By Michael Koontz
Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman
Focal Passage: 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
The point of this week’s lesson is, “Authentic joy flows from a relationship with Jesus.” As Christians, we need to understand, remember, and show this authentic joy to help us be the welcoming church. If we fail at being the welcoming church, we hinder one of the primary roles of the church which is to be the light.
The church is a lighthouse that will illuminate the path in our communities to our Savior Jesus Christ — the path for eternal life.
Joy, for many people, is here one day and gone the next because they do not know the source of joy. Joy is possible because our relationship with God has been repaired. The work of the cross by Jesus allows us to have this amazing gift of salvation and it produces inexpressible joy (I Peter 1:8).
Many times in prayer, I want to thank God for my salvation, but as I utter words of thanksgiving, I cannot fully convey the depths of my thanks. That’s inexpressible joy. John 15:11 tells us that God wants us to be full of this joy.
As we remember that our joy comes from salvation through Jesus, we see more and more how truly amazing it is. What we dwell upon has an impact on how we conduct ourselves. Paul says in I Thessalonians 1:3 that he constantly thinks about the work the church was doing. He was keeping his thoughts fresh with good things. His prayers were for these saints that are serving.
Philippians 4:4 instructs us to always rejoice in the Lord and not on what happened at work or school today. Things in this world will let us down, our Lord will not. So, we rejoice in Him and His work. As Southern Baptists, we have the Cooperative Program which is an incredible way for us to be a part of worldwide evangelism and missions. Think about that.
When you give to your church through the Cooperative Program, you can rejoice because souls are being saved around the world!
Showing authentic joy welcomes the community to our church. In our text today (I Thessalonians 1:6-7), Paul speaks about the testimony these believers had in their communities. They started off as imitators of Paul and Jesus and then they developed into a people that was worthy of being imitated. What a compliment our Lord records of them in Scripture! In Acts 16:33-34, after the salvation of the jailer, he went from keeping Paul in prison to welcoming Paul into his home. The jailer was overjoyed by experiencing salvation and it was seen in his community. What impact are you having in your community?
We are coming into a great season in our country. If you haven’t already, start planning now for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Get creative with ways your class or church can reach out.
The joy you experience from a relationship with Jesus Christ is worth sharing. Authentic joy is a great way to love others to Jesus!
