Delta Church - SPI

Colossians 1:12-22

This week we continue to consume the nourishing delights of God’s gospel from God’s Word. This week we turn to the gospel of the cross learning that the good news of the cross is that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we can be reconciled to God. This ties together with the good news of God’s Kingdom. We have life with God under His rule because Jesus is the supreme King who is the sufficient Savior. The cross declares the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus for salvation and every day of our life.

Mark 1:9-14

What is the gospel? That is the question before us over the next three weeks. Our tendency is to lean one way or the other with how the Bible talks about the gospel. We might want to use kingdom language only, or cross or grace language only. But the way God reveals His good news to us is with all three aspects—a beautiful whole gospel we get to embrace. We concentrate on the gospel of God’s kingdom from Jesus’ proclamation in Mark. We learn that the gospel of God’s kingdom is the good news that life with God is available now through Jesus Christ. Truly the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel!

Luke 11:1-13

Whether you are a new Christian or have been a Christian for a while, we can all struggle with fears we have about prayer. For instance, we might fear that God the Father is relationally distant with no time for our prayers. Or maybe we fear that God is exasperated by our repeated prayers for the same things. You might fear whether or not God even desires to answer your prayers. Or perhaps the fear that haunts you most is whether God is good. The point is fears like these can smother the flame of prayer like a wet blanket smothers a fire. Jesus knows this. Thus He knows how much we need to be reminded of the oxygenating promises of who God is. Promises that have the power to deflate our fears in prayer. This is what makes Luke 11:1-13 so life-giving. Main Idea—Jesus quiets my fears about prayer by reinforcing who God is.

2 Timothy 3:1-17

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

A desire to please God in our lives is a good and right desire. It indicates that you are a genuine Christian. But perhaps you’ve asked yourself, “What pleases God? And is there a way to know what pleases God?” The answer is ‘yes’ and the text before us is such a place to know what pleases God. Practical lists in the scriptures can sometimes feel like a soul-less list of to-do’s. But far from it, they are a practical, Spirit inspired, practical ways to walk in manner pleasing to God. Paul is closing out his letter with such a list. And the purpose of this list is show how Everyday Disciples can please God in their relationships with other people in the Jesus family and in their relationship with God.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

There is power in knowing something will happen. We run our lives on this concept. We plan today’s activities based on knowing future events will happen on certain days and times. But what happens when you know a certain event is coming, but you don’t know the day or time. How do you prepare and not lose sight of that day. We don’t want to be caught off guard or surprised by that future day, but it’s hard to not allow other items preoccupy our time. The Thessalonians felt this tension with the day of the Lord. The return of Jesus is going to happen, but we don’t know the day or time. Thus Paul writes words of encouragement on how to be prepared for the return of Jesus and not lose sight of that future day. Even though we don’t have specifics, we can prepare for the return of Jesus by living today in light of His return.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The opposite of certain hope can be described as evaporating hope. Hope that is unsure, colored with doubt, and easily robbed from us is hope that can evaporate suddenly and plunge into despair. Paul needed to address evaporating hope in Thessalonica. In the face of death these Christians needed to know how the resurrection and return of Jesus produce certain hope in their lives and ground us life and death. There is a way to grieve death with hope and it’s all rooted in Jesus who died and rose again. Main Idea—I have hope in life and death because of the resurrection and return of Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! To celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead we turn to Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. In these verses we discover that there is a way to know if I am a genuine Christian. We discover that genuine Christians are those who have been resurrected from death to life and are delivered from the wrath to come by Jesus. The question is, “Why is Jesus qualified to be this Deliverer?” Answer: because resurrection! Main Idea—I can be resurrected from death to life because God raised Jesus from the dead.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

God is committed to our holiness. In fact, God takes the matter of our holiness so seriously that He leaves no room for you and me to misunderstand His expectations, for—“as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Pet. 1:15-16). So far Paul has talked about holiness and our sanctification in sexual purity. Now it’s time to talk about this in brotherly love and how this works itself out something as practical as our work. God-pleasing love for others in the Jesus family and beyond can be as simple as working unto the Lord! Main Idea—I please God by working hard at loving others and loving hard work.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

The good news of Jesus not only teaches us what to believe, but it also directs us how we ought to live in order to “please God” (4:1). This is the crucial connection the Thessalonian Believers needed to grasp and the same goes for you and me today. This prompts the question—“Okay, so how do I do this? How can I live to please God? Paul answers this question in Chapters 4 & 5—The purpose of Believers is to please God in all things. Whether it’s your sex life, your work life, matters of death and life, or anything in-between—God’s call for you and me is to keep growing in holiness more and more. This sets us up for the Main Idea—I please God when I pursue holiness in sexual purity.