2 Peter 3:10-11 (NASB)

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

Revelation 21:1-4 (NASB)

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

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2 Corinthians 10:1-6 (NASB)

1 Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ — I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! 2 I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

Outline:

1) Your attitude (10:1-2)
2) Your Weapons (10:3-5)
3) Your Warning (10:6)

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1 Thessalonians 5:9-11) NASB

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

Theme: Remembering the eternal life-saving, life-giving power of the Gospel motivates believers to live worthily for Christ in this fallen world.

Outline:

1) The nature of salvation
2) The mediator of salvation
3) The goal of salvation

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1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 (NASB)

4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

Theme: As sons of light, we as Christians are commanded to be ever attentive and aware in our spiritual battle against sin’s darkness, anticipating our Lord’s return.

Outline:

1) Contrasts between believers and unbelievers.
    a) Light vs. darkness
    b) Day vs. night
    c) Alert vs. asleep
    d) Sober vs. drunk
2) Commands for believers

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1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (NASB)

1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

An Overview of Eschatology
The Timing of the Rapture

Seven Features of the Day of the Lord:
1) The Day of the Lord arrives uninvited and unannounced.
2) The Day of the Lord arrives unexpectedly.
3) The Day of the Lord arrives rapidly.
4) The Day of the Lord comes destructively.
5) The Day of the Lord arrives inevitably.
6) The Day of the Lord is irreversible.
7) The Day of the Lord’s outcome is inescapable.

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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NASB)

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 15 For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

Words of hope that Christians can take great comfort in regarding our Resurrection and Rapture

1) The Certainty of Resurrection Life (4:13-14)

2) The Order of Events (4:15-17a)

3) The Expectation of Reunion (4:17a)

4) The Eternality of Being with Jesus (4:17b)

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1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 (NASB)

9 Now as to the love of the brothers and sisters, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 for indeed you practice it toward all the brothers and sisters who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to excel even more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we instructed you, 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

Christians are commanded to excel in loving each other and to live respectably among non-believers as testimonies for Christ.

1) Abounding love for fellow Christians (4:9-10)

2) Respectable lives among non-Christians (4:11-12)

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1 Timothy 2:5 (NASB)

5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus

John 1:4 (NASB)

4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.

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1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 (NASB)

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no one violate the rights and take advantage of his brother or sister in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you previously and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in sanctification. 8 Therefore, the one who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Theme: God’s explicit will for us as Christians is to live a sanctified life of sexual purity.

Outline: Three aspects of personal purity that God requires of you and desires for you.

1) Stop any sexually immoral behavior (4:3)

2) Steward your body honorably (4:4-5)

3) Steer clear of cheating others (4:6)

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Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB)

12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.

1. Man’s discipline (2:12)
2. God’s power (2:13)

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