Cell Group study for the week commencing Sunday 2nd November 2008
GROWING IN FAITH (5)
EXPECTANT FAITH
1 Thessalonians 4:13—5:11
“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation... (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
Last week’s study focused on living to please God and this week’s study tells us why! Paul
needs to address some issues related to the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Although he had
covered this ground while he and the others were with the Thessalonian Christians, there were
some obvious gaps for some of them in their thinking.
Some were very concerned about those who had already died since Paul and the team had to
leave. They were all excited about the second coming of Jesus and thought that death would
preclude those who had already gone from experiencing this wonderful and highly anticipated
event. Perhaps they would miss out too if they happened to die before Jesus comes again!
Paul addresses this at the end of chapter four, a passage which teaches what our attitude to
death ought to be. Others were confused about the timing of the event. They were so sure
that Jesus would come any day that they literally stopped working to support themselves and
were now a burden to others. At the start of chapter 5, Paul teaches on our attitude to life!
CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER:
1:
Any follower of Jesus Christ ought to be really excited about the prospect of heaven.
What do you think it will be like to spend an eternity in heaven with Jesus?
Share your thoughts around the group and find out what is common to your thoughts
and see what different perspectives different people hold.
CONNECT WITH THE WORD:
2:
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13—18. These verses help us to look at the Second Coming
of Christ from the point of view of death, especially of the death of believers. How does
Paul describe death in verses 13, 14 and 15? What euphemism does he use? Why is
this a good metaphor for the death of a Christian, a follower of Jesus?
3:
Baptists by and large are not very keen on creeds, though most of us would give assent
to say the Apostle’s Creed in one of its various forms. Why is verse 14 like a creed?
4:
How can Paul confidently assert in verse 15 that he is giving them ‘the Lord’s word’?
Did he read it in Matthew 24:30-31? Why not? Did he get it by direct revelation?
Does it really matter to us or do we take him at his word? Who does he say will see
Jesus first? Why is this important to the Thessalonian Christians?
5:
Verses 16-17 try to describe the indescribable. What promises do we receive from
these verses? How do these verses encourage us today?
6:
What are some ways we can fulfil the expectations of verse 18 that remain on us today?
How does this enhance our understanding of what being part of a church should be like?
A study prepared for the Connect cell group ministry of Diamond Valley Baptist Church
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CONNECT WITH THE WORD:
(continued)
7:
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. What do we know about the timing of the Lord’s return
from these verses. Had the Thessalonians already been taught this? How do we know?
These verses talk about the ‘Day of the Lord’ and ‘destruction’. What do we know will be
the same for both? What is to be unique to each. Therefore the return of the Lord will
be un_______________ and the consequences will be un_______________!
8:
Now read verses 4-7. In verse 6 Paul uses the euphemism ‘asleep’ again but this time
with a different meaning. Who is he referring to when he describes them as asleep here?
What terms does he use for believers in these verses? Read Matthew 5:14-16. Why
are Jesus’ words relevant here?
9:
Verses 8-10 are the key not only to this passage, but to the whole of this letter to the
Thessalonians. What trilogy of thought do we find yet again in verse 8? We saw it first
in 1:3. What did we learn about these three things there? We see two of them again in
3:6. Which one is missing? How is this relevant to what Paul is teaching through this
whole passage that we are looking at this week?
10: What do we find out about God and ourselves in verse 9? Compare this to what we
found out about God and ourselves in 1:4. Why are we so special? Can you give some
verses from elsewhere in the bible to demonstrate your answer?
11: What are we expected to do in verse 11? How is this different to 4:18?
CONNECT WITH LIFE:
12: Grieving is an extremely important part of being able to live normally. At first it appears
in 4:13 that Paul is telling us not to grieve. Should Christians grieve when a Christian
family member or friend dies? What qualification does he put on grieving?
13: According to 4:17, where are those who are still living when Christ returns going to meet
Him? Compare this to what else Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-2. Who controls what and
when? Clearly, Christ’s return signifies the end of ______________________________.
14: Paul gives us some detail about what will happen when Jesus returns in 5:1-11. How
does this compare with what Jesus said about His own return in Matthew 24: 36-51?
Why does Matthew include Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the bags of
gold and the account of the sheep and the goats in chapter 25?
15: Why are faith, love and hope all necessary to live now in the light of the return of Jesus
Christ?
CONNECT WITH GOD:
Read Psalm 73:23-28. Try to discern what these verses say about heaven, what they
say about God and what they say about you. Use this information as the basis for the
start of your prayer session together. You might also like to reflect on what you have
learnt about heaven, God and yourself from this week’s passage in Thessalonians.
Don’t hold back in praising God together this week!
Expectant faith brings hope for today and for every tomorrow!
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