all of this outside of the walls of the church.  We have to offer others God’s gracious love and forgiveness, and our hope of eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  So with the power of the Holy Spirit and truth of Gospel go out into your world, your family, your clubs, your neighbors, your associations, your friends and tell them of the joy you have found in New Covenant Presbyterian Church.  Invite people to our worship and Bible study.  Tell them about special events at the church.  

Each of you is empowered to be ambassadors of this church to the community.  Though you, the Holy Spirit will work bringing others in our community to salvation in Jesus Christ.  You are the chosen ones of God selected to bring the good news to all people in Middletown.

So what are the seven steps of evangelism that caused the Thessalonian church to grow and become a significant church in its city and region?

Pray for the people in the community

Accept everyone and focus on the strengths of the church

Proclaim to our neighbors the good news that they have been chosen by God.

Focus on the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit

Be a people filled with joy

Be a model for other churches to follow

Bring the good news we have heard to our family, friends, and neighbors

Let us pray.  Holy Spirit, empower us as we go out into the world as your apostles.  Fill us with joy and the assurance that you are already at work in our community.  Allow us to assist you in this work to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the people in this community.  And we pray this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.