Being Established

1 Thessalonians 3:1-12

Model church - how church should operate.  Galations lost sight of message of how to set up church.

Thessalonians is a good epistle of how to set up church.   Church was different to now.   They did not just meet on Sunday; they met all different days.

God is interested in people's lives.   He wants all to know the truth and to be saved.   The church was experiencing opposition as they spread the Gospel message.

God has set you free to be a child of God.  The world does not understand this.   God wants us to become Christ like on our character.

The first purpose in life is to worship God.   Not just singing, not just meeting on a Sunday.  God thinks a lot more of us than we do ourselves.

They were a model church especially from pastoral care.   Paul didn't set up big bands, youth groups, ministries.   He preached good news for about 3 weeks.

Acts 17:3-9 - all Paul and friends did was preach Good News.  They preached with effectiveness.   It's time for Christians to stand up and say, "As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."

Paul writes that he had warned them about trials and opposition. When a person gives their heart to the Lord, ee need to encourage them and help them to be established in their faith.  So often people give their heart to the Lord and no one spent the time to help them establish the Word in their life.

Establish the faith of new believers.  The foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ.  The church is to lay the foundation.

In every church there needs to be people who will establish faith in people.  That is, teach people the Word.

The task of shepperding and tending God's people is very important.  

God assigns people to establish faith in people.   The church has lost the respect of the nation.  We needto establish the faith in people.

Visit of Timothy was important because there had been a concern that the Thessalonians may have fallen back to their old ways. They had had only 3 weeks of pastoral care under Paul.  It's our role to pick them up and care for them. 

We need to  teach people and grow them up.   We do this so that they can grow up and be fit for God's kingdom and be established.