In therapy the speaker realised he had spent his life doing almost anything to have someone look at him and say: you are all right. That discovery opens a reflection on 1 Thessalonians 4, where Paul writes to people paying a high price for choosing a different life from everyone around them, and points them to one aim: pleasing God. The sermon walks through the three areas where this is decided, purity and sanctification, genuine love within the community, and honest everyday work. Listen if you are tired of living like a chameleon that takes the colour of whoever stands nearby.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- The Thessalonians were persecuted by the people they used to live among because they trusted Christ. In that light, how would Paul's call in 1 Thessalonians 4:1 to live in a way that pleases God, and to do so more and more, have sounded to them?
- In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Paul points to three areas of pleasing God: separation from sin, brotherly love, and a quiet life with honest work before outsiders. Why do you think these three mattered so much in Thessalonica?
- The speaker shared how he spent his life seeking others' approval and mentioned Zelig, a man with no personality of his own. In which situations do you most want to please people, and what would change if your goal were to please God?
- Sanctification was described as a process: we have been sanctified, are being sanctified, and will be sanctified, like peeling the layers of an onion. What layers is the Holy Spirit showing you right now, and which ones would you rather avoid?
- Paul doesn't say that simply attending services pleases God, but love in which our lives are woven together with others. What makes it hard for you to let other believers into your life, and how can consuming online content take the place of real relationships?
- Our whole character shows up at work, and a quiet, honest life shows outsiders who God really is. What one concrete step in your work, finances, or purity in relationships do you want to take this week to please God more?
