Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Read 1 Thess 5:25-28.
• Review 1:2-10; 3:11-12; 4:1, 10 and answer: What is Paul’s main concern in this letter? Is Paul concerned with false teachers (Colossians) or Judiazers (Galatians) or those accusing him of not being a real apostle (Corinthians) or something else?
• Review 2:2, 14, 17; 3:7 and answer: Why would Paul ask for prayer?
• What is the most often repeated word in this paragraph? Why do you think Paul repeated this word here?
• Review 1:7-8; 4:10 and find Thessalonica on a map that includes the regions of Achaia and Macedonia, then answer: “All the brethren” are mentioned twice in this section. Is Paul pointing their attention to a single congregation? One city? How wide an area should the Thessalonians be engaged in?
• What does “adjure” mean? What would it mean to adjure “by the Lord?”
• Why would Paul conclude the letter with verse 28?

Prayerfully Meditate

• Consider how this letter can shape your prayers for other members of SWBC.
• Should we kiss one another as this verse commands? Why or why not? If not, how do we obey the spirit of the command? Consider how our greetings of one another are important in light of v. 26.
• How do we at SWBC influence churches in our city/region? How can we do so even more?
• What does the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” include? (Hint: see 5:23-24.) In which of these elements do you need to increase the most at this moment?