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In this episode, Nancy Wilson looks at 2 Thessalonians and how godly families build strong churches. She examines the Thessalonian congregation as a model of growing faith and abounding love, emphasizing that these qualities start at home before they can flourish in the broader community.
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Join Nancy Wilson each week as she discusses basic christian living habits and practices.
Hi ladies, welcome to the Feminine Podcast. This is Nancy Wilson and thanks for joining me today. The topic this week is Family and Community. A Christian community is like an extended family with all the aunts and uncles and cousins. But without godly, faithful, loving, individual families, the Christian community will not be characterized as godly, faithful, and loving. The whole is always characterized by the parts, obviously. Consider what Paul says about the Thessalonians in 2nd Thessalonians 1-3. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting because your faith grows exceedingly and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. What a church this must have been. Their faith was not just growing but growing exceedingly and each one of these saints was abounding in love for the others. It was a visible, tangible love. No wonder Paul was thinking God always for these people. This description of the saints in Thessalonica is a model for any church, but it must first be visible in the individual families that make up such a congregation. This kind of family is growing in their faith. Like many families, when our kids were little, we kept track of their growth on a corner of a wall where they could see how much they grown. But there are obvious signs of spiritual growth as well as physical growth. Yes, the kids are growing, but so is their faith, and not just growing, but growing exceedingly. And this is the first priority of any Christian family is our faith growing. Secondly, Paul says their love just abounds toward one another. There is a presence of kindness, loyalty, love and affection. They look out for one another. They keep short accounts. There's an absence of sin and a presence of joy. And when you have families characterized with these attributes and they worship together on Sunday, then the whole church is characterized by this growing faith and a bounding love. What a testimony to the outside world. This church in Thessalonica must have been very impressive. They must have had some amazing families filling that church, as well as an absence of backbiting, complaining, laziness and self-centeredness. This must have been a truly sacrificial body, especially considering the next couple of verses and second Thessalonians. Paul continues, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God. So when Paul, Savanas and Timothy visit other churches, they're boasting about this congregation of Thessalonians. What do you think they boast about? About their building or their great programs and potlaks? Well, maybe, but they don't mention those things here. They boast of them, quote, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. So this is not a church that is unacquainted with persecution or tribulation. They have suffered unrelenting harassment and many afflictions. And in all of it, they have exhibited patience and faith. This is where the real test of a church is to be found. How do they handle persecutions and tribulations? How do the families in the church handle such trials? Are they patient and faithful? Do they endure such things? Or do they move on to some other church where they won't find such opportunities to test their faith? Parents must bring up their children to understand how to walk through persecution and tribulation for their faith. Certainly, it does not come naturally. It must be taught and modeled. Little kids are sometimes wronged by others. This can happen when they're playing in the backyard or on the playground at school. As a teacher been hard on them for no just reason, have they been falsely accused? There are many varieties of troubles and children must be taught how to live biblically in the little troubles and the big ones. Parents must model and teach them how to be patient and faithful in such circumstances. Then when the church is persecuted, families are equipped to be patient and faithful. Let me read verse 3 now. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting because your faith grows exceedingly and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other so that we ourselves, both of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure and then scooting on to verse 5, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer. Suffering with patience and faith in the midst of troubles is evidence that we will be counted worthy of God's kingdom. In other words, a trial is trying or testing us to see what we're made up. When the kids are little, they need to learn this with a little test that as adults, we should be ready for the real persecution and tribulation when it comes. If our children have been trusting and growing in faith and in patience with us in our homes, we will be able by God's grace to be the kind of church that Paul can boast about. And that's a great goal for any Christian family and for every Christian church. Finally, Paul closes this section in verse 11. Therefore, we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you and him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. So what kinds of troubles and trials are you suffering right now? Pray this same prayer for yourselves and for your own families that God will fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power in you that Jesus may be glorified. Thanks so much for joining me today. Blessings on your week. Before I go, I want to let you know about my page on Canon Plus. That's where you can find all my audiobooks, audio series, conference talks and more. Go to mycanonplus.com or click the link in the show notes and have a look around.