Paul reassures believers about the day of the Lord: it will come “like a thief in the night,” catching the world off guard, but Christians are children of light and won’t be surprised (vv. 1–5). So stay awake and sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation (vv. 6–8). We are not destined for wrath but for salvation through Jesus, “so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him” (vv. 9–10). Therefore, encourage and build one another up (v. 11).
Inside the church, Paul urges a healthy, holy community: respect your leaders who labor among you (vv. 12–13). Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with all. Don’t repay evil for evil; pursue good (vv. 14–15). In worship and daily life: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances (vv. 16–18). Do not quench the Spirit or despise prophecies, but test everything, hold fast to what is good, and abstain from every form of evil (vv. 19–22). Paul closes with a prayer that God would sanctify them completely and keep them blameless at Jesus’ coming—and the promise: “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (vv. 23–24, 28).
🌀 Reflection: Where do you need to trade fear for hope today? Ask God to help you live as a child of the day—alert, prayerful, thankful, and ready to encourage someone who’s weary (vv. 5–6, 16–18).
💬 Mission Challenge: Encourage a church leader or volunteer. Send a brief note or text to thank them for their labor and to pray 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 over them.
Paul urges believers to please God more and more by walking in holiness (vv. 1–2). God’s will is our sanctification—that we abstain from sexual immorality and learn self-control “in holiness and honor,” not in the passion of lust (vv. 3–5). To sin sexually is to wrong a brother or sister, and the Lord is an avenger in these matters. We were called to holiness; to reject this command is to reject God, who gives His Holy Spirit (vv. 6–8).
Then Paul commends their brotherly love and calls them to a quiet, faithful life: mind your own affairs, work with your hands, and walk properly before outsiders so you’re not dependent on others (vv. 9–12). Finally, he comforts the grieving: we don’t sorrow as those without hope. Because Jesus died and rose, those who have “fallen asleep” in Christ will rise first, and then we who are alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord—and “so we will always be with the Lord” (vv. 13–17). Therefore encourage one another with these words (v. 18).
🌀 Reflection: Where is God inviting you to grow “more and more”—in purity, in quiet faithfulness, or in hope about death and Christ’s return (vv. 1, 3, 11, 13)? Ask the Spirit to help you walk “in holiness and honor” today (vv. 4, 8).
💬 Mission Challenge: Write a short note (text or card) to a believer who’s grieving. Share 1 Thessalonians 4:14–18 and one sentence of encouragement: “Because Jesus rose, we have sure hope.”
When Paul couldn’t stand the concern any longer, he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to strengthen and encourage the church in their faith because trials were expected for followers of Jesus (vv. 1–4). Paul feared the tempter might shake their trust and make his work “in vain” (v. 5). But Timothy returned with good news—their faith and love were steady, and they longed to see Paul just as he longed to see them (v. 6). Even amid Paul’s own distress, their steadfast faith refreshed his heart: “now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord” (vv. 7–8).
Grateful for God’s work, Paul prayed night and day to see them again and supply what is lacking in their faith (vv. 9–10). He asked God our Father and the Lord Jesus to clear the way for a visit (v. 11), to make their love increase and overflow for one another and for all (v. 12), and to establish their hearts blameless in holiness at Jesus’s coming with all His saints (v. 13). Holiness and love now prepare us to meet Christ with joy then.
🌀 Reflection: Where are you facing pressure for your faith? Ask the Lord to help you stand fast today, and to grow your love so it overflows toward both the church and your neighbors (vv. 8, 12).
💬 Mission Challenge: Encourage a believer under pressure. Send a brief prayer or verse and one sentence naming how you see their faith and love strengthening others (v. 6).
Paul reminds the Thessalonians how he and his team ministered with courage after being mistreated in Philippi—preaching the gospel “in the midst of much conflict” (vv. 1–2). Their message wasn’t built on error, impure motives, or trickery; they spoke as those approved by God, seeking to please Him who tests our hearts (vv. 3–4). They didn’t use flattery, chase money, or demand honor, even though as apostles they could have (vv. 5–6). Instead, they were gentle like a nursing mother, sharing not only the gospel but their very lives, and they worked night and day so as not to burden the church (vv. 7–9). They lived holy, righteous, and blameless among them, urging them like a father to walk worthy of God, who calls us into His kingdom and glory (vv. 10–12).
The church’s response confirmed God’s work: they received the preached word “not as the word of men but… the word of God,” which keeps working in believers (v. 13). Like the Judean churches, they suffered from their own neighbors for following Jesus (v. 14). Paul explains his sudden absence: he was torn away and repeatedly tried to return, but Satan hindered him (vv. 17–18). Still, his hope, joy, and crown of boasting at Jesus’s coming will be the Thessalonian believers themselves—his dearly loved spiritual family (vv. 19–20).
🌀 Reflection: Where might God be inviting you to serve others not for praise or gain, but with a mother’s gentleness and a father’s faithful urging (vv. 7–12)? How can you welcome the Scriptures this week as God’s living word that keeps working in you (v. 13)?
💬 Mission Challenge: Write a short note (text or card) to someone who helped you grow in Christ. Thank them for sharing “the gospel of God” and their life (v. 8), and tell them one way the word is still at work in you today (v. 13).
Paul, with Silvanus and Timothy, greets the church and thanks God for the clear marks of new life among them—faith, love, and hope—seen in their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (vv. 1–3). He’s confident they are loved and chosen by God because the gospel came to them not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, and because they saw the missionaries’ sincere lives (vv. 4–5).
The Thessalonians imitated Paul and the Lord, receiving the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and they became an example to believers throughout Macedonia and Achaia (vv. 6–7). The news of their faith sounded forth everywhere: they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, the One who delivers us from the wrath to come (vv. 8–10).
🌀 Reflection: What “idol” (habit, approval, control, comfort) do you need to turn from today so you can more freely serve the living and true God and wait for His Son (vv. 9–10)?
💬 Mission Challenge: Let your faith sound forth (v. 8): share a brief testimony with someone today—how Jesus met you in a hard season with the joy of the Holy Spirit (v. 6)—and invite them to read 1 Thessalonians with you.
It’s been a minute since I’ve gotten to write one of these because I’ve gotten to preach. On that note, I want to pause to say thank you, Christ Community Church.
I’ve had the joy and privilege of preaching this past month — a brief series on the new life in Christ as well as one back in our Hebrews series. It’s not every church that would listen to someone other than their primary pastor for several weeks in a row, let alone a month, and I’m so thankful that Christ Community is that kind of church. Not because I feel I’m worth listening to, but because you prioritize the Word being preached over the personality preaching it. It has blessed my heart to open the Word with you — to study, worship, and grow together in the grace of Jesus. I am thankful to John for the opportunity.
Candice, Keri, Xander, and I are deeply grateful to have found a church home where we are welcomed, loved, and get to be part of what God is doing here.
Now, on to the business at hand: preparing our hearts and minds to gather together in worship this Sunday.
Sunday at Christ Community, we will remember, rejoice, and rest in the mercy of God in Jesus Christ our Savior. As per usual, we will read from the Word and sing from it, and this week we will also partake of the Lord’s Supper together. The two passages we’ll read together in worship (Lamentations 3:19-24 and 1 Peter 1:17-19) will help us prepare for that by showing both the depth of our need and the greatness of Jesus’s mercy and grace.
Lamentations 3:19-20 says, “Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.” In these verses, Jeremiah’s grief runs deep in this passage as he remembers the weight of suffering and sin. Yet, even in the depths of lament, he turns to the Lord. This serves as a powerful example for us. When we gather, we’re not pretending the world isn’t fallen or broken, or that our hearts aren’t weary; we bring all of that to the God who heals, restores, and saves.
Lamentations 3:21-23 says, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” This is the turning point in Jeremiah’s lament — remembering gives way to hope. God’s mercies are never exhausted by our sin. Even when we fail (and we will), His mercy remains new, steady, and sure. This is reflected in the words we will sing and celebrate with in “His Mercy is More” — that though our sins be many His mercy is always greater. We’ll also rejoice in His mercy and grace as we sing “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)”, rejoicing that mercy doesn’t merely comfort — it redeems!
Lamentations 3:24 says, “‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.'” This verse caps off the section by giving us the foundation of our worship: our hope is not found within ourselves but in Christ — in GOD — alone! He alone is our portion, our satisfaction, our salvation. And that truth leads us to the cross, where mercy and justice meet and grace flows freely.
1 Peter 1:18-19 tell us that we “were ransomed … not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” The mercy and grace God so lavishly bestows on His people are not cheap but purchased at a cost — the blood of Jesus. He is the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, our perfect substitute. As we sing to Him of what He’s done for us in “At the Cross (Love Ran Red)” and “O the Blood”, we will be able to look back on the hope Jeremiah spoke of and rejoice that it comes to us fully today and for all time in Jesus!
And that mercy — that grace — that love — leads us to the Table together at the end of our worship gathering.
19Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 21But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; 23they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
17And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Paul shows what life in the Spirit looks like in real relationships. When someone is caught in sin, those who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness, watching themselves (v. 1). We’re called to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ—love (v. 2). Each believer should examine his own work, carrying his own load while avoiding comparison (vv. 4–5). Churches should share all good things with those who teach the Word (v. 6). God is not mocked: we reap what we sow—sowing to the flesh leads to corruption, but sowing to the Spirit leads to eternal life (vv. 7–8). So don’t grow weary; in due season we will reap if we don’t give up. Do good to everyone, especially the household of faith (vv. 9–10).
Paul closes in big letters, warning against teachers who boast in outward signs to avoid persecution (vv. 11–13). He will boast only in the cross of Christ—through it, the world is crucified to him and he to the world (v. 14). What counts is not circumcision but being a new creation (v. 15). Peace and mercy rest on those who follow this rule, the true people of God (v. 16). Paul bears the marks of Jesus in his body and ends with a blessing of grace (vv. 17–18).
🌀 Reflection: Whose burden can you help carry this week (v. 2)? And where do you need to shift your “boast” from self—wins, work, or worry—to the cross of Christ (v. 14)?
💬 Mission Challenge: Sow to the Spirit today (v. 8): reach out and gently restore a struggling friend (v. 1), support a gospel teacher with a tangible gift or note (v. 6), and do one concrete good for a church member (v. 10).
Paul urges the church to stand firm in the freedom Christ gives and not trade it for a yoke of slavery by making circumcision (or any work) a requirement for being right with God (vv. 1–6). If you choose law-keeping for justification, you’re obligated to keep all of it—and you cut yourself off from the grace of Christ (vv. 3–4). The Christian hope rests not in what we do, but in grace through faith in Jesus alone working through love (vv. 5:6, 11–12).
Freedom isn’t a license to sin; it’s power to love and serve one another, which fulfills the law (vv. 13–14). The battle is real: the flesh desires against the Spirit, but the way forward is to walk by the Spirit so you will not gratify the flesh (vv. 16–18). The works of the flesh are obvious—sexual sin, idolatry, divisiveness, envy, drunkenness—and those who make a practice of such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (vv. 19–21). In contrast, the Spirit grows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control in us; against such things there is no law (vv. 22–23). Belonging to Jesus means we have crucified the flesh and now keep in step with the Spirit (vv. 24–26).
🌀 Reflection: Where are you tempted to earn God’s approval or to indulge the flesh? Ask the Spirit to help you “keep in step” today, and pick one fruit of the Spirit to practice intentionally (vv. 16, 22–25).
💬 Mission Challenge: Serve someone in love this week—meet a practical need, reconcile a strained relationship, or encourage a weary friend—so that your faith works through love (vv. 6, 13–14).
Paul explains that before Christ came, God’s people were like heirs who were still minors—no different from slaves under guardians (vv. 1–3). But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman and born under the law, to redeem those under the law so we might receive adoption as sons (vv. 4–5). Because we are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts so we cry, “Abba! Father!” and are no longer slaves but heirs through God (vv. 6–7).
Paul warns the Galatians not to turn back to the old “elementary principles” by keeping special days, months, seasons, and years as if they were required (vv. 9–11). He appeals to their past love for him when he first preached to them through weakness/illness, contrasting his sincere care with the flattery of the false teachers (vv. 12–18). With pains of childbirth, he longs for Christ to be formed in them (vv. 19–20).
Using Hagar and Sarah, Paul shows that seeking righteousness by the law leads to slavery, while trusting God’s promise brings freedom (vv. 21–31). Believers are like Isaac—children of promise, belonging to the Jerusalem above and called to cast out the enslaving message of works-righteousness (vv. 28–31).
🌀 Reflection: Where are you tempted to slip back into rule-keeping to feel accepted by God? Remember—you are adopted, indwelt by the Spirit, and free to call God “Abba, Father” (vv. 6–7).
💬 Mission Challenge: Encourage someone who feels like a spiritual slave. Share Galatians 4:4–7 and remind them of the gift of adoption and the Spirit’s witness in our hearts.
Paul calls the Galatians “foolish” for turning from the gospel of grace to the works of the law (v. 1). They had received the Spirit by hearing with faith, not by keeping rules (vv. 2–5). To make his point, Paul reminds them of Abraham, who was counted righteous by faith long before the law was given (vv. 6–9). True children of Abraham, whether Jew or Gentile, are those who believe as he did.
But those who rely on the law’s works are under a curse, since no one can keep it perfectly (vv. 10–12). The good news is that Christ redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us—He bore our sin on the cross so that the blessing of Abraham and the gift of the Spirit might come to all nations through faith (vv. 13–14). The promise given to Abraham came long before the law, and the law did not cancel it (vv. 15–18). Instead, the law was given to reveal sin and to lead us to Christ, the true “offspring” of Abraham (vv. 19–22).
Through faith in Jesus, believers are no longer under a guardian but have become sons and daughters of God (vv. 23–26). All who are baptized into Christ have put on Christ—their identity is now found in Him. In God’s family, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus (vv. 27–28). And if we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise (v. 29).
🌀 Reflection: Are you resting in God’s promise or striving to earn His approval? Remember—your righteousness and acceptance come by faith alone in Christ who redeemed you.
💬 Mission Challenge: Remind someone today that the gospel is not about what we do for God, but what Christ has done for us—share Galatians 3:13–14 as good news of freedom and grace.
Just Keith Harris 