God has spoken His final Word through His Son Jesus, so our lives find their anchor in His finished work as His covenant family. Because Hebrews reveals that in Jesus we have everything we need… this makes all of life an act of confident worship and means we draw near to God and persevere together by faith.
Series Schedule
April 12th: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-8
April 19th: 1 Thessalonians 2:2-12
April 26th: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
May 3rd: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
May 10th: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17
May 17th: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Small Group Resources
Week 5 — A People Who Stand Firm
- Paul opens 2 Thessalonians not with correction or instruction but with witness — he tells the Thessalonians he has been boasting about them to other churches. Why do you think he starts there? What does it mean to be truly seen by someone who loves you in the middle of something hard?
- The “man of lawlessness” passage has generated enormous speculation across church history. How does understanding Paul’s pastoral purpose — stabilizing a panicking community, not providing an eschatological timeline — change how you read it? What difference does that interpretive frame make?
- Paul says “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” Where do you see that pattern — concentrated human power claiming divine authority, systems demanding ultimate loyalty — operating in the world around you today?
- Paul’s instruction to “hold to the traditions you were taught” runs against every cultural instinct to update, evolve, and stay current. What is the difference between rootedness and rigidity? What practices or truths do you need to hold more firmly right now?
- The closing benediction asks God to both “comfort and strengthen” — two distinct movements. Which of those do you need most today, and what would it look like to actually receive it?
Week 4: A People Who Grieve With Hope
- Competing stories of the future- We talked about two common ways people imagine the future—the fear that everything is falling apart, and the belief that progress will eventually fix everything. Which of those do you find yourself leaning toward more, and how does that shape the way you live right now?
- Grief and hope – In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul says we “do not grieve as those who have no hope.” What do you think it looks like to grieve with hope? How is that different from either denying grief or being overwhelmed by it?
- Rethinking the future – Paul’s picture is not about escaping the world, but about Jesus returning as King and renewing it. How does that change the way you think about your future—and the future of the world?
- Living in light of hope – If what we do “in faith, hope, and love” will be carried into God’s new creation: What is one small, concrete act of faithfulness this week that you can do, knowing it is not wasted?
Week 3 – A People Who Live Differently
Questions:
- What spiritual practices do you currently have in place to help you listen to and hear from God’s Spirit, both personally and in community?
- How does Paul’s correction at the church of Thessalonica as it relates to sexual immorality impact you? How does his teaching speak to the relationship between our bodies, our sexual behaviors, our relationship with God, and our relationship with loving Christian community?
- What does sanctification mean? How do you see God’s sanctification at work in the lives of this community?
- What practices of holiness do you think God is inviting you into more and more in your own journey of sanctification?