Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

George Meuller began praying daily for 5 of his son’s friends to come to Christ.

Love mercy - love the hurting

18 months later the first came to Christ.

Five years later the second came to Christ.

Walk humbly - grow in Christ

Six more years past and the third was converted.

He wrote in his dairy thirty-six years later that he was continuing to pray with expectation that the other two would come to know Jesus as Lord.

Finally, 52 years later, after Meuller had died, the final two gave their lives to Jesus.

George Meuller was a man who spent time in the spotlight.

He was a simple Associate Minister that also helped run a orphanage.

Many in the congregation let him know, they didn’t particularly care for his preaching.

But he was a man who’s story was wrapped around the gospel.

Re-intro series

Open to .

Here at SC3, our desire is that the story of Seerley Creek would be guided by .

Act justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly before God.

Or, as we put it; to live biblically, love the hurting, and to grow in Christ.

We as a group are only as effective as we are as individuals.

So the question we’ll be asking a bunch is; what story are you telling?

1 thess 2.

Text

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Expect difficulty and accusations

When your story is defined by the gospel, both difficulty and integrity will be part of your life.

Notice Paul’s difficulties come from two different directions; from in the church and outside the church.

Expect accusations

Outside difficulty

In Philippi () Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned for preaching.

Inside difficulty

Also, notice the tone in the text here: folks in the church have been talking about him.

But even in the difficulties, his life was marked by integrity.

1 thess 2:

It’s even more difficult when people you love are talking about you.

I’m not sure it’s a great idea to take comfort in the fact that others suffer in the same way we do.

But even so, it is important to realize that trouble is part of the story.

Even the great apostle Paul experienced difficulty.

Difficulty tends to operate in one of two ways.

It will either push you away and cause you to grow bitter or to push towards God.

Even though we do and will continue to go through difficult paths, we don’t lose heart because we know the way the story ends.

Here in this text, we see the application of God’s grace.

Notice the gentle side of Paul:

Notice the gentle side of Paul

1 Thess 2:

When our stories are formed by the gospel, we’ll people share their lives.

This leads to three important questions:

1 thess 7:8

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First, what does it mean to share your life?

Notice that Paul and Silas’ stories were so formed by the gospel that they shared more than than the gospel.

They shared their lives with people.

"We were eager to share not only the gospel, but also our own lives."

Literally, the text says they shared their souls.

You have not shared your own soul when you have only shared information—even the most valuable information.

It is NOT just sharing the gospel.

"We were eager to share not only the gospel, but also our own souls."

You have not shared your own soul when you have only shared information—even the most valuable information.

It is more than working hard for someone.

Verse 9 says this is part of what Paul gave of himself: "For you remember our labor and toil."

But this is not the heart of Paul's self-giving.

Notice verse 17: "But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you."

These are the words of a friend, not an employee.

They shared their lives, not just information and not just work.

When you share your life, you let a person in to see what is really there.

You do not conceal your true feelings about things.

A shared life is a shared passion or a shared fear or a shared guilt or a shared longing or a shared joy.

When our stories are formed by the gospel, people share their lives—their joy and guilt and fear and longing and passion.

You can see Paul doing that in the first three chapters of this letter.

In 2:17 he shares his great desire to see them.

In 2:20 he says that they are his joy.

In 3:5 he shares the intolerable burden it was in Athens not knowing how they were doing: "When I could bear it no longer, I sent that I might know your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor would be in vain."

In 3:7 he speaks of the comfort of his soul and in verse 10 he shares his deep longing to see them face to face.

I wonder if we are writing or texting or emailing or speaking this way to anyone?

Is the gospel molding your story?

Are you sharing your life with others?

Second, how does Gospel cause this?

Let’s look at the first question; what does it mean to share you life?

We can see in 2:7 and 8 at least two things that moved Paul to share his life with the Thessalonians.

First, when the gospel forms out lives, it makes a person gentle.

Verse 7: "We were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her children."

The gospel imparts a nurturing spirit to those who believe - like a mother and a newborn.

True gospel gentleness generates a holy intimacy.

It inclines us to share ourselves with other believers.

Second, when we stop playing “go to church” and start sharing our lives, it creates an affection for other believers.. Verse 8: "So, we cared for you . . .

because we loved you so much."

Christians are to be known for love.

The gospel causes believers to feel affection for one another.

Someone may say, "Well that's just Paul's response to the gospel.

He must have been an emotional sort."

No, both Paul and Peter command all Christians to experience affection for fellow Christians.

, "Love one another with brotherly affection."

Christians should have a heart for each other, we don’t simply go to church if we can tolerate the people down the pew.

, "Love one another earnestly from the heart."

"Everyone who belongs to Jesus Christ has crucified the flesh" ().

And so where the gospel flourishes, people live in the constant presence of death and resurrection.

Their minds and hearts return again and again to the terrible and wonderful realities of death and life.

And so we live on the brink of eternity and we look at each other with a kind of constant wistfulness and there arises in our hearts again and again the sweet affections of some long farewell or some wonderful reunion.

Finally, we ask . . .

Finally, we ask . . .

Why is this important?