1. A Hopeful and Holy Church - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3, 5:23-28

SLIDE - TITLE

What makes for a good church?

I hear this in conversation all the time - someone will mention a particular congregation - ‘Oh that’s a good church’ someone else will reply.

But what does that mean? - what is a “GOOD CHURCH”?

What describing words should we use for a “GOOD CHURCH”?

SLIDE

Is it “charismatic and energetic”?

Is it “Sober and Serious”?

Is it “Friendly and Welcoming”

What should a good church LOOK like, BE like, and FEEL like?

PAUSE - BREAK OFF

SLIDE - BLANK

We are about to start a 10 week journey through the brilliant New Testament letter 1st Thessalonians….

It is one of the earliest letters written by the Apostle Paul…

it’s addressed to a young church which has only existed for a very short time…

And if you had to pick out the TWO WORDS which (according to THIS letter) characterise a good church… I think it would be these two words - you’ll see them in our first heading.

A good church is both HOPEFUL and HOLY!

SLIDE

1. A Hopeful and Holy Church

Today we are setting up our 10-week series (as you’ll have seen in our readings) by looking briefly at the first few verses, and the final few verses of the book. That’s often a good way to get a flavour of the whole…

Let’s dive straight in - look at the very start

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 1:1 NIV

Paul, Silas  and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians…

The letter has three writers - although undoubtedly Paul is the main author. But the three names are key because they REMIND us of how this church in Thessalonica was planted in the first place.

SLIDE

Morag and I had the privilege of going to Thessalonica (in Greece last year)… although when we were there we were mainly (which men’s exclusively) lying on our deckchairs in the Sun.

The same could NOT be said for these three men - Paul, Silas and Timothy - the backstory of THEIR trip to this significant Greek city is in Acts chapter 17.

There we read that Paul and his friends spent just a month in Thessalonica, and had (shall we say) a very MIXED response.

They preached the gospel - beginning in the synagogue and we’re told that….

SLIDE

Acts 17:4 NIV

Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

This crowd of folks put their faith in Jesus and a new church is born! But then things in the city turn sour…. Listen to what some of the other Jewish people are saying…

SLIDE

Acts 17:6–8 NIV

…“These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here… They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.

As a result Paul and his friends flee the city with threats to their lives. Despite the good beginnings in Thessalonica, despite a number coming to faith in Christ… the mission to that town is cut short by hostility… And, as you might expect, Paul and his friends are deeply concerned for the new church they had to leave behind…

Has it survived amid all the hostility?

Have people abandoned faith in Christ?

Does the church even still exist?

BUT THEN… a short time later, to their delight they receive a report - just listen to 1 Thessalonians Chapter 3 verse 6 where we hear that…

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 3:6 NIV

But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.

Somehow (well, we know how - by the power of God!) somehow the church has not just survived… by God’s grave it has even begun to thrive.

See how Paul goes on…

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 NIV

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 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.

We’ll get into the details in just a moment, for now just notice that Paul wants to affirm, to celebrate, and to thank God for the genuine signs of spiritual life in the Thessalonians church.

Paul sees that they are becoming a holy church… that is they are becoming more like the Lord Jesus their saviour. The report makes it clear that their faith is genuine - the real deal… not a fraud or a fake….

And how can Paul tell that?

Come to think of it…. How can we tell if any of us has real faith in Jesus?

That’s an important question isn’t it? - because any of us can SAY we have Christian faith… it’s relatively easy to come to church and sing the songs and drink the coffee and make the right noises…

But the key question is - IS OUR FAITH REAL? Have we REALLY been saved from our sin? Have we REALLY received eternal life through Jesus? Or are we just self deceived?

We should care VERY MUCH about that… because fake faith, insincere faith, “lip-service-only-faith” will not save us.

SO had can we tell if faith is real? Paul’s answer is very simple -

real faith leads to real action.

Deep faith in Jesus leads to deep change in our lives.

And what does change look like? It looks like faith, hope and love.

So to use Paul’s language here if we have faith in Jesus it’ll make us work for Jesus and his gospel - see the phrase your “work produced by faith”. If you believe Jesus is saviour and Lord you won’t just sit on your hands… you will be busy with your hands working HARD for his kingdom… serving in his church… wanting to make him known to those around us… it takes the whole church of Jesus to do the work of Jesus… if we are to grow to become three vibrant all age churches each of 100 disciples - it will take much work produced by faith.

Equally important is LOVE. If we have real love for the lord it will inspire us to labour for him. Crucially real love for the Lord should bring from us a growing love for people - for our church family… for those around us who don’t yet know Jesus. Even (in the case of the Thessalonians Christians love for enemies - sine (as we’ll see) they are facing hostility and persecution.

So faith, love and HOPE….

If we have real hope in the gospel we will persevere through trials in hopeful expectation that Jesus is coming back…. We’ll live in the light of eternity knowing it will all be worthwhile.

SO do you see? - Genuine trust in Jesus leads more and more to Holy living.

So…. No holy living, no real faith. Not because our good works or Holy Living save us - we’re saved by grace, but if there is no good works and no Holy Living we can be quite sure we DON’T have saving faith - Holy living is the evidence of real saving faith.

It should… it MUST be spilling over into real holy living.

So we must look at oursevelves…

Paul looks at the Thessalonians and is encouraged to see real faith…

WHat about us? Is the same true here in Elgin Free Church? Or do we say we follow Jesus but live like the world around us?

PAUSE

I thank God for the evidence I DO see… just as I hope and pray for more.

We must affirm and celebrate the holy living that is already happening amongst the Lord’s people but we must also expect ongoing, further growth.

RIFF - tragedy… those who were once going strong… gone cold or drifted off

We must affirm and celebrate the holy living that is already happening amongst the Lord’s people but we must also expect ongoing, further growth in all of us.

SLIDE

In fact you can see that baked into the structure of 1 Thessalonians…

The whole things is structured around three prayers.

The first is here in chapter 1 - as we’ve just seen Paul thanking God for the signs of genuine spiritual life and growth.

The next is in chapter 3, where Paul will prays

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 3:12–13 NIV

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

In other words a prayer thanking God for holiness…

A prayer asking for further, ongoing growth in holiness…

And finally (the last prayer) - we’ve already read it this morning, from chapter 5

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 NIV

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

That looks AHEAD to the return of Jesus when our journey to Holiness will be made complete.. blameless…

SLIDE

So do you see - the whole thing is structured around three prayers?

PAUSE - BREAK OFF

Speaking of looking ahead… that’s the other big theme in this letter.

SLIDE

So a Holy Church but also a HOPEFUL church…

We see that in chapter 5 and throughout the letter… we need to be a church that doesn’t just have its head buried in the here and now - in the day to day things of life…. But is constantly looking ahead… consciously anticipating the day… clearly looking forward to Jesus coming back… and adjusting our live now accordingly.

For example, in chapter 1 when Paul describes these people becoming CHristian’s - here’s the language he chooses…

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 NIV

…you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

This the FUTURE emphasis - Jesus is coming back.

Later in chapter 2 when Paul speaks about his own ministry - here’s the language he chooses

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 2:19–20 NIV

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

Again, do you see? The emphasis on the future return of Jesus - on that day Paul will take great delight that the Thessalonians Christian’s are among God’s people.

Then in chapter 5 (one final example) Pau; has a whole section on the return of Jesus - describing that glorious day he says….

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NIV

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do you get the message - Jesus is coming back - we live in the light of this day… we live in HOPE FOR this day.

One reason is that the Thessalonians Christians (as we’ll see) are facing real and serious opposition and hostility in the here and now… for them (as for us) remembering that Jesus is coming back is crucial and hopeful.

So what is a good church? What is a healthy church? It’s a church that is increasingly Holy - growing to be more like Jesus… and increasingly HOPEFUL - looking forward to the return of Jesus

SLIDE

We must be hopeful and a holy church.

And just to finish off setting up this series, from these bookends of the letter (the start and the end) just notice three other thing that mark out or characterise a Hopeful and Holy church…

So point 2…

SLIDE

2. A Hopeful and Holy Church, marked by…

Firstly…

SLIDE

A) The Gospel of Grace

Notice that tiny but HUGELY significant word at the start and the end?

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 1:1 NIV

Paul, Silas  and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

GRACE.

And then again at the very end.

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 5:28 NIV

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

A healthy church…. A hopeful and holy church…. Begins and ends with the gospel of GRACE.

This is the heart of our faith… and the message at the heart of our fellowship.

The glorious good news that Jesus has come to SAVE his people by his great GRACE. That grape has taken him all the way to the cross to pay for our sins…. To save us from the coming wrath and judgement of God…. Offer us forgiveness and eternal life.

THAT is the precious news at the heart of our church and THAT is what we have to offer the world.

The Gospel of grace.

Next - have you noticed it? - it’s….

SLIDE

B) The Priority of Prayer

At one level this is a letter where Paul is peaking to the Thessalonians about God.

But crucially he also speaks to God about the Thessalonians - it’s a letter full of prayer.

We’ve seen this already - beginning middle and end the letter is full of prayer.

Which tells us something about the Christian life and the life of our church…. We MUST, MUST, MUST be people of prayer.

It’s often been said (and for good reason) that you judge the health of a church not by its Sunday morning attendance but by the strength of it’s prayer meeting…

It has to be said, by that measure, we are a weak church…

Last Sunday we had over 120 people across both morning services in Elgin and Burghead… but only ???NUMBER??? At our joint midweek prayer meeting.

Obviously the prayer meeting is not the only place we can pray (far from it) but still those numbers tell us something…. We must become, more and more a people of prayer.

Next did you see….

SLIDE

C) The Centrality of Scripture

Go to that second reading - the final booked now (in chapter 5).

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 5:27 NIV

I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

Likewise in chapter 2… when Paul is talking about how these Thessalonian Christian’s came to faith he says…

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

In a hopeful and holy and HEATHY church - the BIBLE, the Word of God, is at the very centre.

How could it be otherwise? Here’s how God speaks to us! Here’s how we can know him! Here’s how and where we lean that gospel message of God’s grace.

So in the church it’s the BIBLE’S word on things that goes - not mine or yours.

In our lives it must be the BIBLE’S word on things that that goes - not mine or yours.

Any church which doesn’t keep THIS word, GOD’S word at the very centre is doomed.

But there is one last thing… its the verse you might have been hoping I wouldn’t mention…

The heading is….

SLIDE

D) The Family of Fellowship

And the verse in question in chapter 5 verse 26

SLIDE

1 Thessalonians 5:26 NIV

Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.

So we’ll all line up at the end then will we? A bit of holy snogging on the church door?

Well, no. We need to apply this principle in culturally relevant ways - there are plenty of cultures today where people greet with kissing… in France how many cheeks is it now? 3, 4 kisses? It seems to go up… or perhaps it depends who you’re greeting - I don’t know some Francophile will correct me later.

Our culture is different…. So the precise way we express this may change but the underlying POINT doesn’t….

What’s the point? We in the church are family! The idea that fellow members of your church are just nameless faces you pass by on a Sunday but don’t have anything to do with…. Is quite foreign to the Bible.

No we are FAMILY in the Lord…. If God is your Father and God is my father what does that make us? Brothers and sisters!

The church is a family of deep fellowship.

PAUSE - BREAK OFF

SLIDE - BACK TO TITLE

So is ours a good church?

What is a good church?

THAT’S what we’re going to see over these next 10 weeks as we journey to Thessalonica - and as we see a church which is growing ever more healthy in relationships…. Ever more HOLY in its life and conduct… and ever more HOPEFUL of the return of Jesus.

For now let’s pray.