Our Prayer

Our Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against You and that my sins separate me from You. I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my sinful past and turn to You for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, that He was raised from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become my Savior and the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to convict me when I sin. I pledge to grow in grace and knowledge of You. My greatest purpose in life is to follow Your example and do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Class Lesson August 11, 2024

 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! 

Do you ever feel as if there are parts of your life that you want to hold back from surrendering to God?




How do we overcome this and learn to give all of ourselves to the mission of God? 

 

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.





Click Play to Watch


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!



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