I Thessalonians - Week 10

Sunday, March 7, 2021

  1. Growing up, what were some of your family’s household rules? (important ones, odd ones, etc)

  2. Read I Thessalonians 5:12-14. Pay attention to the “household rules” that are being given to the Church in this passage. 

  3. The first household rule that we see in this passage is the call to respect or honor our church leaders. How can we show honor to our church leaders? (see also Heb 13:17, 1 Tim 5:17, Gal 6:6)

  4. This call to respect our leaders also infers the need for our leader to be respectable. What are some of the characteristics of respectable church leaders? (vs 12 mentions a few of them)

    • Conversely, what could be some signs or characteristics of an unrespectable church leader?

  5. In the sermon, Jason said that the elder/pastor is called to LEAD, FEED, TEND, and DEFEND. What do those words mean in light of their responsibility? (How do they actually do those things?) 

  6. What does “admonish” mean? How have you been admonished by a church leader or sermon in the past? 

  7. Verse 14 describes 3 types of struggling church members: the idle, the fainthearted, and the weak. Would you currently describe yourself as one of these? Or do certain people come to mind when you think of these descriptions?

    • How are we told to approach each of them?   

  8. With whom is God calling you to be patient? 

    • How can you demonstrate this patience? 

  9. Why are we so tempted to be critical of those in leadership (especially church leadership)?

  10. How are you doing with esteeming your church leaders? 

    • How can we teach and model esteeming/respecting those in leadership in our homes?

    • Is there a way that our group can do this better? 

  11. Finish by praying for those people in the group who feel idle, fainthearted, or weak right now. Also, pray for your church leaders and for UBC to be a church that honors our leaders well.

Phil Wing