Weekly Challenge -2 Thess 2:13-17

Life Group,

Great participation and discussion on Saturday.  Thank you for the input on 2 Thessalonians 2: 13-17.

In our passage of study, Paul was telling the young Thessalonian church (and us) to stand firm, know the word/truth, and hold tight to sound teaching. 

So we looked up seven passages of Paul’s teaching to see how we can stand firm, know the truth, and hold tight to sound teaching.  Here is a list of some of the truths:

Love rules, above all, trust Jesus, love comes from the heart, be humble, live in the Spirit not the law, know where you get the power, be in step, do good, do what is right even when it is tough, don’t give up, all decisions have consequences, be changed, act different, encourage, have a pleasing attitude, meditate on THRPPGEW, pursue righteousness, stay strong, be steadfast, be on guard, stand firm in the faith, be strong, be courageous, and do everything in love.

Wow.  That is sound teaching.  My challenge this week is to read through this list every morning.  Allow it to be your truth, the teaching you can hold on to, the reason why you can stand firm.

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -2 Thessalonians 2:6-12

Life Group Community:

In our passage and discussion this week, Paul was reminding the young Thessalonian church (and us) to be patient, live with hope, and trust in God. 

There is evil and wickedness in the world and there will be a future climax of lawlessness which will follow the removal of the restrainer.  However, it is still in God's control.  If fact, the evil and wickedness will be removed by the breath of God when it is time. 

This knowledge should give the church hope.  The challenge for the week is to focus on living with hope.  To accomplish this challenge, you need to know the source of hope.  Use this prescription for patience and hope found in Isaiah 41:10 to meet the challenge for the week.

Prescription for Patience and Hope (Isaiah 41:10)
Sunday	“Do not be afraid”
Monday	“I am with you”
Tuesday	“Do not be dismayed”
Wednesday	“I am your God”
Thursday	“I will strengthen you”
Friday	“I will help you”
Saturday	“I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”

Be intentional.

Travis

Jesus Said Love

Jesus Said Love exists to show the revolutionary love of Jesus to women in the commercial sex industry to awaken hope & empower change. Our purpose is to GO, LOVE, & CONNECT. We build relationships with the dancers & let them know that they are loved EXACTLY as they are, so when they decide to transition out, we can provide the resources to help them do that. 

 

Here are some eye-opening stats about the women that we serve:
1. 96% in Sexually oriented business have been abused
2. 93% have sexual abuse in their past

3. 80% are mothers
4. 69% have PTSD which is more than the average man coming home from war
5. 90% live in poverty
6. 89% say they want out
7. 70% of women that are trafficked come through the commercial sex industry
8. 87% are abandoned  by family from a troubled home, resulting in homelessness or a runaway situation
9. Within 48 hours of being cast out, girls/women are approached by a sex trafficker

10. Houston is the #1 sex trafficked city in the nation
11. Dallas is #2
12. San Antonio is #3
13. 300,000 children a year are coerced & manipulated into sex trafficking each year in the United States.
14. In Dallas alone, sex trafficking is a 99 Billion dollar industry a year
15. There is an estimate of 400 trafficked teens being used on the streets of Dallas right now
16. The average age for a girl to enter the commercial sex industry in any form is between 11 – 13 years of age.
17. These women have been forced into transit lifestyles – abortions, unwanted pregnancies, & a demeaning lifestyle that could make them $1000 a night, but is handed over to their “john”
18. Many of the older women we come across don’t even understand that they have been trafficked because they don’t know any other lifestyle.
19. As you can see, for the vast majority, stripping is not a choice. 

Ways to be involved: 

1. Pray: subscribe to the Dallas JSL Update at http://jesussaidlove.com/blog/.

 

2. Volunteer for: Gift Bag Team, or Hospitality team by clicking here: http://jesussaidlove.com/volunteer/. If you feel called to serve on the Payer Team, Club Team, or Security team, please let me know.  We can use anyone who is willing to help in any capacity. 

 

3. Give: give to the 1500 Columbus renovation project by clicking here:                                      http://jesussaidlove.com/1500. Sponsor a monthly outreach or join our support team on a monthly basis. For more info: http://jesussaidlove.com/donate/

*Please note: if you want to give a monthly outreach, the BEST way to ensure the gift is applied to DALLAS is to mail a check to the address provided & write DALLAS CLUB OUTREACH on the envelope & the check.  If you want to give online, please denote that on the form AND whichever way you choose, please let me know when you gave & how much so I can let Jodi know to be looking for it.

 

4. Influence: like & share Jesus Said Love on Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/JesusSaidLove

https://www.facebook.com/JesusSaidLoveDallas

On Instagram: jesussaidlove

On Twitter: @JesusSaidLoveOR shop the Love Store - http://jesussaidlove.com/lovestore/

 

My hope & prayer is that you will be blessed as much as I am by this incredible ministry to serve the most underserved women in health & education services as well as spiritual care & concern in our city.  

 

TO YOUR UNSTOPPABLE SUCCESS!
Emilie Quisenberry

Weekly Challenge -1 Thessalonians 5

Life Group Community:

The week before we finished 1 Thessalonians 4 with Paul reviewing the rapture event with the group of new believers.  This week we read 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 in which Paul told the church about the day of the Lord which occurs after the rapture.  It is inevitable, sudden, and inescapable.  Which is why he used the simile of labor pains upon a pregnant woman. 

As believers, we can respond to this news with faith, love, and hope.  We use these to encourage other believers, build each other up, and stay focused on our commission to offer hope in a hopeless world. 

We read several stories during LG.  One story was how Jim Bakker is now selling End of the World Biscuits on his website for donations at marked up prices.  You can see other items and “donation” amounts here.   You can pick up a Time of Trouble food bucket for $3,000!!

We closed with a story about the woman who wanted to be buried with her fork.  It was a great reminder of how the best is yet to come.  Do you believe it?  Are you responding to your family with faith, love, and hope?  Do people at work see it?  Do your friends?  Does your community?

My challenge this week is to be intentional in asking God to show you how to encourage others every day this week.

 

STORY

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her service, what scriptures she would like read and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

“There is one more thing,” she said excitedly.

“What is that?” came the pastor’s reply.
“This is very important,” the woman continued. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”
The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say.
“That surprises you, doesn’t it?” the woman asked.
“Well to be honest, I am puzzled by the request,” replied the pastor.

The woman explained, “In all my years of attending church socials and pot luck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming…like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there in the casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, ‘What is with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them: “Keep your fork…the best is yet to come!”

The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew that this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She knew that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman’s casket and they would notice the pretty dress she was wearing, her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, “What is with the fork?” And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you, “That the best is yet to come!”

Weekly Challenge - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Life Group,
What happens to believers when they die?  When is Jesus coming back?  When will we be caught up, raptus, or raptured?  How will we know it has happened?  What will happen to all the believers who have died before the rapture?  Is it ok for me to grieve or mourn when a believer dies?

These are some of the questions the new Thessalonian believers had for Paul.  Paul was telling all believers that we have hope which non-followers do not have.  This hope should bring joy and encouragement.  Then we should encourage others with this truth.

One way to find hope is to seek it in God's word.  It was encouraging to me to listen to our LG community read passage after passage about hope in the bible!

My challenge to you this week is to ask God to provide you opportunities to encourage someone this week because of the hope which you have.  This is not a wish type of hope.  It is anticipation, expectation, confidence type f hope.

Be intentional this week.
Travis

Here are a couple images from the lesson prep regarding the timing of the rapture:

Weekly Challenge 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Life Group,
I really enjoyed preparing and leading this lesson.  The main topic was loving each other and the power of community.    

We also talked about living in unity and not causing dis-unity.  This reminded me to go back and read through Ephesians 4 several times this week along with Hebrews 12:18. 

Ephesians 4 has been our Life Group descriptive chapter on living in community for several years.  Words jump off the page to me when reading about bearing with each other in love, we are unified because of our savior, each of us in community have different roles, it is time to mature and grow, be intentional, deal with issues between believers early, don't sin when you get angry, be wholesome in your speech, uplifting, not gossiping and judgmental.  Love, Love Love. 

Also, here is the link to the crazy story of neighbors escalated feud over a Facebook post. 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/feuding-neighbor-fence-hand/story?id=27884426

Be intentional this week.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -1 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Life Group Community:

Our discussion of 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 included 2 main topics.  First, why can it be hard for us to speak with boldness?  Second, how do we define success as Christians?

For the first topic of boldness, we saw that Paul spoke boldly and we know that the young believers in Thessalonica spoke with boldness.  Both parties were suffering for the cause.  We viewed a clip from God’s Not Dead where only one student spoke boldly because he knew it was the right thing to do.  I am sure he was not the only believer in that class.

The second topic of defining success as a Christian was enjoyable as well.  Some Christ followers might say we cannot talk about being successful because we will never “arrive” as a Christian.  While it is true that we don’t achieve a special perfect status, Paul said that he was successful.   The other end of the spectrum is the home of the Christians who look at their actions and life status as success.  I have been on 20 mission trips, I have not been divorced, my children know all the books of the bible, my kids have never been on a date, the pastor finds me to shake my hand, etc. (you get the point). 

We decided as a class that success comes back to the heart.  We know there has to be enough evidence to convict you if you were arrested for being a Christian.  Jesus said in Matthew 7, that by their fruits you will know them.  But your serving, mission trips, parenting, loving your spouse, and being in community have to come from a heart of love and thanksgiving.   Then you will be changed, your family will be changed, your community will be changed.  That sounds successful to me!

My challenge to you this week is to ask God the Spirit to show you how to adjust your heart.  Maybe you need to stop judging other parents, or couples who have been divorced.  Maybe you need to evaluate why you are doing activities.  Is it to check the Christian box, or is it so your heart will produce the fruits?

Be intentional this week.

Travis