Welcome to this Monday’s podcast. My name is James Brown – I’m part of the team here at STC and I’m taking on the daily podcasts from Tom Finnemore who did an incredible job last week as we finished 2 Thessalonians. Thank you Tom. This week we are starting the letter 1 Peter. 

Today we’re looking at 1 Peter 1:1-12 but focusing on verse 3.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

REFLECTION:

For one verse of the Bible this one packs a punch. There are so many things we can explore that I am struggling to do it justice in a 7 minute podcast. However, the goal today, as always, is to provide daily inspiration as we consider part of God’s word together. So we are going to majorly focus on this “living hope”.

Before we get to the living part. What is hope? It definitely gets us thinking about the future. Someone who has hope is someone who is expecting something particular in the future. Normally something optimistic but not always. We can also hope that things don’t happen. Speaking personally for a moment, an example of a hope of ours is with our son. We are potty training. If you listen very carefully you can hear the sharp intake of breath from parents and grandparents all across the city who are listening to this podcast also. We hope tomorrow is more successful than today. We hope that our grey sofa will survive. But because we expect him to be a functioning member of society one day, there comes a time when we have to make decisions and take actions today. So, big boy paw patrol pants for Joshua.

Those who hope are absolutely shaped by their understanding of the future. What we believe about the future will eventually shapes how we living now. There is no message on earth more optimistic, more beautiful and therefore more shaping than the Christian message of hope.

Christian hope sees the world being one day restored – at the end of Revelation 21 and 22, down comes heaven into this world to purify it and give us a new heaven and a new earth. A world where v4 ‘decay does not factor (perish), corruption never enters in (spoil), and nothing ever wears out (fade)’. It is not just survival of the fittest as with other worldviews, where being the most relevant or dominant is chiefly important. It is a world where faithfulness is celebrated, where v2 ‘grace and peace are in abundance’. It’s not a utopia to be escaped to like other religions. But something that is happening here and now, right in front of our very eyes – the recreation of all things – and we get to join in. Paul (another writer of the New Testament) talks about this too – saying we too experience something of a resurrection. Death gets swallowed up and loses its victory and sting. Because we have such hope for the future, we are shaped by it. Or rather because we are reshaped by Jesus we have a new hope for our lives and for our world – it works both ways. 

The shaping is so dramatic that time and time again it has been described as “new birth” or being “born again”. This term featured in our focus verse for today. “… In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope … ”.

What does he mean? Being born is the start of the unfolding of the nature we have. For example, if I was born a cat then I would not develop into a human because being born means I would have a certain DNA that unfolds a certain way. Being born as I am now – to a brilliant family in Wigan – means that I have the nature that I have and have been nurtured into the person I am today. The Christian experience is so overwhelming it is often described as a nature change. We’ve become something entirely new on an entirely new trajectory. It is not as simple as a worldview.

Welcome to Friday’s Podcast.  Next week STC’s very own Mr James Brown will start us off on a journey through 1 Peter.  Today our reading 2 Thessalonians 3:14-18 – the conclusion of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians.

Today we’ll focus on verse 15:

Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.

REFLECTION:

In our household we use something called the ‘naughty step’.  It’s the brainchild of Jo Frost – TV’s Super Nanny and the principle is this:  You send your child to a step if they’ve done something out of line.  You calmly explain why you’re sending them to  the step and they wait there 3 minutes if they’re 3 years or so on.  The step (in theory) de-escalates the situation and after the time is up – you calmly talk about what happened and an apology is made and then you hug it out…

Well, that’s the theory anyway.

Some people love it.  Some hate it.  We find it works… eventually.

There has been more than one occasion when one of our children has shouted back at me ‘no you sit on the naughty step…’  Honestly in those moments 41 minutes with a book and chillin’ on a step would be a dream.

The apostle Paul is referring in these passages to what is sometimes known as ‘church discipline’ – not a topic that is often talked about in church life for all kinds of reasons – good and bad.  However, read through the New Testament and you’ll see it.  It’s just it can feel a little clunky and offensive to our culture.

We need to remember that the Thessalonian church is small – it’s the size of a household.  Don’t think people sitting in rows listening to a speaker or in some kind of auditorium.  Think extended family crammed into a home.  So if you have someone – like we talked about yesterday – people not really pulling their weight, it becomes a problem for everyone.  If there’s an issue in somebody’s life – and for Paul that would seem to include someone ‘who does not obey our instructions’ then Paul is stating that it needs to be confronted or challenged.

There is no doubt that church discipline has been abused – sometimes on a systemic scale in recent times and indeed in history.  It’s a travesty that people in leadership have fallen way below the people in their care.  And rightly in the age of safeguarding and emotionally healthy leadership – there is a sensitivity to anything that even has the whiff of control.

We should not ignore that.

But I have encountered and still do, if I’m honest, that when we come to bringing challenge to people – there is a very quick response: well Jesus is all about grace, freedom and forgiveness – right?  So, why the need for discipline?  That seems so harsh.

Well actually I think Jesus is about those things.  Sure.  But surely he’s also about that love, grace and forgiveness about transformation through repentance.  We can talk about a lot about the kingdom of God – we should.  There’s a huge amount of talk right now about justice – rightly so – and God’s kingdom being one of Justice, which it is.  But where’s there’s a Kingdom – there’s a King.  And where there’s a King there’s an authority and where there’s an authority – we are called to bow the knee to the King.  When we come into his Presence – when we pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit – the spirit of God searches our hearts – he has a view about our lives.

The issue for us in our time – is that it’s very easy to see repentance and confession as a purely personal thing – I receive challenge from God and I deal with it privately with him.  It’s between me and God.  Nothing to do with you.  But Paul’s calling the church to such a deep level of love that we don’t ignore stuff in each other.  This is something in our consumer, individualised world I think we need to recover.  Paul’s not talking to people who primarily see themselves as individual consumers who engage with church on their terms.

Welcome to Thursday’s Podcast.  Our reading today is 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-13.  Today we’ll focus on verse 13:

 ‘And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.’

REFLECTION:

One of the key causes of conflict among our children is the TV.

It seems difficult to settle on a TV programme our eldest daughter and son will actually watch together.  We have sophisticated diplomatic ways of ensuring each person gets their allotted time.  Occasionally I have used the phrase – which I swore I never would – ‘when I was your age we only had 4 channels… and the only choices were to change the channel or turn it off’.  Is it me or was life in the 80s and early 90s a lot simpler?  I digress.

My kids who are known as Generation Alpha – they will only have ever known a plethora of digital choice.  Trips to Blockbuster on a Friday night – I used to love those – will be confined to cultural history.  This generation are the YouTubers.  Take Ryan’s World, a YouTube channel in which Ryan from Texas reviews toys and games to an audience of 23.5 million subscribers. The channel, which employs 28 people, reportedly generated $26 million in 2019. Ryan – guess what – is only 9 years old.

Scary, huh?

If there’s anything this current ‘cultural moment’ exasperated by Covid-19 has brought up – it’s the question of what will the church look like in the future?  The closer of church buildings has thrown us further into the digital world – our church among many – offer what those clever people at Netflix have known for a while – the future multiple digital choice.

From Vicars setting themselves on fire and going viral in the process, to the Priest – all robed up – about to celebrate communion alone (online) to have his holy moment disturbed by an Amazon delivery driver hammering on the door – Covid-19 has changed the way we are church at the moment.

It’s been interesting for our own church too.  Some people who shall remain nameless have told me that they enjoy STC online and watch from the comfort of their beds.  But I said to Mick and Tricia that wasn’t cool.  Only kidding – it wasn’t them.  Some other folks I’ve chatted too – socially distant of course – and I must add, from another wonderful church in Sheffield, have told me that ‘they don’t want to go back’ to normal church.   They prefer online church.  One man told me he liked it because he ‘didn’t need to leave his house’.  You can sit in your PJs, eat your breakfast and feel connected.

Is this the future?  Well from what I see people talking about online– the answer seems to be yes.  Sure, churches will meet again as the lockdown is lifted no doubt.  But it seems as though Digital Church – or least people accessing church digitally – is here to stay.

Honestly I’m not totally what I think about all that.  It needs some serious reflection.  But today’s Bible passage may have something to say to us as we embrace the world of the digital church.

Paul is tackling what the NIV strongly calls idleness.  In fact he says in verse 6 to keep away from lazy Christians.  Pretty strong stuff.  So, what’s the issue?

Well the issue at hand is that to the apostle Paul church is primarily a family.  It’s where you belong and contribute.  Paul’s tackling those who are not giving of themselves to the communal life of the church.  The early church was a communal beast.  For example, Deirdre might bring her guitar and Alan might bring some food and so on…  and a prophetic song to accompany Deirdre.  They’re on Spotify.  Check them out.  It was a family – communal thing where there was an expectation that everyone contributed – not just consumed.  Hospitality was a big deal and it’s said that some Christians – perhaps fearful at the en...

Welcome to Wednesday’s Podcast.  Our reading today is 2 Thessalonians 3: 1-5.  Today we’ll focus on verse 1:

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured, just as it was with you.

REFLECTION:

I’m sure I’ve quoted him before – I’ll certainly quote him again:  Bishop Sandy Millar the former Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton – home of the Alpha Course would often say:  ‘There’s a war on don’t you know…’

He’d say it in a beautifully laid back non-urgent manner.  But he was clear – we are in a great spiritual battle.

So, what kind of war is being waged?  CS Lewis writes in ‘Christian Reflections’:  ‘There is no neutral ground in the universe.  Every square inch, every split second is claimed and counter claimed by Satan’.

While this may seem a little intense for a Wednesday morning – we should not be blind to the battle.

If you’re part of STC – you’ll know that a foundational verse is John 10:10 – ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’

 It’s so tempting to focus on the latter part of the verse – ‘Life to the full’ but the verse as a whole paints a beautiful picture.  The enemy God – Satan – his name literally means enemy or adversary’s goal is maim, destroy by stealing, killing and destroying.  But God in his redemption and glory bring life – and life in fullness.

So, if we’re in battle – what are our tools?

Without a shadow of a doubt it’s prayer:   “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”

There is a great disorder in our world right now around race.  It’s been around for decades and it’s back and firmly on the agenda.  Yes it’s right we speak out – of course.  It’s absolutely that we march, that we recognise and own our part in systemic injustice – yes, we give to financial campaigns, write to our MPs and in the current discussion around the tragic death of George Floyd, Ahmed Arbury, Breona Taylor and tragically more – we must stand and say that Black Lives Matter.  We must hear stories that make us uncomfortable – that our fellow citizens, our neighbours endure against a bias in our society.  Why?

Because racism is a demonic – evil assault on people – inspired by the enemy of God to undermine – seeking to destroy to reality of Genesis 1:26 that ‘we are made in the image of God.’

So, it’s imperative we stand for justice but part of our journey as disciples is not to battle with hopelessness but to call on the God of justice and recognise this in the context of a great spiritual battle.  Our call is to action – and the primary part of that action is prayer.

It’s quite incredible to me that the Apostle Paul – Church Planter and Theologian extraordinaire – starts chapter 3 with a request for prayer.

It’s incredible.  The apostle Paul asking this little church plant for prayer.

So, if he asks this tiny church plant to pray for him – we too must engage seriously with prayer and ask others to stand with us and pray.

Paul writes Thessalonians from Corinth.  If we read the book of Acts we see how many spiritual battles Paul encounters – it’s huge.  He has a rough time Thessalonica and a really rough time in Corinth where he’s writing this letter to from.

He’s asking for prayer because – in claiming that Jesus will return victorious at the End Times or Day of the Lord as he calls it in Chapter 2 – we live in the ‘now and not yet’ – we still live in that day.  He asks for prayer that as he preaches the gospel that people may respond – that he will stay faithful.

In Sheffield in 2020 our prayer is that of St Paul’s ‘that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly’.

If we’re honest in this current season of life – there is a fair of gloomy news going about.  On a personal level – knowing that there’s a battle on – hel...

Welcome to Tuesday’s Podcast.  Our reading today is 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17.  Today we’ll focus on verse 15:

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings[a] we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

REFLECTION:

Leslie Dwight, 23 wrote a poem recently that went viral on Instagram.  ‘Liked’ over 500,000 times – and shared many many times – it captures something of the mood of the moment.

She says this:

“What if 2020 is the year we’ve been waiting for? ⁣A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw — that it finally forces us to grow,” the poem reads. “⁣A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us from our ignorant slumber.⁣ A year we finally accept the need for change.⁣ Declare change. Work for change. Become the change.”

“A year we finally band together, instead of⁣ pushing each other further apart.⁣⁣ 2020 isn’t cancelled, but rather ⁣the most important year of them all.”⁣

In an interview in Today.com – the aspiring writer reveals that at the age of 13 she learned that her father who died when she was a newborn died by suicide.  She said that the story of her life – was to stay resilient through trying times.

There’s no doubt that we’re living in trying times – just watch the news – or read a paper or check out social media.  Ravaged by a global pandemic and now some of the worst racial tension seen for generations across the USA.

We can’t not be affected by this moment.

The Thessalonian Christians were under significant pressure.  Facing persecution for their faith and feeling undermined by divisive and corrupt teaching – in fact Paul tells them not to become unsettled or alarmed (verse 2).

In yesterday’s podcast we talked about how Paul took apart the concerns around the ‘man of lawlessness’ and now in verse 13 – 17 he offers, lovingly and with great care some great wisdom.

What can we learn?

It’s interesting that Paul’s words of comfort are this in verse 13 is to remind the Thessalonian Christians: you have been chosen.  Before the beginning of time, God, the one who knows us intimately, chooses you.

It’s deeply personal.  It’s deeply profound.  It’s really rather beautiful.

In the midst of overwhelming confusion, Paul’s words of comfort are this: God called you & He chose you.   It’s a deeply Pauline theme: you receive God’s grace – you don’t earn it.  You simply say ‘yes, I receive it’.

Secondly, he reminds the Thessalonian Christians that it’s the saving activity of God – Jesus on the cross – that has secured salvation.  Not their effort or lack of and then he reminds them that it’s the work of the Holy Spirit to sanctify – to change us or transform us.

Theologians tell us that it’s Trinitarian – the Father calls, the Son makes it possible and the Spirit transforms us.

So, how can we respond?

Paul tells the Thessalonians to stand firm.  It’s something he says to the church in Ephesus in the midst of his tome on spiritual warfare.  Stand firm.

Sometimes, all you can do is muster the energy to stand.  And as we stand – with all our effort – he does the rest.  He meets our weakness with his extraordinary power.

It’s to embrace the predictable patterns – of regular times with God; daily prayer – habits that hold us in difficult times.  Part of our standing is to remember teaching – things that have helped us over the years.  It’s to not give up on reading scripture.   Learning and meditating on it.  Not to give up on community – to stay connected – in this time of angst.

You see I have a friend who says ‘nothing grows on the mountain top’ – but the valley is often lush with life.

We need to remember that often the experience of many Bible characters and men and women o...

Welcome to Monday’s Podcast.  My name is Tom Finnemore and I’m part of the team at STC and I’ll pick up the baton from Mick as we continue working through Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica.

Our reading today is 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12 but we’ll focus on verses 1-2:

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.

REFLECTION:

My son has a wonderful phrase which he uses often ‘I’m just getting a bit interested…’  he will often use to explain why he hasn’t done something.  We’ve now adopted in our family parlance because what he really means is that he’s got distracted.  Somehow saying you’re interested in something sounds a bit more positive than to admit you’re distracted.

So now if we’re distracted – we say – we’re too interested.

There are many things that can get us Christians a bit too interested – or, being blunt – distracted.

One such thing is when will the world end.  It’s a great question, and to be fair, it would be nice to have a heads up, wouldn’t it?  And in some ways, that question seems pretty apt in this current cultural moment.

Now, if you believe some people on social media, we are in the grip of what people refer to the ‘End times’ with all the world events going on right now.   Let’s be honest: it is a weird season – a global pandemic, a return to racial hostilities in the USA which is spilling out across the world, a strange political landscape with a controversial, to say the least, leader of the free world.  They are actually pretty scary times.  It’s the socially distant conversations I’ve had with our neighbours or random people I’ve met walking the dog, and they often say in jest “It makes you think, is this the end?”

And it strikes me that when things are personally challenging – and for many people this season is; for example I spoke ot a good friend a couple of weeks ago who’s single and she hadn’t really had any meaningful face-to-face contacts with people for months.  That’s tough.  Or the grandparents who can’t meet their little newborn grandchildren – that’s tough.  Or people who have lost their jobs, and the list goes on.  You see, when we’re personally challenged, under internal pressure, and the external world is uncertain, then we are really susceptible to fear.

Someone told me that FEAR spells out this: False Evidence Appearing Real.  Massive internal pressure combined with external uncertainty equals fear.  And this is precisely what’s happened to the Thessalonian Christians.Their personal persecution, the horrendous stuff they’re going through, has worn them down.  And for some reason, we don’t know why, they have begun to believe that they are living through the end times, that Jesus’s return is imminent.  And it has totally blindsided them, they’ve lost their peace, they’ve lost their way.

And perhaps you feel a bit like that today.  The terrible death toll in the UK from the Covid-19 virus, or the horrendous events in the USA – it all just feels a bit too much.  What Paul tells the Thessalonians applies as much to us today as it does to them.

Firstly, there are lots of theories around – just Google it or type into YouTube ‘the end times’ – and if we’re in it.  And honestly, to use my son’s words, we can get “a bit too interested” in things that the Bible simply doesn’t make that clear, despite what people may claim on YouTube!  That’s not to say it isn’t right to be curious, but end time conspiracy theories can leave people fearful, afraid and confused,

Hi everyone, it’s Mick here and welcome to Friday’s Podcast. I really hope your week has gone well and these reflections from the Thessalonian letters have blessed and challenged you. Our Bible reading today is 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12 and our focus verse is v12 (MSG)

If your life honours the name of Jesus, he will honour you

REFLECTION:

Jesus has always fascinated me. His message of new life, his better life was so attractive to me as a young man exploring what life was about, why I was here and how I could make a difference. Tricia and I loved hearing this message as our friends took us to church, as we received Jesus into our lives, started to follow his ways and just loved being part of church. Then the challenges came! As we read the Bible we realised that this faith, this life we had signed up to was much more than making a difference in the here and now, but this life was eternal – it continued on after death. Even more than that, the Bible said that Jesus was coming back to planet earth one day to make all things right, that there would be a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ with no more pain or suffering. As you can imagine, this took a bit of thinking through for an ordinary Sheffield lad! As the American writer Mark Twain said

It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.

The Jesus life now was exciting; the future stuff seemed to be in the realms of fable and fantasy! I began to realise that when I received Jesus, I received him entirely – eternal life, second coming, the whole package. Tricia and I began to see how this future that Jesus promised gave us great hope for our future and for those we loved. As we put our trust in Christ, even death, the great enemy could not separate us and we would be together into eternity. Now that’s a great deal!

These final verses of this letter are challenging to read for us today, but would have been an immense comfort to those believers under persecution in Thessaloniki; indeed, they have been a great comfort and inspiration to all believers throughout the centuries who are persecuted, under oppression, suffering injustice, feel abandoned, the list goes on … it’s so relevant for today, just look at what’s happening in the US and our own country in theses days.

As Paul made clear in yesterday’s reading, there will be a judgement one day.

God wants all people to repent and turn back to him (1Timothy 2:4) but today’s verses make clear the consequences for rejecting Christ and his life changing, world changing gospel of love; such people will miss out on the full Christian package of eternal life. That why it’s so imperative that the church is bold in sharing this gospel, this whole and full gospel and not a watered down, easier to digest, liberal alternative!

The opposite of eternal life is ‘Eternal exile from the presence of the Master’ (v9) but not so for these Thessalonian believers and for us who believe today; their long term future and ours, is totally secure no matter what this crazy world and these challenging days throw at us! This gospel message is so urgent because the good news is only good news if it gets there in time. The modern church has sat around in its comfortable buildings with its careful liturgy and boring, irrelevant services while the world, and particularly young people have drifted away in their millions to live a life with Christ without any real hope for the future. So what do we do? We certainly don’t sit around singing hymns, drinking tea, condemning the world and  waiting for Jesus to return! Jesus has great plans for your life; his plan is to fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something (v11) Remember our focus verse for today and really for this week

If your life honours the name of Jesus, he will honour you.

STC is an amazing church,

Hi everyone, it’s Mick here and welcome to Thursday’s Podcast. Today and tomorrow our reflections are from Paul’s second letter to this exciting new, first century church in Thessaloniki. It was thriving! Even though it was going through challenging times, it was healthy and growing – an encouragement for all of us today in the tough times we face. Our reading today is 2 Thessalonians 1:1-7 and our focus verse is v4 (MSG):

We’re so proud of you; you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. 

REFLECTION:

This letter was written very soon, maybe 1 year, after I Thessalonians; probably after Paul’s friends Silas and Timothy had returned after delivering the first letter. Delivering letters in those days was a long, demanding, tiring and dangerous business. The situation in the church seems to have been much the same however, and Paul writes to encourage these new believers in Jesus to keep on living out this new Godly lifestyle and particularly to correct a misunderstanding about the return of Jesus.

This ‘second coming’ of Jesus is referred to by theologians as ‘eschatology’ – coming from two Greek words meaning ‘study of the end things/times’. Paul has spoken about this in his first letter – in fact, every chapter ends with a reference to this ‘second coming’ of Jesus but he emphasises this even more so in this second letter; in fact, 18 of the 47 verses here deal with this topic. The Thessalonians letters are often referred to by scholars as the ‘eschatological letters’ of Paul.

All very good if you’re a Bible scholar, but what does this mean to me and you today as we go about our everyday lives? It means this – our future is secure. As we face these challenging times our future appears anything but secure as we face uncertainty in so many area of our lives? However, the Bible is clear, Jesus is coming back to this earth and his second coming is the most important thing to know and believe about our future. It changes our whole perspective on how we live our lives because every moment of every day is touched with this great hope for our future.

This Coronavirus crisis has affected everyone – these are tough times for all of us, life has changed, lots of inconveniences face us every day. Queuing for the supermarket, homeschooling, working from home, wearing a mask (or not if you’re the President of the US). However, for many these days are more than an ‘inconvenience’ – they feel absolutely impossible, not knowing how they will survive this day never mind next week. These Thessalonian Christians were going through impossible days as they faced real persecution. Paul reminds them, and us of this great truth that it is often in our struggles rather than our ‘successes’ that we become stronger. Faith and love were growing in these believers in spite of – maybe even because of – the persecution and challenges that they were facing. Remember v4:

you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. 

Paul goes further, he tells them that in the future God will put all things right when Jesus return (vv.6–7). ‘Justice is on the way’ (v.6, MSG). When Jesus returns there will be a righteous judgement, wrongs will be righted and justice will rule. As the prophet Amos says (5:24)

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

The great American civil rights activist Martin Luther King famously quoted this scripture in his ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ in 1963. How this scripture needs to be heard again in these incredibly disturbing days in the US at present. The death of George Floyd should be repulsive to all right thinking people; the racism that still pervades the US in so many ways is a disgrace to our human existence. Over fifty years after the death of MLK, has anything really changed?

Hi everyone, it’s Mick here and welcome to Wednesday’s Podcast. Today, we come to the end of Paul’s first letter to the believers in this small house church in the vibrant Greek city of Thessaloniki; here are two thousand year old words which are as relevant today as the day they were written helping us live out our Christian life in challenging times. The bible reading today is 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 and our focus verse is v24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

REFLECTION:

This final chapter of the letter brings together Paul’s encouragement  in the previous chapters for these believers to live out their Christian calling every day. As was said yesterday, this is a tough calling, but Paul brings Godly inspiration to by reminding them, and us that whatever we face ‘the God of peace’ is with us (v23); ‘sanctifying us through and through’ – the word ‘sanctify’ here means to be set apart for God and to be made whole by God in spirit, soul and body. Why? to experience his divine Better Life, to live this life and make a  difference in the places he puts us.

This promise gives us great confidence as we step into our day – Jesus is with me, guiding me, strengthening me, building me up, making me more like him, restoring me, renewing me, releasing his fruitfulness and love into my life right now. My day takes on a whole different meaning when I realise this. Whether I’m working from home, preparing for a Zoom meeting (aargh!), homeschooling, hanging the washing out, cleaning the house, cleaning the kids (again),feeling restricted in my house, flat, sheltered accommodation – wherever we are, in the ordinariness of my day, my life is extraordinary because Jesus, the God of peace is with me. Wow! Who says the Bible has no relevance for today!

But Paul’s encouragement is even greater; before his instruction to read this letter to the church and to give holy hugs and kisses (not allowed in lockdown!)  he now brings these great words of hope to his listeners in v24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. This letter was written in Greek and these words literally say. ‘Faithful is he who calls you, and he will bring it to pass’.  Or, to put it another way  ‘Jesus, who I totally trust with my life, calls me by name to come into his presence and says ‘“I will make it happen’”.

“Make what happen” you might say? Jesus will make happen the promises he has made for you and your future. In a nutshell it means this – He is at work in you today and will continue his work of transformation in you; he will encourage and empower you to live his Better Life, one kindness, one small act of generosity at a time. Jesus has plans for you and they are good plans.

We are living in demanding times – people are experiencing both physical and emotional pressures every day; lockdown is easing but this is now causing different issues which we all have to face. We are looking for guidance from those in authority – we are looking for a new confidence in our lives which will lift us from this seemingly never ending uncertainty about the future. Well Christian, be encouraged today!  This is the situation these first century Christians in this small church in Thessaloniki faced. His words to them can bring great encouragement and confidence to us today. the God of peace  is with us and whatever we face The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Whatever you face today, wherever life has taken you, however you are with your faith, the truth is with Jesus, the best is yet to be!

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you for your faithfulness to me and those I love. Thank you for your call, your invitation to live your Better Life. I welcome you into my life afresh this day. God of peace, come. Amen

BIBLE READING: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

Hi everyone, it’s Mick here and welcome to Tuesday’s Podcast. Apologies for those of you who missed your early morning listening slot yesterday – we had a technical difficulty so Monday’s reflection appeared later in the morning. Here we are ready to go with another ‘thought for the day’ from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. If yesterday’s big idea was ‘to encourage one another’ to live a life worthy of our Christian calling; today’s focus is three fold but summed up in this phrase from v15.  strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

…or as the Message Bible puts it…

Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out’

REFLECTION:

Yesterday, we were reminded by Paul of our calling as disciples to ‘make a difference’ in this world and that we are to ‘live differently’ to those around us every hour of every day.  Big calling! but Paul again gives practical instructions on how to do this. Three key characteristics of this new 24/7 lifestyle:

1 Honour – we are to be people who honour or appreciate our leaders. Listen verses 12 and 13 again from the Message Bible.

‘We ask you to honour those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!’ (vv.12–13a, MSG). 

I have been an ordained church leader for many years – in fact 30 years on 1st July and before that Tricia and I were in lay leadership in the church. Has it been my experience that people honour their church leaders? No, that hasn’t been my experience, in fact quite the opposite. Many church leaders I have had the privilege of meeting, coaching, encouraging over the years have been dishonoured by their people and sometimes by their teams.

In whatever area you work, leadership is a lonely place; making difficult decisions about direction, strategy, finance and people’s futures is tough? Paul is primarily talking here about leadership in the church but this teaching is so relevant to any leadership position. Good leaders lead, but not everyone in the church wants to be led and there are times when they make that perfectly clear to their leaders!

Of course leaders don’t always get things right but whether leaders are right or wrong in their decisions is not the point here. There will be times when you disagree with leaders and it is certainly appropriate to let them know but, Paul says, do it in a civil and honourable way. Even if we disagree, we are still to ‘Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!’ (13a). 

What a different church, a different world we would have if this was the way we treated our leaders. There have been times over the years I have disagreed with the leadership decisions our our national and local CofE leaders especially with regards changing our ways to reach more young people with the good news. I have made that known in no uncertain terms but, I have always been civil and courteous in my discussions and honoured them as leaders. It’s Biblical and it’s right.

2 Respect – we are to honour our leaders and treat people with respect. Listen to these words  ‘Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out’ (vv.14–15, MSG). Wow! If we want to see the best in people, it is part of our calling to first see the best in them. For Tricia and I, this has always been part of our calling as leaders, to look for the best in others and ask the Holy Spirit to bring it out!

3 Kindness – v15 says this Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.