Truth: To make progress in evangelism we must embrace both the message of Christ and the life of Christ. Jesus not only sends us out with His message, He sends us out in the same way that He was sent by the Father.

Truth: When God sent Christ, He delegated all authority to Him. Christ delegates no authority to the believer. He gave them the Spirit. Christ is showing His followers that the Holy Spirit’s presence and power is to indwell every believer and church.

Challenge: Identify three unbelievers in your network of relationships and begin (1) praying daily for their salvation, (2) build on that relationship looking for opportunities to share, (3) share the full gospel with them.

Response: Live daily with a deep dependency on the Holy Spirit. His leadership in our life is key to fulfilling the mission of God

Response: Use existing relationships and develop new ones as bridges through which to communicate the gospel. Identify unbelievers in your network of relationships that need to hear the gospel.

Truth: I love how Pastor Darrin summarized the application of the text Sunday morning at the beginning of his message. “To progress in evangelism, we must embrace the message of Christ and the life of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.” This sounds a lot like what it means to be a disciple because all of us as disciples are participants in evangelism.

Response: Pastor Darrin also provided some “Helpful Hints in Evangelism.” I would add a few more that are particularly applicable to those of us with kids. 1) Encourage your children to include their church activities in conversations with friends and at school when they are telling others about weekends and holidays. You do the same as you visit parents. 2) Pray openly at meals and talk about spiritual truths with your family when their friends are in your home. 3) Transition conversations with your children’s friends’ parents from the activity you are commonly attending to spiritual matters. For example at a concert you could say, “The kids really had fun singing tonight. Singing is also one of the favorite things my daughter likes to do at church. Does your family have a place you worship God?”

Make a list of all the actions that the Apostle Paul is exhorting the Thessalonian church to in this passage. Based on what Paul is telling them, what do you think the church was like? Are any of the things that the church of Thessalonica was experiencing comparable to what MacArthur is experiencing? Is the condition of any of the members of the Thessalonian church relatable to you?

The main goal of the sermon this coming Sunday is to exhort us to make progress in prayer. Find all the mentions of the word “prayer.” Based on what is described of prayer in this passage (1 Thessalonians 5:12-25), assess where you stand in terms of your prayer life.