The Trilemma

Great, well it's wonderful to see you this morning.

Folks, let me invite you to turn to Acts 17 and to have God's Word open in front of you

because what Jackson said there is actually pretty much the point of the sermon.

Is what he is saying, what it says, is what he is saying true.

So Acts 17 open in front of you, come with me to verse 7.

And as you're turning there, let me tell you about a minister who lived in Edinburgh

many, many years ago.

He free church to Scotland minister.

He lectured at New College on the Mount.

His name was Rabbi Duncan.

That was his nickname, I think, because of his heart for Jewish people to come to know Jesus.

They called him Rabbi Duncan.

But he was a very clever man and he talked about the biggest question

that each of us as human beings face.

And he called it the ultimate trilemma.

Quite like that, trilemma.

And talking about Jesus, he said this.

He said, Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud,

or he himself deluded and self-deceived, or he was divine.

There is no getting out of this trilemma.

Okay, so here's the essence of what he's saying.

When it comes to Jesus, there's a call that each of us need to make.

Deceiver, deluded, or divine.

What is he?

Who is he?

I wonder if you've ever considered that in your life.

Who is this man, Jesus?

The trilemma.

Now, as you're chewing on that, let me tell you about the most dangerous thing

that you could say in the first century Greco-Roman world.

And it's straight in the passage, verse 7.

The most dangerous thing you could say, Jesus is king.

If that confession is heard to come from your lips, then you're in some serious bother.

Because on the one hand, you're offending the Romans.

You're a threat to them.

Because the chant that's heard all over the empire in this day is,

Kaiser Keros, right?

Caesar is king.

The king is Caesar.

It's what you hear all over the empire.

It's emblazoned on coffee cups.

You will buy fridge magnets with it on.

It's what people believe.

Caesar is king.

Caesar is the one who's in ultimate power.

Caesar is the one who dictates what is right and wrong.

And so if anyone so much as gets a whiff of a claim

that someone else might be setting themselves up as a rival,

then you have to understand that that is not grounds for a debate.

That is a qualification for death.

Because for Rome, they hear about Jesus and Jesus equals deceiver.

And on the other hand, if you claim that is your phrase, Jesus is Lord,

you're a threat and an offense to the Jews.

Because the people have at the core of their very identity,

the belief that there is one God.

And so when Jesus of Nazareth,

he turns up from this backwater town of Nazareth in the Gospels,

and he claims to be equal with God.

No wonder the Jews wanted him dead.

It's an offense to their whole way of living.

For the Jews, Jesus equals deluded.

And yet Paul in our passage today,

he rocks up in these cities of Thessalonica and Berea,

and with both his life and his lips,

he dares to say divine.

Divine.

And so here's the challenge that comes at us today.

As we go about our everyday lives as followers of this Jesus,

as disciples of him.

On the school run,

in the classroom,

at the office,

at home,

as we care for others,

as we live our lives in our marriages,

as we live our lives in our families,

as we live our lives with our friends,

as people see us in action,

both with our lives and our lips,

the challenge of this passage is,

will we dare to do the same?

I think that's what Luke is saying.

Will you dare to do the same?

Now, why would you do that?

That's the question to ask, isn't it?

Why would you dare to do that?

Because to do it is to put yourself in some serious bother,

I take it,

in whatever culture you are in,

living wherever you do across the world.

Why would you choose to do it?

Well, I take it,

the heart of it is,

is a deep conviction

that there is just none like Jesus.

That I've never met anyone like him.

That I've never had a message like this.

That there is no message like the gospel.

That this Jesus loved me.

That he gave himself for me.

That he died for my sins.

That he was raised for my justification.

That I would be right with this God.

Not because of what I have done,

but because of him.

This message of who he is.

I take it that there's no one like him.

And so far from this being an exercise

where we walk out this morning

and feel guilty

because we're not daring to do it.

I take it this is just an invitation

to come and meet Jesus.

Come and know him.

Come and have him transform your life.

And we'll see the central character.

One of the central characters in this

is a man who has his life

flipped upside down by Jesus Christ.

And I take it they're just,

here's all I want to do this morning.

There are two timeless truths

at the heart of this passage.

I think they're just two truths

that Luke wants his readers to see.

We're just going to spend some time

thinking about them, okay?

And there are two claims about Christianity.

And if you're here today

and you wouldn't call yourself a Christian,

I invite you to get into

what Luke is telling you here.

All 2,000 years later,

this is what he is saying about Christianity.

You ready for these?

Here's the first one.

Christianity, investigate it

and you'll find it compelling.

Verse one, what does Paul find

and where does he go

when he gets to Thessalonica?

Come with me to the text.

What does he do?

Where does he go?

Oh, he goes to the synagogue, do you see?

As is his pattern,

he goes to the Jewish meeting house.

Now, if you've been with us

in the Acts series so far,

and if you haven't,

you can go on the website

and check them out.

You will know that that is a daring

and a bold move.

Because all the way through Acts,

where is it that Paul has encountered the bother?

Where has he gotten trouble

for preaching Jesus?

It ain't really on the streets.

It's in the synagogue.

So that's a bold move.

How often does he go?

Again, seeing the text,

he reasons for three Sabbath days.

So Sabbath being the Saturday.

Okay?

So he's there for just over three weeks,

which is not a long time.

But this is what he does.

And notice the three words about what he does.

I think these have got a lot to teach us here.

What did he do?

He reasoned with the Jews.

Do you see the words in the text?

He explained,

and he proved.

And I take it there are just

almost three sides.

I was going to say of the same coin,

but that doesn't work, does it?

You know what I'm saying.

There are three ways of describing the same thing.

Right?

So what he's doing is he gets the Old Testament scroll,

and if you like,

he lays it down.

I think this is what the Greek words mean.

He lays it down,

pulls it out,

and he gets people to understand what's going on.

He's saying,

let me show you in the scroll

how Jesus is the fulfillment

of everything that God promised here.

Because this is not just Paul's hot take on Jesus.

This is what Jesus said about himself.

That it was all about him,

that he was the very fulfillment

of everything that the Old Testament story

is leading up to.

And of course,

Luke is the very one who recorded those words

in the prequel to Acts

in Luke chapter 24,

Luke 24 · chapter mention

right at the end.

It's the same guy who's written both of them.

Okay?

Luke 24,

when Jesus is risen,

when he talks to his disciples

on the road to Emmaus,

Jesus says to them,

and beginning with Moses and all the prophets,

he explained to them

what was said in all the scriptures

concerning himself.

So this is a book about Jesus.

This is what Paul is saying.

You know,

I remember a friend once telling me

when they started reading the Bible

through this lens,

that it almost became like

one of those pop-up books

that you used to get as a kid.

Do you remember those things?

You used to open it and

it used to pop up.

I remember he just said that.

Every time I read the Old Testament,

there was Jesus coming up.

There he was.

The story is about him.

In the words of Sally Lloyd-Jones

in her Jesus storybook Bible,

every story whispers his name.

Every story whispers his name.

It's what Paul is saying to the Jews

in the synagogue.

This is about him.

Because they're living by the mantra.

Do you remember the words of that U2 song

many, many years ago?

I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

If you're an Old Testament Jew

or even a modern day Jew,

who are you waiting on?

Who are you looking for?

Again, in the passage,

you're looking and waiting for the Messiah.

This figure that God said

he would be for his people,

this figure he would send

who would be a mighty savior king

and who would liberate his people

from their enemies.

He would deal with their biggest problem,

their sin problem,

and he would usher in God's rule.

It's the Messiah.

He reads about this figure.

He will be the lion.

He will be the mighty king

who will rule for his people.

And how will he be that mighty king?

Because he will be the lamb

who will lay down his life

for the sins of his people.

And that's why Paul says,

do you see the phrase,

he had to die.

He had to die

for the sins of his people.

He takes the punishment

that their sins deserve on himself.

He is the lamb

and he rose victoriously

on the third day.

He is the lion.

And Paul's sitting there.

He's reasoning.

He's proving.

He's explaining

that this figure

that they're waiting on,

he's come in the person of Jesus.

And so here's Paul's point.

I'm going to sum it up.

Jesus makes sense

of the scriptures.

And if I flip it around,

the scriptures make sense

of Jesus.

And I just wonder

if some of us

need to be reminded

this morning of who he is.

In the same way

that Paul reasons

and he proves

and he explains

that Jesus is this savior,

that you need to come to him

for your forgiveness of sins,

you need to come to him

as the one who's come

to give life,

I wonder if some of us

need to be reminded

that this is who he is.

That this is no

intellectual exercise

that Paul is

participating in here.

This is about

where people find life

and hope

and joy

and forgiveness

and renewal.

And they find it

in this Messiah.

And you can find it

in this Messiah too.

You want to come to him today

and say,

yeah,

Lord Jesus,

it's about you.

The scriptures make sense

of Jesus

and Jesus makes sense

of the scriptures.

And you see the reaction,

some hear what he's saying,

verse four,

and they're persuaded.

You see that in the text?

They see it.

Makes sense.

The coin,

penny drops.

I keep saying coin this morning.

The penny drops

in their minds.

And notice in passing,

who?

Who's responding to this?

The Jews,

the God-fearing Greeks,

and the prominent women

in culture.

Again,

I love,

if you not love this,

seeing this in the book of Acts,

the diversity of the people

who are responding

to this message.

They accept it.

And yet others,

they reject it.

It's interesting,

isn't it,

that the Jews

reject it.

What do they do?

They go to the marketplace

and they round up this mob.

We'll come back to them

in a minute.

I just take it,

troublemakers.

They just love nothing more

than a fight.

They're up in arms,

raging about this message.

I don't think they probably

have a clue

what the message is.

Let me just ask again,

if you're here today,

if you maybe are caught up

in this crowd

rejecting Christianity,

let me ask you,

what reasons

are you

taking for yourself

that you're rejecting it?

Could it be

that actually you're believing

what other people

are saying about Christianity?

You're believing

what is written

on the side of buses

that there probably

is no God?

What was that famous one

down in London?

There probably is no God.

Stop worrying

and get on with your day.

You're believing

what people are saying.

Is that what you're

basing it on?

Or would you come

and see the scriptures

and see who Jesus

is for yourself?

Paul's forced out of the city

and having only spent

three or so weeks there,

he gets to Berea

down the road.

And the same thing happens.

You see,

they go to the synagogue

and they speak

the same message.

This is verse 11.

And the people

in Thessalonica,

what were they?

They were bad characters.

But notice verse 11.

What are the people

in Berea described as being?

Of noble character.

And I think that's

a deliberate contrast

we're meant to see

that Luke's bringing out.

It's the contrast

we're supposed to see

and I think it's the example

that we're called upon

to emulate.

Because what did

the Bereans do?

Verse 11.

They listened to what

Paul is saying

and they do so

and see the word.

It's an awesome word.

I love it.

Eagerness.

Which I take it just means

they're sitting there thinking,

wouldn't it be brilliant

if what he said is true?

Wouldn't it be great

if it was true?

Wouldn't it be great

if Jesus really

is this person?

He did these things.

Wouldn't it be wonderful

if this were true?

But they don't just swallow it.

And I want you to see this

and there's two E's here.

What's the other E

in the passage?

Do you see it?

What do they do with this?

They receive it with eagerness

but what do they do?

They examine it.

They examine it.

And so here can I just address

the notion that is popular

in our culture

that faith is a blind leap

in the dark.

Right?

Like if you go to the library

you'll find the Bible

in the mythical section

along with Hansel and Gretel

and Jason and the Argonauts.

It's another myth

that people base their lives upon.

Would you see that Christianity

is true based on evidence?

In other words,

if you read this stuff

it will hold together.

You know G.K. Chesterton

who was a famous theologian

from years ago.

He once compared our

and get this okay

he once compared our minds

to our mouths.

And he said

when it comes to our minds

they need to operate

like our mouths.

Right?

We should think how we eat.

Think about your mouth.

He said

the very reason

that you open it

is that you would

close down on something solid.

And if something solid

would enter your system

and make a difference.

The very reason you open it

is to bite down

on something solid.

And he said

it's exactly the same

for your minds.

Why do you open them?

You open them

that you could bite down

and base your life

on something solid.

And Luke's saying

remember this historian

come doctor

who investigated these things

right at the beginning

of Luke chapter 1

Luke 1 · chapter mention

that you may have certainty.

He's saying

here's something solid.

Here's something true

in which you can build

your lives.

Let me ask you

have you read it?

Have you read the Bible?

Have you investigated

Jesus for yourself?

There is no greater pursuit

that you could have

in your life.

Let me just plug two books

which are really helpful

for this

and these are freebies.

We've got a few of them

in the back

if you want one.

First one is called

Are You 100% Sure

You Want to Be an Agnostic?

And it's a brilliant book

read as a staff team

a couple of weeks ago.

Thinking about

what is it you're basing

your life

and your trust upon.

Come and grab it.

I'll just put it

on the stage afterwards

so you can get it.

Another one is just

called The Gospel.

What is this message

about Jesus?

Who is he?

Just a wonderful

and succinct job

of summarising it.

But if you want

to investigate Jesus

these are great books

but go to the sources.

It's what you do

in a court of law

isn't it?

It's not hearsay

it's sources.

Did it actually happen?

Because this is what

Luke is saying

in this passage.

He's saying

if you get stuck in

you'll find

that this stacks up.

You get stuck in

you will find

that this stacks up.

You see the Bereans

they examined it.

Does it stack up?

Does it hold?

And here's the

million dollar question

they asked themselves.

Verse 11

at the end.

Is what he is saying

and are the claims

that he is making

you see the words?

Are they true?

That's the question.

Is it true?

Is it true?

Do you know

who I feel

sorry for?

I feel sorry for

stand-up comedians.

Do you know why?

Because I don't

envy the task

of the pressure

of having to come up

with new material

all the time.

constantly asking

yourself

have they heard

that one before?

Do you think

they're going to

laugh at that?

Oh they won't.

Oh they have.

I better come up

with something new then.

That pressure

as a stand-up comedian

to come up

with new material.

I just say

not so

with a Christian preacher.

Right?

You have to be

committed

to unoriginality.

It's all

in the scriptures.

You know

every week

when I'm preparing

for the sermon

I just take that line

from the game show

Catch Freaks

and I make it my own.

Remember that motto?

Do you remember that line?

What is it?

Just say what you see.

Say what you see.

That's

the question

you need to ask

in the years

and the centuries

that go on

from this church family.

Is what the person

up here

is saying true?

Is it right here?

It's exactly

what Justin prayed.

I didn't even tell him

to pray that.

He prayed it.

It's great.

Is what they are

saying true?

And if it's not

question it.

If it's not

tell them it's not.

Is what they are

saying true?

Is what

they are saying

what God is saying

in his words?

Got to be committed

to unoriginality.

First thing

about Christianity

you investigate it

you will find it

compelling

Luke is saying

and the second thing

and this will be

a lot shorter

don't worry

you associate

with it

and you'll find

that it's costly.

Verse 5

the jealous Jews

you see how they

gather a mob

back in with

their mob here

bad characters

from the marketplace

I take it

just local hooligans

who love nothing

other than a bit

of bother

and they riot

and they riot

and what's interesting

here in the text

is that Luke

wants us to know

about one man

in particular

do you see?

do you see

how his name

comes up four times

in these little

verses here

who is he?

do you see him?

Jason

Jason

Jason

Jason

Jason

and I take it

that's just an

eyewitness detail

that these things

actually happened

I take it

it's another

eyewitness detail

to say

if you wanted

to go and find

out that this

happened

Jason just lives

over there

he's here

people knew him

you can ask

I love how the

Bible holds up

gives you people's

names

these things

happened

Jason's probably

one of the

locals

who've just

responded to

Paul's message

about Jesus

and presumably

he's the one

who's housing

Paul in silence

during their trip

to Thessalonica

and just in the

context of Acts

do you see how

he's playing

the same role

that Lydia's

played back

in Philippi

I love it

again a diversity

of people who

are involved

in gospel work

Luke's showing

us the beautiful

diversity of what

Jesus is doing

and see what

happens to Jason

they target

Jason

they run to

his house

look for Paul

and Silas

they can't find

them but Jason

will do

and they drag

them before the

city officials

you've got to

notice all these

verbs

he's shouted

at

he's accused

why

because he

is associating

himself

with Jesus

you know

see often

these people

that just have

the t-shirts

that say

I'm with him

I'm with her

and there's a

big arrow

that's it

isn't it

Jason is

associating

with Paul

and Silas

who are

associating

with Jesus

and then

these Jews

they travel

all the way

to Berea

which if you

do the maths

is not a

short journey

I think that's

the equivalent

I think

if I'm right

off the top

of my head

they're going

to Glasgow

to Edinburgh

walk

they really

hate this

message

and track

the chain

of suffering

Jason's

suffering

because before

him Paul

suffered

and before

Paul suffered

Stephen

suffered

and before

Stephen

suffered

Jesus

suffered

I take it

this is the

cross shaped

life

for all those

who would

associate

themselves

with this

king

and who

would claim

that phrase

as their

own

Jesus

is

king

can I just

say if you're

going through

a really hard

time just now

because of that

at university

you're standing

for a Christian

sexual ethic

you're in work

where there's

pressure on you

to conform

to say that

there are many

ways to God

all these

different ways

that pressure

can come on us

that we feel

the pain

of suffering

associating

ourselves

with Jesus

can I just

say be encouraged

that your king

went that way

first

I take it

this is the

path for all

those who

would claim

Jesus as

their king

but look at

the nature

of what they're

saying about

Paul and

Silas

verse 6

and I love

this

I want you

to love it

as well

these men

what have

they done

they've caused

trouble

everywhere

but if you

got an

ESV

here's what

it says

they've

turned the

world upside

down

love that

do you not

love that

non-believers

were saying

about this

Jesus revolution

about Christianity

way back in the

day they've

turned the

world upside

down

maybe for

Jesus and

a bunch of

unimpressive

looking followers

turned the

world upside

down

love it

the disruptive

witness of

Christianity

is it's

sending shockwaves

through culture

is it's

challenging

societal norms

as lives are

being transformed

by the grace

of Jesus

as people

are oozing

radical love

and obedience

the rest of

the culture

like dead

fish going

down the

stream

and all

of a sudden

these alive

salmon start

swimming up

the stream

so it's going

on in the

words of

19th century

author H.G.

Wells

I'm a historian

not a believer

but I must

confess that

the penniless

preacher from

Nazareth is

irrevocably the

very centre of

history

it's turning the

world upside

down

because

it's turning

people's lives

upside down

right

I love that

in this one

you make no

mistake that to

be a Christian

is not just to

sign up to

attend something

right

it's not what

Jason is doing

he's given his

life to Jesus

and automatically

he's committing

his life to

serve

I love this

and you start

seeing the

connections

I've said I

love this a

lot

you start seeing

the connections

all the way

through scripture

Jason is the

person that's

mentioned at

the end of

Romans 16

that Paul

gives a

list of

people

what that

means is

Jason is

listed there

as one of

Paul's

co-workers

in other

words Jason

who was doing

I imagine

not a lot

with his

life before

this happened

all of a

sudden what

does he do

his life is

transformed

he starts

suffering

but the

joy

that has

come because

of who

Jesus is

and his

life is

transformed

and he

joins Paul

in his

work

he's probably

a wealthy

man

that's what

they reckon

about this

guy Jason

because many

understand it

to be him

who pays

the bail

money

at the end

you see

that to

calm things

down in

the midst

of this

riot

he started

using the

things that

God has

given him

his money

his house

his whole

life

in the

service of

this Jesus

God

turns

lives

upside

down

grace

transforms

and God

gives people

new purposes

to live for

when they

come to

know this

Jesus

doesn't mean

you do a

different job

doesn't mean

you travel to

a different

part of the

world

but it

means what

we do

now

in our

day to

day lives

there's a

new purpose

because whatever

we're doing

in word and

deed we're

serving

the Lord

Jesus

as we

begin to

wind this

to a

close

here's

what I

want you

to

appreciate

that this

was no

verse 15

Paul heads

to Athens

this was no

hit and run

evangelistic

mission

Paul

loves

these

people

and he

sends

Timothy

back to

see how

they're

doing

he gets

to

Corinth

and he

sends

Timothy

back

would you

go and

see how

they're

getting

on

my

heart

is

broken

for

them

but I

only

got to

spend

three or

so

weeks

with

them

I

want to

know

how

they're

doing

are they

still

going

with

the

Lord

how are

they

getting

on

and he

writes

in

Corinth

these

letters

in our

Bibles

known as

1st and

2nd

Thessalonians

again you

just see how

the Bible

is fitting

together

here

wonderful

thing

for you

to do

in your

own

time

this

week

is

read

1st

Thessalonians

in light

of this

a lot

of it

will begin

to make

sense

two themes

dominate

those letters

really quickly

endurance

okay

Paul is

pleading

with them

now that

he's heard

that they're

doing well

keep on

going

keep on

doing

what you're

doing

that they'd

be even

more convinced

of the

truth

that they

keep on

going

despite the

intense

pressures

that are

coming on

them

keep on

going

Christ

is going

to hold

you

he's

got

you

he will

see

you

home

keep

trusting

him

endurance

and another

example

and I love

this and you can see this in the opening verses of chapter 1

because they're keeping on going despite persecution and suffering

and daring to speak for Jesus in their city just as Paul did

God is using that and word about that is getting around to the neighboring regions

I love it

and Paul says that that example and other people who are being encouraged by your example

is ringing out like the noise of a gong all the way through the regions of Macedonia

and Achaia people that they've never met people that they never will meet

remember you don't just travel around in this day like we do people Christians

all over the world who they will never meet and yet I've heard about these Christians

and how they're standing and keeping going for Jesus and Paul is saying

do you know how amazing it is that God is using this all over the world

because of your example

is that not encouraging?

that's not encouraging you'd find that if you're a believer in Thessalonica up against it

my life's nothing special what am I doing?

again friends let's just never underestimate what God can do through a simple act of obedience and faithfulness to him

these believers are joining Paul in what he's doing

God is using this in ways way bigger than they could ever imagine

so Jesus Christ

deceiver

deluded

God is seeing the invitation here

to do what Paul is doing

to do what the believers are doing

to come and dare to say divine

and just as we close I want to tell you about a guy called Campbell McLennan

his nickname is Kumba

thing about Kumba

I've never met him

I don't know if I ever will meet him in my life

but here's the thing

I feel like I know him

and the reason I do is because my good friend Doogie keeps on telling me about him every time I see him

used to play football with Doogie at university

Doogie would always tell me about Kumba

okay

Doogie wasn't a Christian at the time

he played in the same football team at Kumba

at university before I played with him

and they're out one Saturday night in Glasgow

and Doogie turns to Kumba and says

I hear you go to church

I hear you go to church

you do that weird thing

what's that all about?

maybe I can come along and see what it's about

and Kumba says

no no no Doogie

you don't understand

Christianity

it's not just simply about attending church

Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus

knowing who he is and what he's done

but at that point of the conversation

the two of them are talking away

at that point of the conversation

somebody comes along and the conversation moves on

and the moment's gone

but that Saturday night

the Wednesday night comes the next week

and the boys

you do it football

you're going to run the laps around the pitches

and at certain points you stop

and you warm up together

okay

just do your stretches

so they're doing that

and they're all warming up together

and Kumba says to Doogie

do you remember how the other night

I told you about how being a Christian

wasn't just about attending church

but I was about a relationship with Jesus

and Doogie goes

yeah I remember that

in front of all the boys

Kumba says

but I never got to tell you why

so Kumba starts

in front of everyone

just starts telling Doogie about Jesus

it's great

it's a conversation between two people

with everyone else listening

and Doogie's blown away by his bravery

why would he do that

in front of all those guys

but Doogie's blown away

he's intrigued

and he joins Kumba

an alpha course

and in Doogie's words

and he left me a whatsapp message this week

I came to see in that course

that the bible is true

and he becomes a Christian

and he traces it all the way back

to Kumba

and his faithfulness

just to tell him about Jesus

and so this guy

who I've never met

I don't even know where he lives

I don't even know what he does now

but all I know

is that his witness for Jesus

hugely encouraged me

and I hope it encourages you as well

fast forward 20 or so years

and Doogie's now the pastor

up in Aberdeen

and what's he doing

he's working to tell others

about Jesus

and here's what it says

in his Twitter bio

you know what that is

who I am

how I got here

what I do

here's what he said

someone once had the courage

to tell me the truth about Jesus

and it changed everything

so there's the challenge

for us today

as we look at this example

of what this early church

what Luke is writing here

in our lives

think about what's happening

tomorrow for you

think about what's happening

this week

in our everyday lives

with our everyday words

will we dare to call them

divine

let's pray

and so Father

we just thank you so much

for your word this morning

and I pray Father

for us

some of us here today

who are perhaps doubting

the sufficiency

of your words

oh Lord

thank you for what Paul writes

in the letter of 1 Thessalonians

about how these Thessalonians

received it

about how it came

with a depth of conviction

through your Holy Spirit

Father I pray

that each of us

Lord

that you would help us

to ground our lives

on your word

we thank you

for what we've seen

this morning

that you are the good

God of the gospel

who can transform

any and every life

and maybe even

for the first time

for some of us today

we would respond

to the message

of this Jesus

and come to have life

in his name

by believing

in his word

Father we just praise you

that you are the God

of all grace

and Father we pray

that as your word

continues to do

its work in our lives

that your spirit

would come

and plant it

deep in us

why?

so that we would

continue to grow

as your people

Father thank you

for your love for us

and we pray

these things

in Jesus'

beautiful name

Amen

Amen