Live This Day #7 - With Others
1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
Dr. Kurt Bjorklund
Part of Live This Day—September 7 - October 27, 2024
October 18, 2024

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Message Notes and Group Study Guide

Date: October 19-20, 2024
Speaker: Dr. Kurt Bjorklund
Series: Live This Day
Message: #7 - With Others
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Scripture

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. —1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 (NIV)

4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. —Proverbs 26:4-5 (NIV)

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. —Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

9b If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. —Isaiah 58:9b-11 (NIV)

Notes

Study Guide

Step One: Icebreaker (Optional)
Who was the first person you lived with outside your immediate family? What was something that surprised you in that initial experience?

Step Two: Open
Ask someone in your group to pray to open your time together. Ask another person to read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15.

Step Three: Discuss

  1. Weekend Message: What was most challenging, encouraging, confusing, or stood out most to you?

  2. Leadership: In verse 12, Paul encourages the church to acknowledge those who work hard among them. Based on this passage, what are the important qualities of a Christian leader? How might you show appreciation for their effort?

  3. Living in Peace: Verse 13 emphasizes living in peace with each other. What does it mean to live in peace? What are some practical ways we can promote peace in our relationships, both in the church and in our everyday lives?

  4. Helping the Weak: Verse 14 talks about helping the weak and being patient with everyone. How can we cultivate a community where people feel safe to express their struggles and seek support?

  5. Responding to Evil: In verse 15, Paul warns against repaying evil for evil. What are some of the more subtle ways we repay others when they wrong us? How do you go about doing good for someone who has wronged you?

  6. Christian Community: How does the Christian community live up to this passage in our day? What are the things we do well? In what ways can we grow?

Step Four: Close in Prayer
Ask someone in your group to close in prayer, focusing on specific requests for people to find and follow Jesus.