Matthew 1:1-17 (NASB)

1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram. 4 Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. 5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. 6 Jesse fathered David the king.

David fathered Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa. 8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. 9 Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah. 11 Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel fathered Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. 14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. 15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. 16 Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

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2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 (NASB)

16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!

17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Three prayer petitions to encourage the church’s continued spiritual growth together

1) All-encompassing peace from the Lord (3:16a)

2) All-inclusive presence of the Lord (3:16b)

[*] All-authoritative truth from the Lord (via Paul; 3:17)

3) All-sufficient grace of the Lord (3:18)

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 (NASB)

6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother or sister who leads a disorderly life and not one in accordance with the tradition which you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a role model for you, so that you would follow our example. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now we command and exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to work peacefully and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary of doing good.

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person so as not to associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. 15 And yet do not regard that person as an enemy, but admonish that one as a brother or sister.

Six Motivating Forces to help slay sloth and labor for the Lord!

1) Feeble Fellowship (3:6)
2) Exemplary Examples (3:7-9)
3) Sustenance for Survival (3:10)
4) Purposeful Productivity (3:11-12)
5) Sense of Shame (3:13-14)
6) Compassionate Correction (3:15)

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1 Timothy 4:1-5 (NASB)

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

I. What does it mean to fall away? (1:1a)
II. What cause them to fall away? (1:1b-3a)
III. What keeps you from falling away? (1:3b-5)

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Psalm 100 (NASB)

1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 faith For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

Theme: Because we personally know who God is, believers should be people whose lives display much joy and thanksgiving.

Outline:
1) We are called to joyful worship (100:1‑3)

2) We are called to grateful thanks and praise to God (100:4‑5)

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2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (NASB)

1 Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; 2 and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

Theme: Faithful intercession to God in prayer is required for the spiritual fruit of salvation and sanctification in ministry.

Outline:
1) We must pray for effective and protected Gospel ministry (3:1‑2)

2) Our confidence must be in Christ as we prayerfully minister (3:3‑4)

3) We should pray for spiritual fruit to grow in each other (3:5)

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2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 (NASB)

13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

Theme: Believers (the Church) need continued spiritual encouragement regarding salvation, exhortation to abide in truth, and prayer for strength to carry on.

Outline:
1) A Pastoral Encouragement (2:13-14)

2) A Personal Exhortation (2:15)

3) A Prayerful Supplication (2:16-17)

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2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (NASB)

1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Theme: Learning and trusting in God’s Word regarding the end-times is needed to calm our hearts as we observe and experience evil in this world.

1) Don’t be easily shaken or deceived – Believers should be discerning about end-times prophecies (2:1-3)

2) Remember to trust God’s Word – The Day of the Lord with come after the Antichrist is revealed (2:3-8)

3) Have eschatological hope – The Lord Jesus will conquer the Antichrist and those who fall for him will be judged (2:8-12)

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2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (NASB)

2 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Theme: Learning and trusting in God’s Word regarding the end-times is needed to calm our hearts as we observe and experience evil in this world.

1) Don’t be easily shaken or deceived – Believers should be discerning about end-times prophecies (2:1-3)

2) Remember to trust God’s Word – The Day of the Lord will come after the Antichrist is revealed (2:3-8)

3) Have eschatological hope – The Lord Jesus will conquer the Antichrist and those who fall for him will be judged (2:8-12)

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2 Thessalonians 1:6-12 (NASB)

6 For after all it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will consider you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, in accordance with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When the Lord Jesus returns, He will bring true justice upon all mankind.

1) The God of Justice will punish willfully ignorant, disobedient unbelievers with their future penalty (1:6-9)

2) The God of Justice will bless faithful, suffering believers with their future reward (1:7, 10)

3) The God of Grace does hear prayers for believers to be fully sanctified so that the Lord Jesus will be glorified (1:11-12)

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