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 Thessalonians 5:1-3
- To What are the times and epochs referring?
- What is the emphasis behind the statement “For you yourselves know full well?”
- What is coming according to verse 2?
- When is the day of the Lord going to be according to the text?
- How is the day of the Lord going to arrive?
- What is going to be happening when the day of the Lord comes according to verse 3?
- Who are the ones who will be speaking at that time?
- What does this phrase that they will be saying mean?
- What is the contrast exposed in the fist half of verse 3?
- Who are “they” at the end of verse 3?
- What is going to happen to them?
- What does “not escape” mean? What is the implication? Not escape what?
Prayerfully Meditate
- Why do these believers not need anything to be written to them concerning the time and epochs?
- Why might Paul not have chosen to say instead “You know the Lord will come”?
- What clarity is added by including the simile “like a thief in the night.”
- Notice the common structure “[ ______ will come … like (simile)]” that occurs in both verse 2 and 3. What is Paul displaying with this parallel structure?
- What is the simile in verse three and what is it describing?
- Why might Paul use this image/simile to describe these events? What is he accomplishing with this language?
- Why might Paul be addressing these matters outlined in vs 1-3 of chapter 5?