Hi everyone, it’s Mick here; with my wife Tricia we have the great privilege of leading STC Sheffield. Last September we began our reflections on how the early church grew by considering the story of Acts and then continuing with the New Testament letters sent to these exciting new Christian communities all those years ago. What is it we today can learn from these ordinary first century disciples in how they lived and followed Jesus?

Our Podcasts are simply a ‘thought for the day’; they are not a sermon, a Bible study or a deep theological treatise! They are simple, yet profound reflections whose aim is to keep us close to Jesus every day  providing ‘fresh bread from heaven’ as we read the Bible, hear a comment from our team, pray and worship. They keep us all on track as a church family to live out our calling as disciples every day and in 2020, call people to Join Us for the Better Life.

Over these past days Liam, Alan and Helen have led us in some great reflections on Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and how this teaching is so relevant for us today. As we begin our week, the Bible passage today is 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and our focus verse today is v11: Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

REFLECTION:

I love the letters to the Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians was written in AD51, probably less than twenty years after the resurrection of Jesus. This is the first letter Paul wrote to one of the churches he began and it’s obvious in these writings how Paul loved this church. The first calling of a leader is to love their church!  He and his friends Silas and Timothy started this small house church,  gathering mainly non Jewish people on one of their visits to the vibrant Greek port of Thessaloniki. As he continues on his travels, he leaves behind a healthy Christian community and writes to them from Corinth to encourage them in the Christian walk. He basically says ‘keep praying, keep the faith, you’re doing great … keep being different!

The Christian life is supposed to be different from the world around us, that’s the whole point! I remember, just after I came to faith, a long standing member of the small church we went to saying to me ‘I am a Christian, but I am no different to my non Christian friends and colleagues’. Even then, as a new believer, I can recall thinking ‘Well, that can’t be right – of course we’re different, we have Jesus in our lives!’ In fact, I not only thought it, but said it – you can’t believe that of me can you … a robust, healthy discussion then took place that evening in our small midweek home group!

Paul gives practical guidance on how to live differently. He clearly says ‘Let us not be like others’ (v.6) and then goes on to famously describe this different life using four metaphors.

Firstly, we are ‘light not darkness’; the world around is living in darkness (v.4). We are not to turn away and fear the darkness but face it and shine in it! ‘You are all children of the light’ (v.5a). Jesus shines his light into our life when we receive him – we become children of the light. Our lives are characterised by the light of Jesus shining through us in integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity etc.

Secondly, he says we are ‘day not night.’’; ‘You are… children of the day. You do not belong to the night’ (v.5). He is referring back here to ‘the day of the Lord’ (v.2). We are children of the day of the Lord, with all that this means in terms of anticipation of that great day when Jesus returns – this is our future hope!

Thirdly, he says we are ‘awake not asleep’; ‘Let us not be like others, who are asleep… for those who sleep, sleep at night’ (vv.6–7). There is a challenge here for us not to fall asleep spiritually. When we neglect over a period of time the Bible, prayer, worship, community we will begin to spiritually fall asleep.