Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NASB)

23 Thus says the Lord, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the Lord.

Romans 6:14-23 (NASB)

14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I. No longer a slave to sin (15-17a)II. Now a slave to righteousness (17b-19)III. The Benefits (20-23)

Hebrew 2:5-9 (NASB)

5 For He did not subject to angels the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But someone has testified somewhere, saying,

“What is man, that You think of him?Or a son of man, that You are concerned about him?7 You have made him for a little while lower than angels;You have crowned him with glory and honor;8 You have put everything in subjection under his feet.”

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of His suffering death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

I. Man's Insignificance (5-6)II. Man's greatness (7-8)III. Man's hope (9)

Matthew 1:1-17 (NASB)

1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram. 4 Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. 5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. 6 Jesse fathered David the king.

David fathered Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa. 8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. 9 Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah. 11 Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel fathered Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. 14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. 15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. 16 Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 (NASB)

16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!

17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Three prayer petitions to encourage the church’s continued spiritual growth together

1) All-encompassing peace from the Lord (3:16a)

2) All-inclusive presence of the Lord (3:16b)

[*] All-authoritative truth from the Lord (via Paul; 3:17)

3) All-sufficient grace of the Lord (3:18)

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 (NASB)

6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother or sister who leads a disorderly life and not one in accordance with the tradition which you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a role model for you, so that you would follow our example. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now we command and exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to work peacefully and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary of doing good.

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person so as not to associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. 15 And yet do not regard that person as an enemy, but admonish that one as a brother or sister.

Six Motivating Forces to help slay sloth and labor for the Lord!

1) Feeble Fellowship (3:6)2) Exemplary Examples (3:7-9)3) Sustenance for Survival (3:10)4) Purposeful Productivity (3:11-12)5) Sense of Shame (3:13-14)6) Compassionate Correction (3:15)

1 Timothy 4:1-5 (NASB)

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

I. What does it mean to fall away? (1:1a)II. What cause them to fall away? (1:1b-3a)III. What keeps you from falling away? (1:3b-5)

Psalm 100 (NASB)

1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 faith For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

Theme: Because we personally know who God is, believers should be people whose lives display much joy and thanksgiving.

Outline:1) We are called to joyful worship (100:1‑3)

2) We are called to grateful thanks and praise to God (100:4‑5)

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (NASB)

1 Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; 2 and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

Theme: Faithful intercession to God in prayer is required for the spiritual fruit of salvation and sanctification in ministry.

Outline:1) We must pray for effective and protected Gospel ministry (3:1‑2)

2) Our confidence must be in Christ as we prayerfully minister (3:3‑4)

3) We should pray for spiritual fruit to grow in each other (3:5)

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 (NASB)

13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

Theme: Believers (the Church) need continued spiritual encouragement regarding salvation, exhortation to abide in truth, and prayer for strength to carry on.

Outline:1) A Pastoral Encouragement (2:13-14)

2) A Personal Exhortation (2:15)

3) A Prayerful Supplication (2:16-17)