2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND GRACE

S – Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

O – 1. Lord of Peace himself gives you peace at all times and in every way.

2.   Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

A – Paul closes of the letter to the Thessalonians with a blessing of peace which only the Lord of peace can grant. Even in midst of this busy world and even in the midst of trails and crisis point, it is only the Lord who can grant this peace. This is the same ‘peace that passes all understanding’ that Paul talks of in Phil 4:7 – And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

P – Precious Heavenly Father, we are so blessed to have this life in you. We have this peace and grace that only you can bestow on us. No person or thing can ever provide us this peace. Enable me to never to take my comfort on anything in this world but find the eternal comfort in you. Enable me to let go of my worries and find this peace in you. The matters I worry about, I give it to you right now and may I bask in your peace.

All this I pray in your matchless name

AMEN

2 THESSALONIANS 1:11-12 WORTHY OF HIS CALLING

S- 1 Thes 1: 11-12

¹¹ With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. ¹² We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ

O – 1. Constantly pray for you

2. Make you worthy of His calling

3. His power may bring to fruition every deed prompted by faith.

4. Name of the Lord Jesus may be gloried in you and you in Him accorning to His grace.

A – Anything we do in faith or what we desire for goodness can be made fruitful only by the power of God. Just as Paul prays for the Thessalonians, I also need to pray because without His grace all my efforts are in vain. If the glory of God needs to be revealed through me then it is only by His grace and not my own efforts.

P – Precious heavenly father, I submit my desires and efforts into your hands. Let everything I do bring glory to your name. Let me never boast of my efforts as it is only by your grace that I am chosen by you. I seek your power and strength to break the bondage of fear to spread your good news. Enable me to be a walking (in faith) and talking (about my faith) Christian so that I stand as a witness for you wherever I go.

In Jesus mighty name

AMEN

2 THESSALONIANS 1:5-10 RELIEF FOR THE TROUBLED AND PUNISHMENT FOR THE PERSECUTORS

S – 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

O -

·         God’s judgment is right

·         Counted worthy for the kingdom

·         Punish those who persecuted you

·         Relief to the troubled

A – All the perseverance and faith we hold on to in midst of persecution will not go in vain. Our God is a just God and he will punish the ungodly and the persecutors. The people who do not believe in God and do not obey the gospel will be destroyed.

P – Abba Father, you are a just God and you despise the persecutors of your children. The revenge belongs to you and not us. The verse today gives a big warning to the ungodly. Enable me to take this as a buden and speak your good news to all around me so that the doom that awaits the ungodly may not come upon them. Bless me with the right words and actions to lead them to you.

In Jesus precious name

AMEN.

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 INCREASE IN FAITH AND LOVE

S - 1 Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[b] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

O –

1.      Faith growing more and more

2.     Love for one another increasing

3.     Perseverance & Faith in all the persecution and trials

A – Faith has a direct relationship with love. The more we have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the more we tend to obey his commandment i.e to love one another. It is easy to be strong in faith when everything is going smooth, but faith stands test when we undergo persecutions and trails of all kinds.

P – Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing the faith of the Thessalonians which was strong even in the midst of trails of all kinds. Enable me also to persevere and put my trust in you even when things are not going right. Just as their love increased for each other let me also grow with your godly love for others so that I have a burden for them and pass on the good news to them.

In Jesus’ mighty name

AMEN