Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Rejoicing in Faith

Bryan Schneider · May 22, 2021

1 Thessalonians 3:1-10

sharonrpc.org/sermons/rejoicing-in-faith

Summary

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy deeply fear that affliction and the tempter may have shaken the Thessalonians' faith.
They send Timothy as a brother, minister, and fellow worker to establish and encourage the church rather than practicing detached evangelism.
Christians should expect tribulation and need one another's prayer, presence, teaching, hospitality, and encouragement to endure it.
Timothy returns with good news that the congregation continues in faith and love and still desires fellowship with the missionaries.
The Thessalonians' steadfastness comforts the missionaries in their own distress, showing how persevering believers strengthen one another.
Paul responds with overflowing thanksgiving because endurance in faith is God's gift and cannot be repaid as a human achievement.
The missionary team continues praying earnestly to return and complete what remains lacking in the church's instruction.
The passage calls believers to invest in one another's perseverance and rejoice when children, mature saints, and suffering churches stand firm in the Lord.

Why are the missionaries unable simply to ignore uncertainty about the Thessalonians' faith?
What does Timothy's description as brother, minister, and fellow worker reveal about his mission?
How does biblical evangelism differ from delivering a message without follow-up or shared life?
Why should Christians expect rather than be surprised by affliction?
How does the Lord's Prayer teach believers to intercede for one another against temptation and the evil one?
What evidence in Timothy's report shows that the Thessalonians' faith remains alive?
How can one believer's perseverance comfort another person who is also suffering?
Why does Paul thank God rather than credit the Thessalonians as self-made examples?
What instruction or encouragement may still be lacking in a person who genuinely believes?

Perseverance: God-enabled continuance in faith through temptation, suffering, delay, and opposition.
Affliction: Distress or persecution that tests faith and can create fear, weariness, or pressure to abandon Christ.
Tempter: Satan as the adversary who seeks to draw believers away from faith and make gospel labor appear fruitless.
Establish: To strengthen and steady believers so that they do not collapse under spiritual pressure.
Encourage: To come alongside another with truth, prayer, presence, and practical help that supports endurance.
Good news of faith: Timothy's report that the Thessalonians remain faithful and loving despite affliction.
Perfect what is lacking: To complete unfinished instruction and help an already-believing church mature further in faith.