Sermon Series: The Return of the King: The Gospel and the Future
Sermon Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-8
Sermon Title: “Expect Turbulence”
Sermon Slides:
SLIDE 1 – Sermon Title SlideSLIDE 2 – Philippians 1:27-29 – “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ … and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation … For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.”SLIDE 3 – Today’s Big Idea: God’s Kingdom Has Come in Part … So Expect Growth.But God’s Kingdom Hasn’t Come in Full … So Expect Turbulence.
SLIDE 4 – Point 1: Paul’s Assessment … You’re Advancing in God’s Kingdom (vv. 3-4)SLIDE 5 – Heb. 5:13-14 – “Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”SLIDE 6 – Insert Copy of Point #1 of Sermon
SLIDE 7 – Point 2: Paul’s Admonishment … You’ll be Afflicted for God’s Kingdom (vv. 5-8)SLIDE 8 – Hebrews 10:35-39 – “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised … but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”SLIDE 9 – Insert Copy of Point #2 of SermonSLIDE 10 – Amos 5:24 – “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”SLIDE 11 – Insert Copy of Point #2 of Sermon
SLIDE 12 – Five Uses of This Sermon for Our Church and Your Life.SLIDE 13 – In Christ’s School, What’s Our Church’s Grade?SLIDE 14 – The Gospel is Counter-Cultural … So Persecution is Inevitable.SLIDE 15 – All Christians are Persecuted, But Not All Christians are Persecuted Equally. SLIDE 16 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) – “Jesus says each [Christian] has their own cross ready, assigned by God and measured to fit. They must all bear the suffering and rejection measured out to each of them. Everyone gets a different amount. God honors some with great suffering and grants them the grace of martyrdom, while others are not tempted beyond their strength. But in every case, it is the one cross.” SLIDE 17 – Better to be Persecuted for Christ Now, than Condemned by Christ Later.SLIDE 18 – D. Michael Martin – “The reminder that judgment inevitably comes to allserves as a reminder that believers must do all they can for themselves and for others to be prepared for that day … and is sufficient to encourage believers to persevere in evangelism and godly behavior.”SLIDE 19 – To be Persecuted for Christ is Not Loss … But Gain.
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