Sabbath: Friends Forever (1 Thess. 2:13-3:13)
Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Thess. 2:13-3:13; Rom. 9:1-5; 11:1-12, 24-32; Matt. 24:9-22; 10:42.
Memory Text: “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (1 Thessalonians 3:13, NIV).
Key Thought: Paul continues to praise the Thessalonians for the good things he sees in them and to encourage them amid the persecution they are facing.
As we read these passages, we can see that, to Paul, the Thessalonians aren’t just church members; they are his friends. There is a deep, emotional bond between Paul and these people, and Paul stresses that bond as he seeks to continue reinforcing in their minds the love that he has for them. While certainly sincere, his words will also help prepare them for the criticism that will soon follow.
Paul begins and ends this section with a prayer. In a sense the entire passage is written with prayer in mind. The underlying theme of this focus on prayer is Paul’s desire for the Thessalonians to be “blameless and holy” (1 Thess. 3:13, see also 1 Thess. 2:19, 20) at the second coming of Jesus.
The friendship Paul has with them is deeper than earthly friendships; it is a friendship that goes beyond the boundaries of time and history on this earth. Paul is looking forward to spending eternity with the Thessalonian believers. This desire, in part, is what drives his intense concern throughout the letter for their beliefs and behavior. Paul loves these people and wants them to be ready for the return of Christ.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 11.
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Its good to create earthly friends and hope that that relationship will last forever. Always lets strive for our friends to inherit eternal life.
It's interesting to note the Paul prays for the Thessalonians to have love one to another.
It seems like BROTHERLY LOVE is from God.
Now when he talks of Jesus coming with angels and "saints", is he not referring to Moses, Elijah, Enoch and the first fruits?.
We as belivers of today we are to learn that in creating friends an example of Paul to the Thessalonians should be taken into cosideration, that such a relationship should please God. We are to love one another and be tolerant to our friends we have in encouraging each other for God's sake.
Paul shows an example of love to the people of Thessalonica when he gave them the gospel and he then came and give thanks, encouragement in their faith for what they believed God! We are to do the same to our fellows whom we are baptizing them by showing love because it has been a tendency to we adventists when we baptize people we leave them instead of showing love to them though they are now belivers hence sometimes they went back again!
Paul prayed that God shall strengthen the hearts of the Thessalonians he knew that the heart is deceitful above all things. As a church we must pray that God strengthens and guards our hearts.
Sexual immorality especially from the so called@clergy', has caused the church of God to derail.