Pastor's Ponderings: Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (May 5, 2025)

May 5, 2025:  Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Good Monday Morning.

I pray that your day is filled with the LORD'S blessing. Personally, today I am praying for some rain this afternoon. I know it may put a damper on the Cinco de Mayo outdoor parties, but I feel like the desert is desperate for rain and a good watering as soon as possible. Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month at American Lutheran which means that we had our Gospel music singers leading us at worship and following that we had a really good carry-in meal. These fellowship opportunities are really wonderful. Yesterday our Gospel group was a bit smaller. Please pray for Jeremiah and Jeff, both were ill yesterday. Pray also for Annette as she recovers from her knee replacement surgery last week. She is doing well, and so is Gail as she recovers from her knee surgery. I hear from our Gospel singers that they get great joy out of learning new music and singing to lead worship. You can always tell from the way they sound, even in the absence of part of the group, including our drummer. Be sure to join us on the first Sunday of June for our Gospel Sunday event, and meal. At the end of this month, we are going to start a new fellowship event, a 9:15AM coffee and donut fellowship time before church. We already have enough volunteers bringing donuts, so we will, weather permitting, have some tables and chairs set up on the patio, or if necessary, in the narthex. Please hold me in your prayers. I will see my specialist tomorrow morning for my annual checkup for my prostate cancer. I am praying that the blood work and the appointment indicate that I will continue to be OK. If not, I will be on my way immediately for radiation treatments to destroy the cancer and my prostate. Treatments will take about 10 days if they are necessary. This next Sunday at church will be Pastor Ron's and Becky's last Sunday with us before they head up to summer in Minnesota. Be sure to be here to offer them a farewell and God Speed this Mother's Day Sunday. I used to say please bring Mom to church. Today I say, Mom, bring your family to church.

Let's move on to our study for this morning. In 1st Thessalonians 4:1-8 we find that Paul feels it necessary to offer guidance to these new Thessalonian Christians for how they should be living their lives faced with the indifference, and at other times hostility, toward the faith they now hold in their lives in Jesus Christ.  We must remember that these new Christians had been living very different lives with their involvement in the worship of the pantheon of Romans gods, which included the use of cult prostitutes, among other practices, that in their new relationship with Christ are no longer appropriate. Paul takes us to the most basic societal places as he guides these new Christians. After all, for most of them, and now in the 21st century for people today too, the temptations to continue to live like Christ doesn't matter, to instead actively participate in all of the dirt and grime of misused sex, greed, and ultimately, then, to arrive at the gate of death never really having had the strength and courage of the gift of faith to resist the continuance of immoral and unethical behavior.  We must know that in Paul's time, the world was just as corrupt as it is today, with plenty of opportunities to wander away due to our relationships with people, with evil, and then with ourselves to live lives that are without change even at the in-breaking love and forgiveness of Christ.  Paul is still afraid that these new Christians will not have the courage of their new faith to battle against what is wrong, instead of living lives that are infused with the light, truth, and love of Jesus Christ. Unlike  the people who are around us all of the time, who see our faith, as foolishness, and our lives as wasted on all of those needy people who we are compelled by the Spirit to help, the way of sin and brokenness tells us to get what we can for ourselves, and to never become close to the shepherd who guides us to live as Faithful Christians in the world.  Those people see sharing blessing bags, our own resources, and caring for the Least, the Last, and the Lost, as the actions of people who could use all of those resources for advancing themselves before anyone else. Sound familiar? Feel familiar? Of course it does. We should not be surprised that Paul feels it necessary to not only praise the Thessalonian Christians, but to encourage them to stay the course of life with Christ!

Paul's instructions are as follows:

1. First - no fornication (vs 3) This has a great deal to do with sexual drive, and sexual choices. Choosing to live in Christ means no casual intimacy, such things are meant for marriage. The drive for sex is, for many, a difficult characteristic to control for so many people, but for Christians, such unholiness should be defeated by the Holy Christ who is in, with, and around us all of the time. For the Thessalonians this meant no more traveling to the temple where temple prostitutes were available, and willing. All of course for money given as an offering to appease one of the gods of the Romans.

2. Christians in Thessalonica must fulfill their sexual needs inside of a marriage relationship, taming their lust for the wild orgies that may have been a part of their lives before coming to know Christ as their Savior.

3. There must be no cheating in the marriage relationship! None! Just look at our culture today, where such behavior is practically expected. To be in that loving marriage relationship does not allow for such disregard of your marriage partner. Still today, the world presents all kinds of opportunities for breaking marriage vows to a partner, and the ones promised to God, just like they did in Paul's time.

4. The Christian must remember that the intimacy of their lives, and its use in marriage are an order from God, and that ultimately, we will have to answer before Christ at our judgement about the choice to be immoral in life.

We might suggest that God is asking to0 much when we are called to subjugate and control these very powerful needs in our lives, yet with the power of the Spirit, and Her guidance in our living, we can indeed discover the faithful choices that keep this part of our lives holy each and every day.  I can tell you that I am so thankful for my life partner and spouse, and the faithfulness we have shared in our almost 54 years of marriage. What I hear very often is “No one does that anymore". My answer is that with courage and strength and faith some of us long time marrieds do keep our promises to one another, and to God!

With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim