1 Thessalonians 4:1 Therefore, brothers, just as you learned from us how you had to live in order to please God, and just as you are living this way now, we ask you — indeed, united with the Lord Yeshua, we urge you — to keep doing so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Yeshua. 3 What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner, 5 without giving in to lustful desires, like the pagans who don’t know God. 6 No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things — as we have explained to you before at length. 7 For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. 8 Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, which is his.
9 Concerning love for the brothers we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other; 10 and you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do it even more.
11 Also, make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts — just as we told you. 12 Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.
13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people 14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. 15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
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We have had some great and challenging sermons by God through Pastor Jeff over the past few weeks concerning the first three chapters what the Apostle Paul was saying to the church in Thessilonica and maybe to the churches of all ages including our own time. We get three things frkm this chapter about how the church should live which may be: abstaining from sexual promiscuity, lkve quietly and earn your own living to be able help others in need, and the return of Jesus to finalize His Kingdkm on earth as it is in Heaven. Their is time to live holy lives as a single or married person while the call to prepare for Jesus, but this idea about earning your own living while living quietly and simply to assist people in need. We realize from history that there were poor people who could work or make enough to live due to social status or due to their faith in Jesus as their King, not Caesar. What is not mentioned are the people who have impairments back then because nothing was mentioned about, but we do know they existed because Jesus met them and healed some as well as Apostles Peter and Paul did the same. What about the people who were intellectually slow? We have learned from history that they were either left on streets to die and fend for themselves or kept hidden in the family's home to prevent shame from coming the family. Over the years we have learned that the church has faired no different even the church took the people with impairments off the streets and placed in government run hospitals. Even from learning from people Dorothy Day how the people were treated in these hospitals. We have lesrned that mostly people from outside the faith community called upon the government to take them out of the hospital institution and place them in community institutions some 40 or 50 yesrs ago. Yet, the church was still not listening even when their are undescripable conditions in these places we call group homes. How should the church respond as Paul called the church of Thessalonca to help those in need? We have an example since 1964 from Jean Vanier with two adults with intellectual impairments founded what we know as L'Arche International even though pastors who have gone to seminary and a child was born to them with impairments and they never finished seminary. What is their hknest story why they did not finish? What is your own story as to how you learn how to treat and look at people with impairments? How is this learning affects you today in your ljfe and who do desire to be fully included in the churcb? Will these questions be ways to seek more of God as you come forward to eat the body of Jesus and drink His blood through the partipation in the Holy Eucharist and receive more of His Grace for you and your life?
9 Concerning love for the brothers we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other; 10 and you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do it even more.
11 Also, make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts — just as we told you. 12 Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.
13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people 14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. 15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
***
We have had some great and challenging sermons by God through Pastor Jeff over the past few weeks concerning the first three chapters what the Apostle Paul was saying to the church in Thessilonica and maybe to the churches of all ages including our own time. We get three things frkm this chapter about how the church should live which may be: abstaining from sexual promiscuity, lkve quietly and earn your own living to be able help others in need, and the return of Jesus to finalize His Kingdkm on earth as it is in Heaven. Their is time to live holy lives as a single or married person while the call to prepare for Jesus, but this idea about earning your own living while living quietly and simply to assist people in need. We realize from history that there were poor people who could work or make enough to live due to social status or due to their faith in Jesus as their King, not Caesar. What is not mentioned are the people who have impairments back then because nothing was mentioned about, but we do know they existed because Jesus met them and healed some as well as Apostles Peter and Paul did the same. What about the people who were intellectually slow? We have learned from history that they were either left on streets to die and fend for themselves or kept hidden in the family's home to prevent shame from coming the family. Over the years we have learned that the church has faired no different even the church took the people with impairments off the streets and placed in government run hospitals. Even from learning from people Dorothy Day how the people were treated in these hospitals. We have lesrned that mostly people from outside the faith community called upon the government to take them out of the hospital institution and place them in community institutions some 40 or 50 yesrs ago. Yet, the church was still not listening even when their are undescripable conditions in these places we call group homes. How should the church respond as Paul called the church of Thessalonca to help those in need? We have an example since 1964 from Jean Vanier with two adults with intellectual impairments founded what we know as L'Arche International even though pastors who have gone to seminary and a child was born to them with impairments and they never finished seminary. What is their hknest story why they did not finish? What is your own story as to how you learn how to treat and look at people with impairments? How is this learning affects you today in your ljfe and who do desire to be fully included in the churcb? Will these questions be ways to seek more of God as you come forward to eat the body of Jesus and drink His blood through the partipation in the Holy Eucharist and receive more of His Grace for you and your life?
Come Holy Spirit ...
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