Godliness and Grace

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise.

We're singing in Psalm 1a, the Sing Psalms version, page 1 of the psalm books.

We sing the whole of this psalm.

The tune is creditin.

Psalm 1, blessed is the one who turns away from where the wicked walk,

who does not stand in sinner's paths or sit with those who mock.

We sing the whole of this psalm.

We stand to sing to God's praise.

Blessed is the one who turns away from where the wicked walk,

who does not stand in sinner's paths or sit with those who mock.

Hence, yet he finds the holy law, his joy and the delight.

He makes the presence of the Lord, his sunny day and night.

He prospered, ever like a tree, as mounted by a sea.

And in due season yields its fruit, his season always came.

He prospered, ever like a tree, as voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy

The Lord who sees and knows

The way the righteous go

But those who live and leave the light

The Lord will hold my throne

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer

Let us pray

Lord our gracious God

We thank you for this day that you have made for us

A day that you have given

From the very foundation of time

A day that we are to come and rest

And worship and praise

You as our Lord and as our God

And that we are to do it together

All of us as a body of people

From the youngest to the oldest

We thank you for all who are here today

For all who are tuning in online

And for all who gather just like we do here

In so many different parts of our island

Our nation

And indeed throughout the world

We are reminded so often that you have your people

To all the ends of the earth

Boys and girls

Men and women

In different situations and circumstances

And yet with you as their Lord

And as their God

And so we thank that we belong to you

To your family

That we are your children

And that your children are near and far

Here in this world in which we live

And that we as we pray here today

That you have people praying

All over the world

For us as we worship

And for all your people

As they worship you this day

To know your blessing

And your goodness with us

And we do pray that for us all together here

For our Sunday school

Our creche

Our tweenies

And for our Bible class

We pray that

As they will shortly go out to the classes

That you will be with them

To help them

To understand your word

And to know

That you are their God

And that you are there for them

We do particularly pray

For the Bible class trip

This coming weekend as well

We thank you for all

Who have helped to organise it

And for all who will be there

Over this coming weekend

And we do ask for safety and blessing

In the midst of all that they do

That they would know

That you are with them in it

That they would know more of Jesus

Our Lord and our Saviour

We pray that we would all know that today

That we would learn more of

How precious you are

And your great grace and love towards us

As we ask it all

In your precious name

Amen

Before you go out to your classes

I just want to say a little word to you

And it's about a word today

A particular word

That we find quite often in the Bible

And we're going to be looking at this word

In our sermon this morning

As we look at Paul writing a letter

To a place called Thessalonica

The letter to the Thessalonians

And he speaks about this word there at the end

And at the beginning

He mentions it

And it's the word grace

Grace

It's a great word

Grace

But what does it mean?

What do you think of

When you think of the word grace?

There's maybe a few things

That come to mind

Maybe first of all

You think of a person

Because there's plenty

People

Girls especially

That have the name grace

It's a lovely name

Behind that name

Is a lot of meaning

And I'm sure that's why parents

Give the name grace

To a child

Because it means goodness

It means

Favor

It means blessing

It means generosity

But even the best grace

In this world

Can't always be generous

And kind

And all of these things

Because we all make mistakes

But grace

Is a wonderful name

So maybe you think of it

In that way

You think of someone

Who's called grace

I'm sure we all know

Someone who's called grace

Maybe you also think of grace

In this way though

Something that you say

Before you have a meal

Maybe when you sit down

To have your dinner today

You'll say grace

You might say it together

Or maybe someone

Just one person

Will say grace

And what does that mean?

Well

It means that we're

Not just saying a few words

To ourselves

But we're saying a few words

To God

We're giving grace

To God

We're giving thanks

To God

For his

Generosity to us

And providing for us

In our food

And for all that we enjoy

When we sit down

To enjoy that food together

The peace that we have

The homes that we have

The people that we have

Around us

And the food

That's on the table

So we think of grace

In that way

It's something that we enjoy

Together around a table

But when Paul

Is writing about this word

Grace

And when he's using this word

Grace

It has a much deeper meaning

Than all of these things

It has the meaning of

Knowing his gift

To us

When he writes

To another church

In Ephesus

He speaks of it

In this way

He speaks of grace

As a gift

From God

It is the gift

Of God

For by grace

You have been saved

Through faith

And this is not

Your own doing

It is the gift

Of God

Grace

Is a gift

Something that we cannot

Earn ourselves

Or get ourselves

It is the gift

That God gives

When someone has

A birthday

You receive a gift

And you don't expect

To pay something

For that gift

You don't expect

Someone to give you

Something

And you have to say

Oh how much do I owe you

For that

They say no

You take it

It's a gift

And that's what God

Has done for us

By his grace

He's given us

A gift

And we might think

Well what can I do

To pay you back

He says you can't

Pay for it

This is my gift

To you

All you have to do

Is believe

Have faith

In me

Because it is a gift

As Paul says

That you have been

Saved through faith

That is the gift

Of his grace

To us

So believe

That he has come

To save us

That Jesus came

To save us

And that his grace

Is his gift to us

So we might know

That is his goodness

His generosity to us

In all of these things

He has been so good

To us

So let us believe

In him

And trust him

That we might know

His grace

More and more

Well may God bless

These thoughts to us

We're going to say

The Lord's prayer

Together now

Our Father

Which art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth

As it is in heaven

Give us this day

Our daily bread

And forgive us

Our debts

As we forgive

Our debtors

And lead us

Not into temptation

But deliver us

From evil

For thine is the kingdom

The power

And the glory

Forever

Amen

Well we'll sing again

Of voy voy

The Lord so most entirely art

Hath waved with all my grace

For in my time before I see

Thought any word can be

But all together, O Lord

This is well known to Thee

Behind before the past be said

And laid on me Thy hand

Such knowledge is too strange for me

Too high to understand

From Thy split wither shall I go

Or from Thy presence I

Ascent I am, though Thou art there

And in heaven have I lie

If I in the morning wings can dwell

There that was parts of sea

In there, Lord, shall I hand me lead

Thy light and all shall be

We'll turn to read together now

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

We'll take up our reading at verse 12

And down to the end of the chapter

1 Thessalonians 5

Around page 1189 of the church Bibles

We'll take up our reading at verse 12

We've been looking at this chapter

Previously, twice previously

We've looked at

I just want to look at

The last few verses

In this chapter together today

So we take up our reading at verse 12

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labour among you

And are over you in the Lord

And admonish you

And to esteem them very highly in love

Because of their work

Be at peace among yourselves

And we urge you, brothers

Admonish the idle

Encourage the faint-hearted

Help the weak

Be patient with them all

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil

But always seek to do good to one another

To one another and to everyone

Rejoice always

Pray without ceasing

Give thanks in all circumstances

For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you

Do not quench the spirit

Do not despise prophecies

But test everything

Hold fast what is good

Abstain from every form of evil

Now may the God of peace himself

Sanctify you completely

And may your whole spirit and soul and body

Be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

He who calls you is faithful

He will surely do it

Brothers, pray for us

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss

I put you under oath before the Lord

To have this letter read to all the brothers

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

Be with you

Amen

And may God bless that reading from his word

We'll again engage in a word of prayer

Let us pray

Lord our God we do thank you for your word

And just pray that as we approach it anew today

That we would come with that encouragement

That joy and delight in knowing

That it is you who is speaking to us

That you have not left us in the darkness of this world

But that you have sent your light and your truth into this world

That we have it before us

That we have it with us

Not just for today

But each and every day of our lives

We have your word to lean upon

And not leaning on our own understanding

As we think of the memory verse that the children have just now

But to lean upon you for all wisdom and help

And we thank you that you give

That you are a God who abundantly gives

As we think of your grace towards us

Your riches towards us in Christ Jesus

That we have so much to be thankful for

That we have such blessings in Christ

And in our fellowship

And in our families

And in the world in which we live

A world that we so often see

In all its wickedness and cruelties

And hurts and pains

And yet we realise too Lord

That there is so much joy in this world too

That you have given us much to enjoy

Your creation

That we see the beauty of around us so much

That we see in so many different ways

And we see it in the people that you give us in life

We see it in the places that you put us in life

We see your glory in our midst Lord

And we thank you for that

That you have not abandoned us as a people

That you have not left us

And so we continue to pray to you as our Lord

And as our God

To help us to acknowledge you

To help us to commit our ways to you

And to trust in you with all our heart

And we thank you Lord

That it is by your grace that we are enabled

And we thank you that that grace that was given

Down through all the generations

We think of all your people

From the very beginning of the creation of the world

And we go back to our

The beginning there in the garden

With Adam and Eve

And how grace was shown to them

And how we see it Lord worked out

Through the Old Testament and the New

We see it fulfilled in Christ

And we see it offered to us through him

By faith

And so we ask Lord that you will help us

That you would give us that faith that is so necessary

That faith that we so often doubt

As we look to ourselves

Help us that we would not look within

But look to you

And to the one who is able

The one who is faithful

The one who will surely do it

As we have read in these words

And so we thank you Lord

For your constancy towards us in every way

And we pray that you will hear all our prayers together today

As we offer them up

For all the different issues of life

Whether it's personal

Whether it's in our own church or community

National or international

We thank you that we have in prayer

Such a wonderful gift

That we can pray not just selfishly

Or for ourselves

But we pray for all

We pray for all around the world today

And we think of our meeting last Wednesday

And how we were reminded of

The great poverty of this world

And South Sudan and Haiti

And other parts of the world that we saw

And your people there

And yet the joy of the Lord in them

And we thank you Lord for that joy

That is a strength to your people

And we pray that your people everywhere

Would know it today and always

Whether it's in times of great needs

Or in times of great rejoicing

That the joy of the Lord would be a strength to all

So we thank you Lord for all that you do for us

We thank you for every need that you meet for us as well

Whether it's practical needs of food

Or comforts practical in this world

Or whether it's our spiritual needs

Or all the different issues that go on in life

We thank you that as we sang in Psalm 139

There is nothing hidden from you

Not any words or concerns that we have

Not any place that we go

That you do not see us

That you do not uphold us

And so we pray that people all around our communities here

We would know your great upholding power and strength

Especially those who mourn

We know that there are many in our own congregation

And in our community just now

Whose hearts are heavy

We pray for comfort

We pray for help

We pray that your strength will be towards them

And the comfort of your spirit and your word

Would be so precious to them at this time

We pray for those who are going through times of ill health

Or concerns about health

Their own or others

We pray Lord for help and healing in that

We pray Lord for those who are anxious and fearful

For those who are lonely and isolated

For those who have many different troubles in this life

And yet we come Lord pleading with you

To meet with them

And that they will be able to lean upon you

So Lord we ask that you will continue to bless us

And watch over us this day

Give us refreshment in your word

As we turn to it now

And rest this afternoon

And the joy of worship again this evening as we gather

Remember Gordon as he ministers here this evening

Bless him and uphold him in that

And all others who preach your word today as well

Lord we pray that there will be a real sense of your presence

As your word is proclaimed

And our praise Lord that it will be to your glory as well

That you would hear us in all of these things

And receive our thanks and all our worship

And may glory be yours in all of it

As we ask it all with the forgiveness of our sins

In Jesus name

Amen

Again sing to God's place

Before we turn back to look at this passage

We're going to sing in Psalm 36

We're going to sing Psalms

Page 44

Of the psalm book

Psalm 36

We sing from verse 1 to 7

The tune is Huddersfield

My heart has heard an oracle about the wicked sin

There is no fear of God in him

He feels no dread within

He views himself with blind conceit

His sinful nest in eyes

He speaks with evil and deceit

No longer good or wise

We'll sing from verse 1 to 7

To God's praise

His holy name is God's praise

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Please voy voy voy

Please voy voy

!

Please voy voy

voy

!

voy

He speaks within the land he seeks, no longer good or wise.

And that he calls his evil ways, he schemes throughout the night.

I'll see the Lord lift himself to sin, rejecting want is fine.

Your steadfast love is great, O Lord, it reaches heaven high.

Your faithfulness is wonderful, extending to the sky.

Your righteousness is very great, like mountains high and sea.

Your justice is like ocean dead, of man and peace to hear.

O precious is your steadfast love, what confidence it brings.

O high and low, my shelter in the shadow of your wings.

We can turn back together to our reading in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

We look at the end of the chapter from verse 23 down to the end.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,

and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so on.

We've been looking at this chapter.

We looked at it, I think, first of all, in the light of Advent,

and the coming of the Lord, not just thinking of it as the first coming of the Lord,

but thinking of the Lord's second coming.

That's when we first started to look at this chapter.

And you find that throughout this letter that Paul writes,

the coming of the Lord is something that appears throughout.

We see it even here in this final conclusion that he has in verse 23,

where we read that you may be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So that's a theme that runs right throughout.

That's a very practical letter as well in terms of how we are to live our lives.

Paul's writing to this young church where he's visited, he's preached the gospel.

The gospel has taken hold in many people's lives, but he's been torn away from them.

But he wants them to go on growing in the faith.

And the last time we looked at it, we looked at verse 12 down to verse 22.

We were seeing, in light of the coming of the Lord, how are we going to go on living?

How are we to live our lives?

But now we look at this last section, which we could easily just miss out, if you like,

just glance over it as not as important as the rest.

Maybe when you write a letter, or more so an email these days, or even as you're texting someone,

one of the questions you ask when you're finishing is,

how am I going to finish this off?

What am I going to write at the end?

And how are the people who are going to receive this,

how are they going to understand what I'm saying?

Does it sound cold?

Does it sound too warm?

You know, you think of writing a letter, it's usually yours sincerely or yours faithfully.

They have a different meaning.

One has more depth to it than the other.

But how do you write at the end of an email, or even just in a text?

What do you put?

And you think, well, I hope it's not misunderstood, whatever I put at the end.

Well, here Paul comes to the conclusion of this letter that he's writing to the people in Thessalonica.

And he leaves them in no doubt.

He leaves them in no doubt as to what his meaning behind it all is,

what he's looking to leave them with.

It's not about himself.

It's all about the Lord.

You see there in verse 23,

Now may the God of peace himself.

It's all about the Lord.

It's about all giving glory to the Lord.

And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

There's warmth, there's blessing, and there's concern in it.

So as he's saying almost like a goodbye to them for now, he's leaving them with that warmth.

And goodbyes can be a hard thing.

We all know that in life in different ways.

Saying goodbye to people in many different circumstances is hard.

It's emotional.

And here we find it's hard for Paul to write to them in this way and just knowing what to say to them.

Because you find throughout this letter that there is that warmth that you see between the people and Paul himself as well.

The verse that we're looking at today, Paul's closing remarks, are in many ways a hard goodbye for him.

But they're still full of confidence in God and looking for the people to know this confidence themselves.

And it's remarkable because he hadn't been with them very long.

And yet you see the bonds that the gospel brought between them.

He hadn't been there very long.

But when you go back to chapter 2, verse 17, it shows us there just the kind of parting that they had.

Since we were torn away from you, brothers.

For a short time, he's saying this hopefully, in person but not in heart.

We endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.

You see there's so much in these words.

Torn away.

It wasn't something that they wanted to happen.

But something that they needed to do for a time.

For their own safety.

But he says only in person, not in heart.

You're still very much in our hearts because we're praying for you and remembering you.

And we're endeavoring the more eagerly with great desire to see you face to face.

So there's just warmth and there's just love there as well.

And again, it's seen in chapter 3, verse 5.

It's almost like he couldn't wait any longer to hear what was happening with them.

They weren't living in the days of communication that we have.

We can keep in touch with people instantly.

They had to wait for a time to hear what was happening.

And when you look at chapter 3, verse 5, it says,

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer,

I sent to learn about your faith for the fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

There was this concern.

He was longing to hear what was happening.

And as he heard a good report, as he heard back from Timothy who had gone to them,

he wrote then this letter to them, encouraged to hear of their faith,

but still concerned that they would keep going.

And so now as he comes to the conclusion of his letter,

to his goodbye in this section,

the benediction as it's called from verse 23 to the end,

it's a prayerful concern for them.

And the hope and security that God is with them,

and that that's what counts.

It's not just yours faithfully or yours sincerely.

It's the full blessing of God be with you.

And so for ourselves today, as we look at these concluding verses of this chapter,

we think of what Paul's longing for the church at Thessalonica was,

the longing that he would have for ourselves today as well.

The longing that we should have together to see what he's saying here is so important

for ourselves today too.

To know this great benediction,

this great blessing of God on us,

the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with us today and always.

And there's three things that Paul gives in this benediction

that I want us to look at.

The first thing we see is godliness.

We see that in verse 23 and 24.

The power of God in our midst.

The godliness that we see here.

The second thing is the gifts.

The gifts that we see in verse 25 to 27.

There's gifts there.

And then finally we see the grace that we see in verse 28.

So we're going to look at these three things.

Godliness, gifts, and grace.

So first of all we see godliness.

Verse 23.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.

And so he goes on there.

How well do you know God?

How well do you think the church at Thessalonica knew God?

They didn't have all the answers of faith,

but still they knew God in a powerful way.

And that knowledge of God is often the knowledge that we have ourselves as well.

We may not have all the answers.

We may not have all the understanding of every point that we find in Scripture.

But it doesn't mean that we don't know God.

God is known through his word.

God is known through his spirit at work in us.

God is known through Jesus Christ as our Lord.

And we see that when we know God in these ways,

we know God as a God who is steadfast towards us,

who is loving, who is gracious towards his people.

And as Paul concludes his letter here,

he concludes it not looking just to the people at Thessalonica

and saying,

you take care of yourselves,

look after yourselves,

I'll be remembering you.

He's not looking to himself as all important.

Don't worry, I'm still here for you,

although I'm at a distance.

They're looking first and foremost to God.

Now may the God of peace himself,

may he be with you.

He's written to them to believe in this God,

to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And now he's reminding them in this conclusion,

in this benediction,

that this is all important

and it's all encompassing.

The gospel is at the heart of everything

that he's saying here,

the good news of Jesus Christ

and the God who makes all things possible,

the God of peace himself.

And then in verse 24, he says,

he who calls you is faithful,

he will surely do it.

There is godliness in this.

It's all about God.

And so his benediction here,

and we think of godliness,

it contains both a request and a reminder.

A request and a reminder.

And we see, first of all,

his request in two parts.

Now may the God of peace himself,

it's this prayer that the God of peace would be with them.

So do we know that it is only God that can give us peace?

The God of peace himself.

We are by nature a restless people.

We are by nature a people who don't always enjoy peace in our lives.

Sometimes it's because of ourselves.

Sometimes it's because of circumstances going on around us.

And when you think of what the church in Thessalonica was like,

they had experienced both sides of the coin.

They had experienced that restlessness,

that lack of peace,

that lack of assurance in their lives.

And yet, when the God of peace himself came to them,

they understood in a new way what peace really was.

It's not the absence of trouble,

but it's the presence of God in it.

And the God of peace himself was there for them.

And we as a people too,

we are restless without God.

We are restless.

We are anxious.

We are leaning on our own understanding, as it were.

We are doing all things and trying to do them all by ourselves.

And how do we cope?

How do we manage?

The reality, ultimately, is we don't and we can't.

If we're looking for peace outside of God,

that cannot be found.

And so as Paul concludes this letter,

he's saying,

now may the God of peace himself be there with you.

We are not in control of our lives.

He is.

And we have to look to him

in the midst of everything that goes on around us,

in the search for peace in our lives,

in our hearts,

or the lives of others.

It is found in God alone.

The God of peace himself.

Otherwise, we are pulled and tossed

in so many different directions,

going one way, then another,

searching for this peace.

And it's not there.

And so Paul's prayer, his benediction,

is the focus is on the God of peace himself.

We cannot have peace apart from God.

Then there's the second part of his request here.

The God of peace be with him,

but to sanctify you completely.

May your whole spirit and soul and body

be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you know that it is only God that can save you?

Only God can give you peace

and only God can save you.

He is sanctifying his people completely.

It says, may he sanctify you completely

with your whole spirit and soul and body.

May he work in you to the completion of all things.

And sanctification is ongoing.

It is God at work in his people

to be more like him.

You see it mentioned in chapter 4, verse 3.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

This is the will of God, your sanctification.

That you would be kept going, learning, growing,

and more and more becoming like him.

Robert Murray McShane was a famous preacher.

And he died at the age of 29.

He preached in what is now the Free Church in Dundee,

St. Peter's Free Church in Dundee.

And he described sanctification in this way.

He said, it is God making us as holy

as a saved sinner can be.

God making us as holy as a saved sinner can be.

We're saved, but yet we're still sinners.

We're never perfect.

They were not complete Christians here in Thessalonica.

Neither was Paul as he was writing to them.

He knew himself his own failings.

But he trusted that God was able to work in him and them.

And we are not the finished product.

If you see yourself as the finished product,

as good enough, you're not.

But that is where grace comes in.

It is the gift of God that by faith,

we can know that he can make us right.

We can try and live a holy life as we should.

But it is not that we are trying to do it to save ourselves,

because that's impossible.

It is only God who can save us.

It is only God who can bring us blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So we have these two requests here in godliness,

that we would be knowing the peace of God

and the salvation that there is in God.

But there's also a reminder here in verse 24,

he who calls you is faithful.

He will surely do it.

So when we think, well, we cannot do it,

I cannot save myself.

I cannot have peace with God.

But he who calls you is faithful.

He will surely do it.

And isn't that a great reminder for ourselves today?

That in our own weakness and frailties,

in our own lack of godliness,

in our own lack of sanctification,

as we see ourselves,

he who calls you is faithful.

He will surely do it.

We can trust God

and seek to be sanctified in him,

by him.

So there is godliness first.

The second thing we see here is gifts.

We see that in verse 25,

down to verse 27.

We see three gifts here.

Brothers, pray for us.

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

I put you under oath

before the Lord to have this letter

read to all the brothers.

As we said,

when Paul is writing this letter,

there's a sense of separation.

There's a sense of distance between them.

But in these verses,

he's showing the gifts that they share together,

even at a distance.

And the three things that we have here

is prayer, fellowship,

and the word of God.

Three things that distance doesn't matter in.

Distance kind of brings us even closer together.

As you think back to Wednesday evening

and Mission International

and the presentation Roddy gave,

when you're hearing about people

in different parts of the world

and yet realizing we can pray for them.

We have fellowship with them.

We don't even know them.

Yet we can have fellowship with them

as we pray for them

and as we are around the word of God,

that we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

And there's this great distance

between Paul and the church at Thessalonica.

Pray for us.

And there we have that first gift.

That first gift is prayer.

They prayed for them

and they were praying for each other

and prayer for the gospel to flourish.

Is there any greater request

that you could make to someone

than will you pray for me?

Or to know that somebody is praying for you.

What a powerful gift there is in that.

Just a simple message.

I'm praying for you.

But what it means.

And what it meant for the church at Thessalonica

to know Paul was praying for them

as he outlines at the beginning.

And now he's saying,

brothers, pray for us.

It brings us close to God.

I had a Sunday school teacher

who when I was leaving Sunday school,

he gave me a piece of paper

with a few words of a hymn on it.

And he promised that he would pray.

And the words of the hymn that he gave me

were this.

It was very much setting out on life.

And that's the theme of the hymn.

You're starting my boy on life's journey

along the grand highway of life.

You'll meet with a thousand temptations.

Each city with evil is rife.

This world is a stage of excitement.

There's danger wherever you go.

But if you are tempted to weakness,

have courage, my boy, to say no.

And those words remained with me.

And his prayers remained with me.

And they still do to this day.

I still know that he prays for me

because he often reminds me.

And what a wonderful blessing that was.

And having gone through life away from home

in so many different places

to know that he was praying.

And the power that there was in that.

And if I was to say today,

is there anyone here who does not need prayer?

Put your hand up.

No hand should go up.

Because we all need prayer.

And is there anyone here

who has asked someone to pray for them?

Hands up?

Well, probably not many hands will go up

because it's not something we do naturally.

Are we afraid sometimes to ask for prayer?

Yes.

Because we almost feel that maybe it's just

a sense of weakness or shame

to ask someone to pray.

And yet it's the greatest gift that we have

to pray for one another.

Brothers, pray for us.

And so you see that leads then

into the second gift.

That gift of fellowship.

Because this is what encourages prayer.

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

This is something we're going to introduce.

Don't panic.

We might not go right down the path

of greeting each other with a holy kiss.

We're not going to ask the people on the door

to greet you in that way.

But what's behind it?

We have to ask, what's behind it?

Well, it was the custom of the time.

It was the way many people,

even in different cultures today,

this is the way they greet one another,

with a kiss.

Sometimes on the forehead.

Sometimes on the cheek.

It's what different cultures do.

It may not be in our culture,

but what's behind it should be.

It is this greeting,

this welcoming,

this fellowship,

this warmth,

this sense of belonging.

We don't have a kiss,

although with some we may well do

in different circumstances.

But at other times,

it's a warm handshake.

You're welcoming people in.

Other times,

it's with words.

That's so powerful.

powerful words that we have

to say welcome.

You're here among friends.

You're here around God's word.

That you feel a part of this place

and this people.

Because there are times

when you hear of people

coming and going from church

and they'll say,

nobody even spoke to me.

Nobody said a word to me.

And what impression does that leave with them?

It's a sense of nobody was interested.

Nobody cared to say anything to me.

And so we have this powerful gift as well

of being warm greeters to each other.

To be concerned,

to be caring towards one another.

So we have that gift.

We also have this gift

of the word of God

that we should never take for granted.

Look at what he says in verse 27.

I put you under oath

before the Lord

to have this letter read

to all the brothers.

It's powerful.

He's not just saying,

well, read this letter

in your own time.

He's saying,

I put you under oath.

I want you to take this vow

before God

that you will read this letter.

And not just to one or two,

but to all the brothers.

Because what binds us together

in prayer,

what binds us together

in fellowship

is the word of God.

The word of God

that instructs us,

that guides us.

And you notice here,

he's saying,

make this promise.

Take this vow,

this oath

before the Lord

that this is your duty.

This is your calling.

This is what you are to do

as a people together.

Not just with some,

but with all.

Read it to all the brothers.

Why does he make this point?

Well, it's because

as you read through the letter,

you see there are different points

that are hints

that there were some divisions.

That there were some disagreements

along the way.

But he's saying,

don't let these divide you.

Let the word of God

bring you together.

Make this vow

before God

to have this letter read

among all the brothers.

And so for us,

it's that responsibility

in all of these things,

these gifts,

to pray for one another,

to greet and welcome

one another,

and to share the word of God

with one another.

This should be our oath

before the Lord,

that we will honor him

who has honored us

by being faithful to him

in all of these things

and to all

of our brothers and sisters

and all who we come

into contact with.

Pray,

greet,

and the word of God

is at the heart

of the gifts

that the church has today.

The final thing

I want us to see here

is the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The last verse there,

verse 28,

the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

be with you.

In many ways,

Paul is concluding

and saying,

as I started,

so I'll finish.

You see,

when you go back

to the opening verses

in chapter one,

what does it say?

To the church

of the Thessalonians

in God the Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ,

grace to you

and peace.

Grace to you

and peace.

Now he has said

in verse 23,

may the God

of peace himself,

and then in verse 28,

the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

be with you.

The close

is the same

as the opening.

He begins

and ends

with grace.

Why?

Because grace

underguards it all.

grace is what is needed

in everything

that we do.

The grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You see,

it's not just

I'm remembering you

warmly,

faithfully,

sincerely.

I'm remembering you

in the Lord.

The grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

be with you.

Because grace

is powerful.

Grace is not just

something that we need

at the beginning.

of our Christian life.

To see

our sins

are forgiven

by grace.

It's something we need

all through

the Christian life.

And so are there

any better words

that he could

leave them with

than this?

The grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

be with you.

The generosity,

the favor

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

All of these things

that they would be

with you

through our Lord

Jesus Christ.

This is

the benediction

at the end.

And it's no less

important

than anything else

that you read

through the word

of this letter.

Someone put it,

it's not just

hollow words

to conclude

a letter.

It's not like

a story book

that says

the end.

It is not

a standard

yours faithfully

or yours sincerely.

This is the heart

of the gospel.

Grace

be with you.

And what is

grace?

Grace

is the gift

that we have

through faith

in Jesus Christ.

The one

who lived

a life

that we couldn't.

The one

who died

a death

that we couldn't.

the one

who died

a death

he never

deserved

that we might

receive forgiveness

of sin.

The one

who rose

from the grave

that we might

know him

as the resurrection

and the life.

All at his

expense

freely

given.

It is the

gift

of God

in which

there is

forgiveness

and which

there is

power.

Grace

empowers

and makes

us willing

and without

grace

we are

lost.

And so

Paul is

leaving us

with these

words.

The grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

be with

you.

I read

in one

commentary

and I

want to

quote it

in full

because it's

so powerful

what was

being said.

One

commentator

puts it

like this.

Paul does

not simply

wish

strength

or prosperity

on them

but rather

invokes

a blessing

on them

for what

they needed

most.

The grace

that comes

from the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

This letter

began with

this desire

for grace

and peace

and here

as there

it summarizes

the essence

of the faith

they have

received.

The person

of Jesus

the Lord

and Christ

is the

fountain

from which

the grace

of God

flows out

to them.

This

benediction

is far

from being

a formality

tacked at

the end

of the letter.

The blessing

of grace

from the

Lord Jesus

Christ

embraces

the fullness

of salvation

that comes

from one

who is

the soul

and sovereign

saviour.

The grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

who is

our soul

and sovereign

saviour.

it is

not just

a few

words

tacked

to the

end.

It is

the power

of God

to salvation

to know

the grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

with us.

Why do I

say a

benediction?

Why does

every minister

say a

benediction

at the

end of

a service?

It's not

just something

tacked on.

It's not

just something

just before

we go out

the door.

It is

pronouncing

a blessing

and a

longing

that the

grace of

our Lord

Jesus

Christ

be with

you

until we

meet

again.

So Paul's

last words

are grace

to you

until we

meet again.

He doesn't

know when

that will

be.

He has a

longing to

meet them

face to

face.

But he

knows one

day that

through grace

he will be

with them

again and

forever and

eternally.

And that's

the power of

the gospel in

the midst of

all that we

experience in

this life.

That we

would know

the grace of

our Lord

Jesus Christ

with us.

With us

every day

but with that

powerful reminder

that it is

this grace

that will bring

us together

at the

coming of

the Lord.

The coming

of the Lord

runs throughout

this letter.

And it is

this grace

the gift of

God in

Christ that

will help us

in that day

and for all

eternity to

be safe

with him

and with

all his

people.

The grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ be

with you.

Let us

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven we

do rejoice

in the

godliness of

your word.

How it

encourages us

that we

who are

imperfect are

sanctified through

your working

in us.

We thank you

how it reminds

us of the

gifts that we

have as a

church and

as a people.

The gifts of

prayer and

fellowship and

your word.

And we thank

you above all

Lord for the

gift of grace.

The grace of

our Lord Jesus

Christ poured

out upon us

freely.

By our

sovereign and

soul saviour.

And so we

thank you for

all of these

things and

pray that they

would become

more and more

precious to us

as we ask all

with the

forgiveness of

our sin.

In Jesus

name.

Amen.

We'll

conclude by

singing to

God's praise

in Psalm

28 in the

Scottish

Psalter.

page 238 of

the Psalm

books.

Psalm 28

sing from

verse 7

to verse 9.

The Lord's

my strength and

shield.

My heart

upon him

did rely

and I am

helped.

Hence my

heart doth

joy exceedingly.

We thank God

for the strength

and help that

he does give

us and the

joy that is

found in

him.

We're going to

sing verse

7 to 9.

The tune is

Arlington

and we

stand to

sing to

God's

praise.

The Lord

I

strength

and shield

my heart

upon

him

did

rely

and

I

am

there

against

my

heart

and

I

am

helped

with

hence

my

heart

of

joy

exceedingly.

And

with

my

song

I

will

embrace

and

send

this

thought

voy

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

For people do our share,

Bless time and evidence,

And also do our kingdom,

And also do our kingdom,

Forevermore and grand.

After the benediction, I'll go to the main door.

We'll close with the benediction.

Now may grace, mercy and peace from God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.

Amen.

Please pray,

Please pray,

Please pray,

Please pray,

Please pray,

Please pray,

Please pray,

Please pray,