2 Thessalonians: Don’t Stop Me. Let Me Get to Work!"
COMMUNITY GUIDE
The Community Guide below is based on Sunday’s teaching for our series: The Book of 2 Thessalonians. As your whole Community gathers (online or in-person), use the Community Guide below to give shape to your time together.
Begin by Practicing the Lord’s Supper Together (5 minutes)
Begin your time by partaking of the bread and the cup together. Have each person bring their own Communion elements or provide elements for the group. To facilitate your time, you can either ask a member of your Community to come ready with a short prayer, or scripture reading or read the passage we’ve provided below. After reading (aloud), spend a moment in silence before continuing:
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” -Matthew 26: 26-30
CHECK-IN (10 MINUTES)
As we focus on this series, we want to continue to create space for checking in on each other but doing so in a shorter amount of time. Take a few minutes to do a whole person check-in (emotional, spiritual, physical) with your Community, creating space for each person to answer the question below:
What is one way that you have seen the Lord answer prayer? What is one request you are still trusting him for?
If the need arises, spend a few minutes praying for one another, asking God to meet needs and help each person carry what feels heavy right now.
Read this overview:
Paul has spent much of his second letter to this church praising their faithfulness to the mission and reminding them of their identity in Christ. He’s seen their increasing faith and love for one another (1:3), their strength and perseverance in spite of obvious suffering (1:4-5), their desire to glorify the name of Jesus (1:12), their partnership with Paul in ministry (3:1), and obedience to the work and will of God (3:4). He has encouraged them to continue to do what they are commanded to do.
And in this passage, Paul commands them to confront those among them, their own brothers and sisters in Christ, who are hampering the work of the Gospel and are tarnishing the name of Jesus Christ.
Why confront them? Because they’ve chosen not to work. Paul says they are intentionally disorderly. They’ve set aside their understanding of God’s example of working in creation; they’ve decided to ignore that God told Adam to work the Garden; they’ve lost the importance of the example of their own Savior working as a carpenter/stonemason, and they’ve forgotten Paul’s intentional modeling for working while he was with them. Instead, they're demanding that the Church care for them. They’re making demands for support from the rest of the body that is already struggling. Paul says: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
This is difficult! These are people in their own church family and these faithful believers now have to choose to be obedient to what Paul has COMMANDED and be fully convinced that correcting these disorderly brothers will help the entire church make much of the Gospel of Christ, that it will better show the world what Christ has done. These faithful followers still need to stand firm in their confidence in the truth (2:15).
QUESTIONS (20 Minutes)
What steps do you take that help to remind you to be faithful in the mission of God?
How do we view our work? If we are convinced that our primary job/vocation is to glorify God, how are we living out our vocation in the various work we do? For employment? Our service at Cornerstone? Our service in our families? How about our service in the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ?
Here’s the hard one: When we see that we need to confront A FELLOW BELIEVER because their actions are not a good reflection of God’s work in their lives, do we avoid it? How does Scripture say we should approach this? (See Luke 6:41-42, and Matthew 18:15-17)
Missionary Practice For The Week Ahead: BLESS (10 Minutes)
If you do at least one of these practices every day, you will not only become more like Jesus, but you will help others find Jesus too! In your time together as a community, ask the questions, “Who did you BLESS this week? This time of sharing will keep the Great Commission at the forefront of who we are called to be as followers of Jesus. It will also provide the opportunity to celebrate and encourage one another on the journey.
ᐅ B.L.E.S.S.
(B)egin with Prayer:
Pray for the people in your life and the places that you’re in.
People: Who do you live, work and play with that is far from God? Pray that God would create spiritual curiosity in them, and then spend time with them.
Places:
Where does pain exist here? Pray for healing.
Who makes the decisions here? Pray for integrity.
Who throws parties here? Pray for community.
Where are the pennies spent here? Pray for provision.
(L)isten:
Listen to and discover the needs of others and for the places where God is at work.
Before you can help others find Jesus, you need to listen to them first - their hopes, pains, challenges and dreams. In your interactions with others today, take the posture of a learner. Lay down assumptions and practice being present in conversations.
(E)at:
Share meals, drink coffee, and spend time with people in your life that don’t yet know Jesus.
Who can you eat with (or have coffee with) that is far from God? A co-worker over lunch? A neighbor during the day? A friend or family member over the weekend?
Is there a place that you regularly visit (coffee shop, gym, etc.)? Ask God to grant you opportunities to eat with people.
(S)erve:
Who can you serve this week? Who do you know that has a practical need? Ask them how you can help.
Before jumping into serving, have you taken the time to pray for, listen to and eat with these people? Doing these things first helps you discover the way that you really need to serve them.
(S)tory:
Share the story of Jesus and what He is doing in your life with others.
Start by sharing how God has blessed you and made a difference in your life.
Share your story in such a way that demonstrates that Jesus is also at work in their life.
Don’t feel like you have to tell your life story at once. Think “bite-size” stories.
Prayer (10 Minutes)
Spend a few minutes praying for God’s grace over each other, that we might become a people who make Jesus our Lord, and that there might be a sweeping renewal of the Holy Spirit in our city. Ask that God would stir up within us a desire to be with him in prayer and to serve him, one another, and our neighbor in love.