1 / 12

May the Lord Direct your Hearts

May the Lord Direct your Hearts. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 – 3:5 p. 1096. A Story. You bring the Good News about Jesus to UBC. Paul in Thessalonica – opponents arrive from Philippi Has to leave the city Writes to these new Christians. A sample of how Paul prays . . . 1 . Time to Pray.

wayne
Télécharger la présentation

May the Lord Direct your Hearts

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. May the Lord Direct your Hearts 2 Thessalonians 2:15 – 3:5 p. 1096

  2. A Story • You bring the Good News about Jesus to UBC. • Paul in Thessalonica – opponents arrive from Philippi • Has to leave the city • Writes to these new Christians. • A sample of how Paul prays . . .

  3. 1. Time to Pray • We have lives to live. • How do we find time to pray? • Reading on in 2 Thessalonians . . . 3:6-10 • Leon Morris: “The Christian is to be busy” • Our faith is lived in the context of our busy-ness. • God is with us through our day.

  4. 1. Time to Pray . . . • Deconstructing a sense of entitlement: • Developing a heart of thankfulness • There is a blessing behind every chore • Being busy is a blessing • To be shaped by prayer . . . • Move beyond our own selfish indulgences • Honour the blessings God has given us. • Cultivate an attitude of thankfulness

  5. 2. Content of Prayer • Two prayers for the Thessalonians& 2 prayer requests PRAYER FOR THE THESSALONIANS – • Their encouragement and strengthening (2:16-17) • Encouragement based on God’s love and our eternal hope. • Nothing can happen to change any of that. • Strengthening – lives characterized by “every good deed and word” • This is their busy-ness.

  6. 2. Content of Prayer . . . • Hearts directed into “God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (3:5) • An amazing prayer. Both are essential: • Hearts caught up in the Love of God. • The Lord of the Universe loves you. • What a reality. What a blessing. • Have the same perseverance that Jesus had • Jesus remained true when everyone else was falling apart.

  7. 2. Content of Prayer PAUL’S PRAYER REQUESTS – • The spread of the Gospel (3:1) • He remains committed to God’s calling. • Prays – Good News will spread rapidly and be well received • This is where his heart is. • Delivered from wicked and evil people (3:2) • Not some general vague request • Wants to give full attention to spreading the Good News.

  8. 2. Content of Prayer . . . • Hearts directed into “God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (3:5) • An amazing prayer. Both are essential: • Hearts caught up in the Love of God. • The Lord of the Universe loves you. • What a reality. What a blessing. • Have the same perseverance that Jesus had • Jesus remained true when everyone else was falling apart.

  9. 3. Confidence in Prayer • He really believes God will act. • “We have confidence in the Lord . . .” (3:4) • His commands are the same as what God commands. • He is staying on track with what God is doing. • He knows God is faithful (3:3) • God will never abandon His Ppeople. • He will always strengthen and protect us.

  10. Living it . . . • God’s normal expectation is that we live our spirituality in the context of our busy-ness. • God is with us in our daily tasks and he blesses us • It is part of being human to be productive and active. • Paul prays for encouragement and strengthening. • Confidence is based in the character of God and in praying according to his will (1 Jn 5:14-15)

More Related