1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 | Don’t Waste It…

I my goal for this message is to leave you with both and .

1 Thessalonians 4 13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout,[e] with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage[f] one another with these words.

V13 – Main Point #1

• Have we ever said or are we currently saying, “I’ll be productive for the Lord after…………”
  • What are we sacrificing in order to get achieve that
• What is something that we spend but they don’t make more of? 
• The average American spends hours and minutes looking at a screen in a day (not including computer working hours) 
  • How do I stack up to this? 
  • What can I cut back on to be productive in my walk with Jesus? 

V15 – Main Point #2

• How often a week am I in the Bible? 
• How long in a week am in the Bible?
• Is this where I want to be? 

V16 says, “16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven” 

• Is there something that I occasionally do or regularly do, that I wouldn’t want King Jesus returning while I’m doing it?

• Yes            No

• If yes, what are actionable steps I can take to remove this from my life?

V17 – Main Point #3

John 5: 1-8 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Aramaic, which has five colonnades. 3 Within these lay a large number of the disabled—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the disabled man answered, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.” 8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

Grow Group Questions

1. Screen time – let’s talk about it. how did you stack up compared to the national average? 
2. Have you ever said, “Oh I’ll get right with the Lord after…. Or I’ll wait to be productive / serve the Lord after…. Fill in the blank. – share the story 
3. What is something you have put my hope in, in the past and it let you down?
4. If honest, was there something that is in my life that I am prone to do on a weekly (or semi regularly) basis, that I wouldn’t want Jesus returning while I’m doing? – share