1 Thessalonians 4:1-12; Philippians 4:8-9

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1

• How does this verse encapsulate our Taking Ground series of bible studies and sermons (and our theme of Pursue this year!)

  • What changes have you put in place in the past month, around transforming your mind, fuelling your affections, purifying your walk and embracing your call?

  • Have there been any ways that these changes have shone the light of Jesus into the world around you?

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

• What does it mean to you, when you read that God will is that you be 'sanctified' (or 'made holy')? [1]

• What is the process here? How exactly do we go about "learning to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable"?

• Paul focuses firstly on sexual immorality when writing to the Thessalonian Christians. [2] Do you think this needs to be a particular focus of sanctification in our own cultural context? Why/why not?

• The second focus in sanctification here is about loving one another. How do we go about becoming more loving (or how do we learn to love people better)?

  • Do you have any ideas or tips for changing your mind or your heart to become more loving towards others, especially those you find difficult to love?

• The final focus is this: living a quiet life, minding your own business, and working hard for yourself, not being dependent on others. Why do you think Paul focused on this as an area for sanctification? How does this instruction interact with the previous one (about loving others)?

  • What is the 'shine your light' result of this area of sanctification? Do you think that living respectably continues to be a way to reveal the gospel to those around us? Why/why not?

• Do you think there are other areas for particular focus on sanctification in our cultural context today? Is there anything that you have you observed or experienced in your own walk with Jesus that you think requires special attention?

  • How do we identify these things in ourselves (and in one another)?

Read Philippians 4:8-9

• How do the things that we think about (and read/watch/interact with) help or hinder us in the work of sanctification?

• Tom Wright helpfully lists the opposite of the words listed in verse 8 like this: "whatever is untrue, unholy, unjust, impure, ugly, of ill repute, vicious and blameworthy". Why do you think our attention is so often drawn towards these things?

  • What happens for you when you spend a lot of time thinking about, reading about, watching or even discussing such things?

  • How can we be wise about the dark and sinful world we live in, and be conscious of evil in and around us, yet not become so focused on these things that it affects our hearts and minds? Do you have any practical wisdom and ideas about how to navigate these sorts of things, in life and in media and on social media?

Spend some time in prayer and reflection by yourself. Write down a plan of things you would like to engage with more or focus on working on this week (and things you would like to cull or cut back on)

Then pray for one another in pairs. Pray generally if you want to - or if you'd like to be brave and vulnerable with your prayer partner, you could even share what you wrote down and pray more specifically into those things this week.

[1] Leon Morris writes,

Christians must not concern themselves only with those things that appeal to them. They must have regard to the fact that God is interested in all that they do, and God’s will is that they should be pure. ‘Your sanctification’ points to the process of which ‘holiness’ is the completed state. From the moment anyone believes, he is set apart for God, set apart to be ‘holy’; in New Testament language he is a ‘saint’...this does not mean that he is morally perfect, but that he is given over to God to do his will. Thus a process is begun in which the old ways and the old habits are increasingly done away and replaced with new ways that fit the service of God. This is a long and necessary process, and much of the New Testament is taken up with instruction as to how it may be furthered. Here Paul lays it down firmly that it is God’s will that God’s people live in God’s way.

[2] Professor F. F. Bruce sums up the situation for middle- and upper-class men living in the Roman world, in places like Thessalonica:

A man might have a mistress (hetaira) who could provide him also with intellectual companionship; the institution of slavery made it easy for him to have a concubine (pallakē), while casual gratification was readily available from a harlot (pornē). The function of his wife was to manage his household and to be the mother of his legitimate children and heirs.