Forgeries and fakes are lies, and lies are everywhere. Lies are destructive as they lead us in the wrong direction. In the second chapter of his letter to the Church of Thessalonica, the Holy Spirit testifies to the authenticity of the Gospel message delivered by Paul. This testimony prepared the people of that Church, and us, to know the real from the fake. When we have experienced the genuine faith, hope and love of the Gospel, is easier to spot a fraud. As we wait for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must not only look to discern between the false and true Gospel but also imitate the real thing so as to help as many people as possible into the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus.

Is it really only results that matter, or is there something more important? In God’s Kingdom motive and method matter more. Paul’s letter to the Church in Thessalonica exhorts them to be ready for Jesus’ return by working in faith, labouring in love and persevering in hope. This exhortation is an encouragement and a warning, so it both commends them and calls them to imitate the Apostles more earnestly. In verses 5-8 they are reminded of the methods and motives of the Apostles that brought them the Gospel to assure them that they are on the right path, and to keep them on it. In the same way we learn how to go about labouring for God’s Kingdom with the right methods and motives. If we do this, we will be ready for Jesus’ return.

We’ve all been under pressure to do the wrong thing. The pressure gets to our heads and sometimes even convinces us that the wrong this is the right thing. When we face this kind of pressure, it’s useful to draw on the passage for this week’s sermon, because we see the great apostle, Paul standing firm under the most intense pressure. Despite beatings, imprisonment and exile, he stayed true to God’s word and preached it boldly. He believed in what he was doing and it changed him. He loved God’s word, but he made it count by the way he lived his life, and his example brought so many people to the Lord!

We all need to know that we belong and that our lives matter. We spend great energy on belonging and on achieving significance, but this can become exhausting. The only sense of belonging and purpose which brings peace, is knowing that we belong to God and that He is working out His eternal purpose through our lives. So how can we know that God has chosen us? How can we be sure that we belong to Him and have a valuable and enduring purpose? The first chapter of the letter to the Thessalonians comforts and encourages those who ask this question.

Do you remember what it was like to be new in a school, on the first day, totally out of your comfort zone and with no friends? Did you spend much of the day longing for your parents to come get you? We’re starting a new series on 1 & 2 Thessalonians that focuses on the return of Jesus Christ and how we should be living to be ready for Him. The Church at Thessalonica were like bewildered, lonely, school children desperate to go home rather than embracing and making the most of their mission. The current Church is a lot like this too, and we are in great need of learning the same lessons taught in these two letters.

We often remember the first time we experienced something wonderful, and we can often we can associate a song or sound with that first experience. A song playing in the car, the first time we drove alone having got a license, the song from a first date, night sounds from our first holiday in the wild. The Scriptures in Psalms, Isaiah and Revelation mention a New Song nine times. Every mention has a number of things in common. As we prepare to enter the new year, this New Song can teach us to navigate each new experience this year in a way that will strengthen and encourage us and those we meet for years to come.

Three days can be a long time - but when today is hard and there seems no chance of tomorrow being any better, remember that God delights to bring new life on the third day. Moses, Abraham, Jonah, Hezekiah, Esther and the disciples all saw the glory of God on the third day. They all have something to teach us about looking forward in hope, no matter the circumstances.

We tell the events of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem every year, we are so accustomed to it, we tend to forget how remarkable they are. We learn from Luke’s Gospel that Ceasar Augustus passes a tax bill that means Mary and Joseph needed to travel to Bethlem from Nazareth to take part in the census. This is a 150km journey, while Mary was 9 months pregnant. If that little donkey who has been so beloved and cherished over the years slipped or stumbled and Mary fell, Jesus would have been born somewhere between Nazareth and Bethlehem. But it wasn’t so because God had prepared the journey from time immortal. Micah prophesied this 700 years before it happened, against all odds.

Luke records that Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman empire issued a decree that everyone in the empire was to travel to their town of birth to be registered in a massive census. This meant that people all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East had to undertake arduous journeys at the behest of one very powerful individual. Joseph and Mary had to travel almost 150km from their home to the place where Joseph was born, Bethlehem in Judea. The world has seen many empires and powerful leaders like Caesar, but not one of them acts outside of the foreknowledge and control of our Father in Heaven. Daniel’s prophecies show just how perfectly God holds this universe in His loving control.

John the Baptist had God ordained the purpose of preparing people for the arrival of Jesus Christ the Messiah. John’s father Zechariah prophesied that the sunrise was about to happen, that light would swallow up darkness and reveal God’s mercy and grace and our desperate need for Him and His grace. This fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of the way that all flesh would see the Glory of God, but what does it mean to see the Glory of God. Do we see the Glory of God?

Jesus is given many titles in Scripture, but at His birth He is named Jesus which means “God saves” and He is given the title Emmanuel which means “God with us”. This fulfils an ancient prophecy and brings about God’s ultimate saving act. Jesus saves us from the most savage enemy we have ever had, sin. Our distrust and disobedience to God is more deadly than anything else because it’s destruction is permanent and eternal. As we approach Christmas and the celebration of God coming in the flesh to be with us, we need to meditate on whether we trust in His power and love alone, or whether we’ve strayed to looking for help, peace and comfort in other places.

The great blessing of fulfilled prophecy is in the way that it strengthens our trust in God and His Word. From the first mention of the victory of Jesus over sin, death and Satan in Genesis three, the Old Testament is packed with predictions that Jesus Christ fulfilled. By looking at how God overcame obstacles to His plan, we gain deeper trust for the promises He has yet to fulfil. When God promises His Shepherd will guide us to springs of living water, we don’t wish for it, we wait for it.

Today, we’re continuing a new series on prophecy that will lead us into our Christmas day service. And today we’re looking at the most beautiful scripture which is so appropriate for us right now. Not just because of Christmas, but because of what’s happening in the world around us. It speaks of another kind of match, a deathmatch battle between good and evil that’s been raging since the dawn of time, but one which was also won before it even began.

Prophecy and it’s fulfilment reveals God, His power and His love in the most wonderful way. Looking back we can trace God’s predictions through the Bible across millennia and marvel at the precision with which they have been fulfilled. This leads us to look forward to the prophecies which have yet to be fulfilled, primarily those concerning the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly there has never been a shortage of unbiblical predictions that contradict Scripture and still manage to find a large and willing audience on social and other forms of media. What does the Bible teach about prophecy and how are we to understand it’s place now? Thankfully, by God’s grace the answer is in God’s Word, especially in the letter to the Corinthians.

The prophets searched and for it. The Apostles revealed it, and the angels long to look into it. Peter knows all about it, the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Peter knew from bitter-sweet experience that God’s grace has great power to sustain us through difficult times. He tells how the Holy Spirit predicted the suffering and glories of Jesus which will bring about and perfect God’s eternal plan of saving His children and restoring us to Himself.

The Lord Jesus told us to remember Him by breaking bread at His Table. Who can come to the Table, How do we celebrate the Table? When can we, and where can we celebrate the Lord’s Table, and most importantly, why do we come to the Lord’s Table? The Scriptures show us that we must look backward and remember Jesus, look forward to eating and drinking in the Kingdom with Him, look inward and confess our sin and need for Him, and then look outward at those who are one with us in the celebration of the Table. This helps us to be grateful for Him and everything He has done, and respond in gratitude which is why it’s also called the Cup of Blessing or Thanksgiving.

What does water baptism do? Does it save us? Does it impart a spiritual benefit? These questions have divided believers for centuries. The Bible makes it clear that we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the Bible alone, to the glory of God alone. Baptism cannot save - only faith can, but can baptism impart some sort of protection or spiritual blessing? 1 Corinthians 7:14 is often cited as proof of this kind of blessing that is imparted to infants by baptism. Is that a valid interpretation, or is it something else that imparts a spiritual blessing or covering to our children until they can make a faith declaration for themselves?

Times change and churches change, we are experiencing those changes right now, but what should never change about the Church? How can the Church be separated from the world, committed to God and pleasing to Him? The Hebrew Church was being taught to worship God without the Temple, the altar and a High Priest that they had been excluded from. The author ends his instructions to the Hebrew Church with three keys to committing to to God and pleasing Him despite changing times. If we obey these instructions the Church will be powerful and pleasing to God no matter what the circumstances.

Times change and churches change, we are experiencing those changes right now, but what should never change about the Church? How can the Church be separated from the world, committed to God and pleasing to Him? The Hebrew Church was being taught to worship God without the Temple, the altar and a High Priest that they had been excluded from. The author ends his instructions to the Hebrew Church with three keys to committing to to God and pleasing Him despite changing times. If we obey these instructions the Church will be powerful and pleasing to God no matter what the circumstances.