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 1:6-10.
• How is v. 6 related to v. 5? What is the main verb in this section (vv. 6-10)?
• What does it mean to be an imitator? Who did the Thessalonians become imitators of? How did they become imitators of the apostles and the Lord? What was the result of their imitation?
• What is the reason Paul gives for why they became an example to all the believers? What were other believers telling Paul about the Thessalonians?
• What do vv. 9-10 describe? Why did they turn to God according to vv. 9-10?
• How is God described in v. 9? Why? How is the Son described in v. 10? Why?
• What is “the wrath to come”?

Prayerfully Meditate

• How is God’s election revealed to us? How should this shape how we share the gospel with people?
• How can tribulation and joy go together?
• Why does Paul parallel “the word of the Lord” and “your faith” in v. 8? What does this parallel tell us?
• Why is how Paul was received by the Thessalonians so important?
• How is waiting for the return of Christ central to the faith as described in v. 10?