II Thessalonians - Week 1

Sunday, May 30, 2021

  1. What are your favorite sequels? (movies, books, etc)

    • What are the worst sequels?

  2. As we start into the 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, how does the book of Acts help us understand II Thessalonians better? 

  3. In the sermon, Conor showed us that “a church worthy of commendation is a church worthy of imitation.” He then showed 5 major characteristics of a commendable church. The first characteristic was that the church was “birthed in God and Christ” (vs 1). What does it mean for a church to be “birthed in God”? 

    • What does it mean for us to be “in Christ”? (See references HERE) 

  4. The second characteristic of a commendable church is that they are living in God’s grace and peace (vs 2). What are the differences between knowing grace/peace and living in grace/peace? 

  5. The third characteristic is that they are growing in their faith (vs 3a). Why is the word “growing” important in that description? 

    • What were the major errors or struggles of the Thessalonian church? 

    • Do you see any of those same errors in the Church today?

  6. The fourth characteristic was an increasing familial love (vs 1-3). Have you experienced (or seen) this family-like love among the people of UBC? If so, how? 

    • As UBC grows, in what ways do we need to be intentional in order to grow in familial love? 

    • Is there a specific step you need to take in order to dive deeper into the family? 

  7. The fifth characteristic of a commendable church is that they remain steadfast under persecution or trial (vs 4). What kind of trial or persecution does the church in America face today? 

    • How could we be tempted to cave in? 

    • What does it look like for us to remain steadfast right now? 

  8. Was there anything else from the sermon that stood out to you?

  9. For personal reflection, consider the 4 questions Conor asked at the end of the sermon:

    • Have you been birthed in Christ?

    • Is there evidence of growing faith and love in your life?

    • Are you living out authentic, familial fellowship and community?

    • Are you ready for the resistance to be turned up? 

Phil Wing