Sermon Title: Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World - Stay Compassionate
"Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may He so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Fatehr at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." I Thess. 3:11-13
This coming week we will be discussing another way to live with confidence in a chaotic world: by staying compassionate. Dr. David Jeremiah writes about the problems and difficulities faced by the Thessalonians (to which our Scripture passage was written), but yet he notes what Paul tells them to do in the midst of their chaos. He writes:
"Paul understands their discouragement, but he wants to bolster his friends, keep them from giving in to self-pity, and motivate them to serve God with deeper resolve. He wants to offer them a prayer, but what do you pray for people under intense pressure? Would you ask God for protection? Courage? Perhaps removal of the problem? Paul doesn't take any of those roads. He asks God to teach the Thessalonians to be more loving and compassionate toward one another. It seems counterintuitive, doesn't it?
Have you stopped and considered that the real purpose of your struggles, at a given moment, might be the heart of compassion that God is building within you? Smooth sailing doesn't develop such a thing, you know. Trials develop our humility, and humility opens our eyes to the needs of others. If we look to do His service during tought times, we will come out better rather than bitter. That's Paul's prayer for the struggling church at Thessalonica."
This coming Sunday, I will talk about the essence, expression, example and effect of compassion and how they each relate and build on one another. Hope to see you then!
"Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may He so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Fatehr at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." I Thess. 3:11-13
This coming week we will be discussing another way to live with confidence in a chaotic world: by staying compassionate. Dr. David Jeremiah writes about the problems and difficulities faced by the Thessalonians (to which our Scripture passage was written), but yet he notes what Paul tells them to do in the midst of their chaos. He writes:
"Paul understands their discouragement, but he wants to bolster his friends, keep them from giving in to self-pity, and motivate them to serve God with deeper resolve. He wants to offer them a prayer, but what do you pray for people under intense pressure? Would you ask God for protection? Courage? Perhaps removal of the problem? Paul doesn't take any of those roads. He asks God to teach the Thessalonians to be more loving and compassionate toward one another. It seems counterintuitive, doesn't it?
Have you stopped and considered that the real purpose of your struggles, at a given moment, might be the heart of compassion that God is building within you? Smooth sailing doesn't develop such a thing, you know. Trials develop our humility, and humility opens our eyes to the needs of others. If we look to do His service during tought times, we will come out better rather than bitter. That's Paul's prayer for the struggling church at Thessalonica."
This coming Sunday, I will talk about the essence, expression, example and effect of compassion and how they each relate and build on one another. Hope to see you then!
