June 11, 2015
Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4, 11-12
3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Questions for Reflection:
Paul begins his letters to churches with prayers. In his second letter to the church at Thessalonica he thanked God for the church. Why? What made him thankful? When we grow in our faith, it will inspire us to love one another better. This past week, Bret challenged us to grow in Christ together. Even in the midst of persecutions and trials, they were growing in Christ together.
Paul ends his introduction by praying for the church. What does he pray? Who makes you worthy? And who is responsible for bringing work to fruitiion? Often we strive and set ministry goals, but we cannot achieve what we want on our own. Paul reminds us that we need God to intervene on our behalf. We need to pray big prayers, but then we need to lean on a bigger God. The father of modern missions, William Carey, once said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” What are you expecting God to do in you? around you? How is He working through you to make that happen?