1 Thessalonians 5:25-28 (NASB)

25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Theme: Our pursuit of sanctification should happen in the context of a loving church family, involving certain actions and attitudes.

Outline:
1) Prayer for spiritual leaders and each other (v. 25)
   – Will not shrink back from suffering for the Gospel
   – Will preach God’s Word and Gospel with boldness
   – Will not speak with deception or to deceive
   – Will have integrity before God
   – Will not be greedy for selfish gain or desire glory for ourselves
   – Will labor hard and stay diligent in our work
   – Will pursue personal holiness
2) Warm affection for each other (v. 26)
3) High regard for God’s Word (v. 27)
4) Our Lord’s grace continuing to transform us (v. 28)

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1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NASB)

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

Theme: God promises true believers that He will keep and sanctify us completely, all the way to the end until we are with the Lord.

Outline:
1) The Bold and Beautiful Benediction (v. 23)
2) The Faithful Finisher (v. 24)

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1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NASB)

19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

Outline:
1) Don’t stifle the Holy Spirit’s work and words (vv. 19-20)
    – By not being in the Word
    – By being disobedient to the Word
    – By not dealing with our sins
    – By relying on our routine and ritual rather than the Holy Spirit Himself
    – By despising prophetic utterances
2) Be discerning about what you hear and act on it (vv. 21-22)
    – Compare to other Scriptures
    – Look at the character of the messenger

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1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 (NASB)

12 But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to recognize those who diligently labor among you and are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you instruction, 13 and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.

Instructions for how the Church should treat its leaders and each other based on the promises of the Gospel

1) Proper attitude towards leaders (5:12-13a)

2) Proper behavior within the church body (5:13b-15)

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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 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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