Mid-Point Check-In Deeper Initiative
Midpoint Check-In
This week is our Deeper Initiative check-in. You might remember that our church is in a two-year initiative where we are focusing on growing spiritually mature Christians. As a church, we are not interested in being a mile wide and an inch deep. Instead, we want to be a mile wide and a mile deep. We want to reach a lot of people, and we want to produce disciples who are grounded in their faith and growing in their walk with the Lord. We want to grow DEEPER!
THE POINT
HELPING PEOPLE GROW DEEPER REQUIRES
YOUR WHOLE LIFE.
1
THESSALONIANS 2:1-16
1 For you
yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though
we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know,
we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of
much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any
attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted
with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests
our hearts.
5 For we never came
with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed — God is
witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others,
though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle
among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being
affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the
gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that
we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel
of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and
blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a
father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and
charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own
kingdom and glory.
13 And we also
thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which
you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really
is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers,
became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For
you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the
Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and
displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the
Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their
sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Th 2:1-16.
Study
Notes
Acts 17:1-9 give the account of Paul’s time in Thessalonica. It was a productive but brief time. Paul’s writings in 1 Thessalonians give us greater clarity as to what that time in Thessalonica looked like. 1 Thessalonians 2 is an explanation of Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica and an outpouring of his heart for the Christians there.
A couple of things became very clear.
First, it is obvious that Paul had a very special relationship with the people of Thessalonica. He loved them deeply, he longed to see them, and he yearned for them to know Jesus.
Secondly,
it’s clear that Paul found an audience that was receptive to the gospel in
Thessalonica. The people heard the word, they responded to the word, and their
lives were different because of the word.
As Christians, we
would do well to give some attention to Paul’s Method of Ministry that is put
on display in 1 Thessalonians 2 and in Thessalonica.
PAUL HAD
A SINGULAR FOCUS.
9 For you remember,
brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a
burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are
witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct
toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12
we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a
manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Th 2:9–12.
It is fair to say
that Paul was not at all a renaissance man. He was not a man who had multiple
focuses and talents. You might say that he was a “one-trick pony.” Paul was
concerned only for the advancement of the gospel. He worked day and night for
the advancement of the gospel. He lived to put the gospel on display.
He wouldn’t let
anything come in the way of the gospel taking root in the lives of people.
Are we gospel focused like this?
What do we give the most attention and energy to?
What do we work for the most?
If we want to live like Paul, we must become a people of singular focus.
PAUL HAD
A SACRIFICAL HEART.
8 So, being
affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the
gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Th 2:8.
Paul was eager to
share his life with the people of Thessalonica. Let’s not gloss over what that
phrase means. To share your life means to give of yourself. To share your life
means to give who you are, all of who you are, to the cause of Christ. This requires
a tremendous amount of sacrifice. If we are going to be like Paul, it’s going
to require a willingness to give our life for Christ and His mission.
As we consider Paul, the question for us is this,
“What’s my next step?”
What is God calling you to give up,
to focus on the mission?
Who is God calling you to share your life with
so they can know Jesus?
QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
How did Paul model
sharing his life with the people at Thessalonica? How can you take the next
step in sharing your life?
What are things you are focused on that keep you from focusing on the gospel?
What is your next
step in going deeper?
How can we be like
the Thessalonians and receive the Word of God with humility?
Do you live in such a way that people can be imitators of Christ by watching your walk with the Lord?
END
Teacher Notes:
How precious is the time you have left.
Click Play to Watch
How precious is the time you have left.
How are you going
to spend the precious time you have left?
Are there parts of
your life that you want to hold back from surrendering to God?
How do we learn to
give all of ourselves to the mission of God?
Our church is not
just praying for a season of spiritual improvement. We are seeking God for a
lasting strategy of Disciple Making.
We don’t want to
just Reach; we want to Teach people across the Upstate to love and live for
Jesus.
We want to grow DEEPER!
Connection
with Christ
What if the most
important connection we pursued was our relationship with Christ?
As a church, as a class, let’s help each other grow in the areas of spiritual
devotion, discipline, and health.
Let’s grow deeper in our
relationship with Christ!
Community
with Believers
God made us for
community, He gave us this church and He gave us this class because we need
each other.
Christian community
matters because it points us to Jesus, it helps us to study God’s Word, and it
points us to the mission.
Let’s grow deeper in our community
of believers!
COMMITMENT
TO THE MISSION
We go deeper in our
commitment to Christ when we realize that He is our greatest treasure. This
requires a desire to surrender every area of our life to Him:
money, time,
talents, and every other gift God has given us.
Let’s grow deeper in our commitment
to the mission!
Commission
to the Lost
Jesus is clear in
His commission to the world.
There are no
exclusions or excuses given for the Christian not to participate in the call to
live out and share the gospel regularly.
Let’s grow deeper in our care for the lost!
What are things that you focus on that keep you
from focusing on the gospel?
What do we give the most attention and energy to?
What do we work for
the most?
How did Paul share
his life with the people at Thessalonica?
The ultimate reward
for Paul was not money, prestige, or fame, but new believers whose lives had
been changed by God through his message of the gospel.
No matter what
ministry God has given to you, your highest reward and greatest joy should be
those who come to believe in Christ.
What will you say you kept or didn’t surrender
to save someone for Christ?
What is God calling you to give up,
to focus on the
mission?
Who is God calling you to share your life
with so they can
know Jesus?
How
precious is the time you have left.
Let’s go deeper
for
Christ!
