Marks of Maturity - Part 3

Lesson Three: The Household Model - 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12

Review: Mature church leaders and members will be marked by Faith, Love, and Hope.

Thesis: Mature churches understand and imitate God’s plan for leadership in the family.

Mature Leaders Give Motherly Comfort (2:7-9)

A. Gentle in the Gospel (v.7)Jesus’s example - Matthew 23:37

B. Selfless in the Gospel (v.8-9)

II. Mature Leaders Give Fatherly Charge (2:10-12)

A. Blameless in Behavior (v.10)

B. Exact in Exhortation (v.11-12)

1. Walking worthy (Ephesians 4:1)

2. Comforted (2 Tim. 1:1-7)

3. Charged

Now What?

Questions to ask:

Are we demonstrating the fruits of gentleness, love, and self-less giving?

Are we living blameless?Are we exhorting one another?

Actions to take: A mature church needs to be diligent in giving both a mother’s comfort and a father’s charge.

“God is the first object of our love: its next office is to bear the defects of others. And we should begin the practice of this amid our own household.” -John Wesley