1 Thessalonians 2

Discuss

Do you have authentic or superficial friendships with your sports friends? How do you know?

In order to be good witnesses to our sports friends, we need to invest time in them; learn what they like, learn about them, have shared experiences with them. Our friends need to trust us if we are to expect them to explore questions of faith with us. In order to build this trust, alongside spending time with people, we need to be authentic in how we live our lives.

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

¹ You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results.² We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. ³ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ⁴ On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵ You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. ⁶ We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. ⁷ Instead, we were like young children among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, ⁸ so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. ⁹ Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who callsyou into his kingdom and glory.

What you need to know

Paul was only with the Thessalonians three weeks before persecution drove him away, yet in that time he was able to forge genuine relationships.

Make a list of what Paul was like with the Thessalonians (his characteristics).
What do we learn about Paul’s heart and motivation through this description of what he was like?
If your sports friends were to describe you in your club, what would be the similarities and differences between their list and Paul’s?
Why do you think this is?

Sum Up

Paul loved the Thessalonians - we see this clearly in verse 8 and in how he cared for them. Can the same be said of us with our sports friends? Or are we in danger of being superficial in our sports clubs and not really investing in the people there?

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 again

¹ You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results.² We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. ³ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ⁴ On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵ You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. ⁶ We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. ⁷ Instead, we were like young children among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, ⁸ so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. ⁹ Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who callsyou into his kingdom and glory.

What you need to know

Paul used the analogy of parents to help us grasp what deep relationship looks like as he describes how he cared for them like a mother and encouraged them like a father.

Dig into the passage again and see how Paul behaved when he was with the Thessalonians.
Why is it important that his love for them showed itself in action?
How is our heart for our sports friends shown in how we act towards them?

Sum Up

Paul’s actions were a natural outworking of his heart-attitude that meant he SHARED LIFE AND THE GOSPEL. With this in mind, how can you grow a deep love for your club mates that overflows into your actions?

What does this mean for us?

Discuss:

Have you ever cared for sports friends like that?
When did you last get alongside a sports friend who was having a hard time?
When did you celebrate with a sports friend in their joy?
How much do you know the people you train and compete with?

Pray for opportunities this week to love them like Paul.

All Bible quotations are taken with permission from the NIV:
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.