Series: Imitators
Introduction to series: Video Clip from Jeff Foxworthy Bible Question, “Who helped you come to your faith?”
In our clip we have Jeff talking about who it was that implanted the image of Jesus and the Christian faith in his life. He noted that it was the example of His mom. A faithful prayer warrior for the Kingdom, a person who mirrored Jesus love and commitment to prayer.
Thesis: The premise of our subject today comes from 1 Thessalonians 1:6 were Paul commends the church in Thessalonica for being imitators of Jesus. They are such great role models for other Christians and churches to follow that their devotion and mirror image of Jesus was known throughout the region. It all was revealed through their faith, hope and love!
Have Picture of modern day Thessaloniki from my preaching trip there.
Background on Thessalonians:
The letter was written about 21 years after Jesus’ Ascension in Acts 1 and 14 years later after Paul’s dramatic conversion to Christianity.
Acts 17 tells us about how the church was founded – Paul and Silas came preaching the Gospel and started communicating this message to the Jewish people in the synagogues. Paul had received a divine vision of a man from Macedonia inviting Paul to preach the gospel in this region. This vision inspired Paula and Silas to come (see Acts 16:9, 10). The Jews rejected the message as a whole but a lot of Greeks embraced the message and gave their lives over to Jesus some prominent women of the city embraced it as well. Therefore the church birthed in Thessalonica rather quickly about 3 ½ weeks but it was primarily Greeks who converted some of them being nobility. The Jews opposed Paul and Silas and hired a mob of unruly men to cause trouble and then they had Jason the man Paul was staying with brought before the city magistrate and they had him post a bond. All the pressure and persecution by the Jews drove Paul and Silas out of the city. The opposition of the Jews to the preaching of the Gospel of Grace was extreme and dangerous for Paul in this city. But even though Paul and Silas were driven out quickly the church birthed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit impacted these converted Greeks and they ended up becoming imitators of Paul and Jesus and they became role models all over Greece. In spite of the persecution from the Jews the church grew quickly and in dedication to the teachings and to the message of Jesus. The churches reputation of being godly and holy even under persecution spread rapidly across the middle-east. Thessalonica was one of the major cities of trade and a business hub for the entire area for people coming and going in this region. They quickly became a role model to other Christians and churches because they were so committed to being imitators of Jesus. You could say they became well known as a church plant on what to do and not do.
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10:
1Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.
2We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.
3We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,
5because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
6You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
7And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
8The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
9for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Introduction to the Sermon: Reflect His Image!
The key verses of this chapter and our series are found in verse 6-8a: 6You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.
Show pictures of people who imitate their pets!
What does it mean to be an imitator of some else? What is meant is that we admire someone so much we want to be like them.
I remember going to Bible College and observing how certain class mates of mine would imitate even the preaching style of other preachers in our homiletics class. They would use their catchy phrases or personality gestures and change their voices to match that of the famous preacher. My homiletics professor was always good at telling people to be themselves and imitate the character of their heroes of the faith. But more so they needed to be imitators of Jesus.
Probably the most imitated famous person I know from my time era is Elvis Presley. I even have a friend who patterned his vocal style after Elvis Presley. Mike sounds just like Elvis when he sings Christian songs and especially when he sings Elvis original songs.
The truth is people imitate those whom they love and admire. I have to be very careful what I say around the boys because they are at the stage when they imitate everything you do or say. The other day I was driving and someone cut me off and I said, “Way to go bozo!” and in unison from the back seat I hear “Way to go bozo!” It reminded me of how important it is for me to imitate Jesus so the boys imitate Him and not my bad ways or habits. But in reality people of all ages are watching us and we do reflect one of two natures within us: The flesh – which is bad! The attributes of the Spirit – which is good!
We do cast an image to others – so what does your image look like? Who do you imitate on a daily basis?
Quote: "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."
Quote: “Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating him who we see. To see His Majesty and to imitate him, that is the sum of Christianity.” (Max Lucado, When God Came Near).
Thesis: The Thessalonians imitated Jesus three ways according to the Apostle Paul and we will look at these three ways Faith, Hope and Love and learn how we too need to imitate Jesus.
T.S. – Let’s look at the first way they imitated Jesus - Faith
I. Faith which is genuine will produce good works
a. The Thessalonians produced a series of good works which was driven by their faith in Jesus and His teachings to do the good.
b. Good works produced out of faith which is rooted in grace is the mission of the church and its people.
i. Their quick willingness to turn from idols to God so quickly on hearing the message of Paul and Silas was amazing.
ii. They did it within about a 3 1/2 week time frame.
iii. They quickly opened their hearts to the Gospel. The Holy Spirit illuminated the Word of truth to them and Histopper impacted them.
1. The Holy Spirit revealed to these people quickly their chosen status as His children!
2. He also demonstrated His power in the planting of this church.
c. Faith is not “What I Think!” but “What I know!”
i. The thessalonians knew Jesus and it transformed their beliefs and their lives.
d. Faith is not just a belief but it’s a belief that impacts my daily decisions and my life.
e. Faith is a verb not a noun- it has action!
i. PASTOR BETH SHARES HER THOUGHTS ON VERSE 6 HIGHLIGHTING 6You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
ii. Faith is only used as a verb in the Apostle John’s writings he never uses it as a noun.
1. He intended for us to view faith as an action as something we do not just believe but do.
a. Quote by Dave Thomas: Honesty does not come from out of nowhere. It is a product of your moral convictions. But what do you do when your convictions are challenged? It is faith that gives you the strength to go on believing. Though I am a Christian, I respect the religions of others, and I think that they play a vital role in our society. But I don't support convictions of cults that are negative and lead only to hatred and fanaticism. Faith must be positive. Live your faith. Don't wear it on your sleeve; roll up both sleeves and do something about it.--Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's
b. Holman states, “If faith is the religion itself, it is so in more than an intellectual way. Faith is also the living out of the religion; it is Christianity in action. This is the meaning of “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). “Walking” represents the totality of one’s way of life” (Holman Bible Dictionary)
f. Faith in action through science:
i. It might surprise a lot of you here today to learn that the greatest scientific minds of the last several centuries where not atheists but actually believers. They were Christians who affirmed that the Bible was scientifically accurate and they had faith that Jesus was who he said He was.
1. Isaac Newton- One of the greatest scientific minds of the past accepted the Word of God and creation as accurate.
2. Lord Kelvin- The creator of the science of Thermodynamics
3. Louis Pasteur- The discoverer of penicillin
4. Johann Kepler- The amazing astronomer who created modern astronomy
5. Robert Boyle- The greatest chemist of his age.
ii. One of the greatest proofs to the authenticity of the Bible is how it reveals scientific knowledge. There are many passages of Scripture that verify that the Bible had to be written by divinely inspired individuals because there is accurate scientific data reveled 1,000 of years before man’s actual discovery of it.
1. Grant Jeffrey writes, “How could the writers of the Scriptures possibly know these facts unless they were supernaturally inspired by God?”(106).
2. Today’s scientific climate is changing rapidly. About 40 years ago in the scientific world secularism was dominating the scene. But today more and more scientists are discovering how accurate the Bible is on statements referring to scientific information. A recent program on TV revealed that many scientists are abandoning evolution as a legitimate theory to explain how our world was formed. Instead they are now affirming that our universe had a specific creation point.
3. Faith is on the rise!
T.S. - Faith rises up in us and it leads us into doing good things for the Kingdom and this builds a hope within us which enables us to stand up against whatever comes against us for the cause of the Kingdom of Heaven.
II. Hope will always help us endure.
a. The Thessalonians endurance and ability to persevere through persecution was inspired by their hope in Jesus return.
i. Their faith fueled their hope which empowered them to stand strong for the cause of Jesus.
ii. They had learned very quickly in their new life what it meant to wait patiently and to endure patiently for the Kingdom.
iii. Henry Ward Beecher shares this thought about (hope) and love, “We never know how much one loves till we know how much he is willing to endure and suffer for us; and it is the suffering element that measures love. The characters that are great must, of necessity, be characters that shall be willing, patient and strong to endure for others. To hold our nature in the willing service of another, is the divine idea of manhood, of human character.
b. Someone has wisely stated that if you could convince a man that there is no hope, he would curse the day he was born and then give up.
i. The question of "Is there any hope?" is common in our world today. We hear this question being asked by young, middle aged, and older people.
1. We hear the cry of the depletion of the Ozone layer and global warming.
2. We hear the effects of what could happen in a nuclear war.
3. We hear that suicide is at an all time high.
4. We hear about A.I.D.S. and its deadly effect on lives.
5. We hear that our country is on the brink of financial collapse.
6. We see and hear of the rise of terrorism in our nation.
7. We hear of the rise in alcoholism and drug addiction in our society.
8. We hear so many bad and terrible things each day in the news.
a. The list of bad news seems to go on and on and we could ask, "Is there any hope?" And the answer to this question is, "Yes, there is Hope and the Thessalonians Christians discovered that real hope through Paul and Silas!"
c. Hope cannot be humanly induced on demand. I cannot give myself hope.
i. To better understand what "Authentic Hope is we need to see what it is not!"
1. Hope is not wishful thinking,
a. We try to wish our dreams into reality and we try to wish away the hurts of life but it never really works.
b. Hope is not yearning.
i. Ogilivie states, "We often incorrectly use the word, "hope" to express our yearning. "Oh, I hope so!" We say, expressing a longing for something to be true or to happen. "Here's hoping," we say in response to a possibility." (47)
ii. The sad fact is we usually end up with disappointments because our expectations are not met when the trials of life crash in on us.
c. Hope is not simply cheery optimism.
i. "Hope certainly can produce and optimistic attitude, but an optimistic attitude is not a substitute for true hope." (48)
ii. Optimism that is not based on God's promises, God’s Word or His power fades under the pressure of the disappointments in life.
d. Hope is centered in the person of Jesus Christ.
i. Jesus life, His message of “Good News”, His sacrifice for the sins of the world and His resurrection are now the basis of real hope.
ii. Jesus Christ is the object of Hope, but also He is the one and only who enables us to truly have lasting hope.
iii. Hope comes to us by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It comes from knowing Jesus on a personal level.
1. Romans 5:1-5: 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
e. Hope is what enables us to break the dysfunctional patterns of life around us. It’s a hope is in Jesus! It’s hope in the power of the Holy Spirit! It’s hope in a power greater than ourselves because we know we cannot do it!
i. The following thoughts come from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles:
1. “A generational curse is defined as ‘family bondage’ passed down from one generation to the next, says Rev. Dr. Sheron Patterson, senior pastor of Highland Hills United Methodist Church in Dallas. "Many families are unaware that they are caught up in generational curses because it is so normal and natural to them,’ she explains. "It’s not until they get counseling or they really look at the outside world that they see their world is warped and wicked and sometimes twisted.’ Negative patterns of behavior that could be considered generational curses are physical abuse, sexual abuse, substance abuse, and alcoholism. ‘It’s a problem that has the family bound up,’ says Patterson. ‘Whether it’s teen pregnancy and grandmama was a teen mama and mama was one and you’re one and you never married the father. That’s the frostily being bound up in a very negative situation. And it seems natural and normal to them.’ Divorce could also be considered a generational curse, says Patterson. ‘People whose parents had multiple divorces and then you have multiple divorces. People who just can’t stay together and just can’t be marriage material.’ Patterson says that people imitate what they see, which oftentimes makes a generational cruse a ‘learned behavior.’ ‘I think one generation may fall into a bad habit or negative situation and they were never able to pull themselves out of it and they wind up making it internalized into the family system and the ones that follow them just follow that pattern.’…Negative patterns of behavior that are perpetuated, says Johnson, are often taught.”
2. The truth is we do imitate someone and it’s either good or bad.
a. A person who I thought would be a good role model for the kids was Tiger Woods but he imitated the wrong person and did the wrong things and it is a living example of how doing the wrong things can destroy your life and your message.
T.S. – Hope challenges us to stay focused, to persevere and to continue to labor in love even when others don’t love us.
III. Love will prompt us to labor or work for the Lord.
a. The Thessalonians labored in love for others and for the Kingdom of Heaven.
i. They were known around the region for being great servants opening their homes to other Christian being a great witness for Jesus in this hustling business port city.
b. What does it mean to labor in love for others?
i. There is a saying by Arsene Housaye which states, “Tell me whom you love, and I will tell you what you are.”
ii. Bernard of Clairvaux made a similar statement about love when he said, “What we love we shall grow to resemble.”
c. The term or label -- Christian -- designates a love relationship with Christ. To be a Christian means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and demonstrating the attributes of Jesus such as love, faith and hope.
i. Jesus himself tells us that we will know his disciples by their love.
d. Why would God choose the power of love to transform this world rather than just pure forcefulness?
i. The first reason is it’s because God is LOVE!
1. His character is love.
2. All writers, speakers agree that love is the supreme characteristic of God.
3. The apostle John said, “God is love” I John 4:8 and 1 John 3:11-23. It’s who he is!
ii. Kenyon writes:
• God so loved he gave. Satan was so selfish that he sought to rob God and the human race of everything worthwhile (AND I EMPHASIZE LOVE). Selfishness is a robber. It had reigned without a rival through the ages. Now a new mighty force has broken into the sense realm. That mighty force is love. It heads up in God. It is unveiled in Christ. It is becoming operative in us. Love without the ability to use it would not be so good.
b. Love is called the most excellent way according to Paul:
i. 1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
• Love is essential if we want to imitate Jesus!
c. God’s purpose of the church is for it to labor in love for others like the Thessalonians did.
i. Quote: “But how does man come to know that God is love? That love is because God is? That the love of God is not only available for any man to experience, it is available for any man to demonstrate? How do we come to know the true nature of love? By reading a book or embracing a particular philosophy or doctrine? Do we learn love from the Bible? From other human beings who expound it? Do we learn about the nature of love by practice? Is it an emotional or a spiritual exercise? It is all of these to lesser and greater degrees, but it is more...We can only learn of love as we learn of God. Jesus said, “... Learn of me.” There is no other way to learn of love.” Eugenia Price
d. The position of the Thessalonians church was strategic and in a major intersection of the entire business world of the day. It was by divine design that a church emerged here even under such severe persecution.
i. They were on a major trade route and people were always coming and going.
ii. They were a port city so they were laboring not just for the people of the region but for that entire Mediterranean region.
• So the Holy Spirit planted a church through Paul and Silas in the midst of persecution and they became known for their love!
• They impacted their region and they were talked about in other countries and regions.
a. Wow those Thessalonian Christian’s so imitated Jesus the world noticed!
e. Quote by Kinlaw:
i. This devotional thought is from April 27th.
• In Ephesians 5:1-2 we are told to “be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love.” “One day as I was reading through the book of Ephesians, I found myself laughing aloud when I came across Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God.” How can someone like me imitate God? Many of His attributes immediately came into my mind. First of all, He is the omnipotent One. A few in history have tried to be all-powerful, but they have ended up as fools. Second, He is the omniscient One. He knows all things. But when I am in the process of finding an answer to a question, I discover that I have ten more questions, and so my experience is one of exploding ignorance, not knowledge. The more I know, the more I have to learn. Third, He is the omnipresent One. But I am confined to one moment in time and one point in space. How can I imitate Him? I looked again at the passage: “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (Ephesians 5:2) My laughter faded when I realized that God wants us to imitate His lifestyle, not His attributes. What Paul was telling the church to imitate was the life of love that issues in self-sacrifice modeled in the Lord Jesus. Suddenly I found myself confronted not with divine attributes in abstraction, but with the very Cross of Christ. Then I realized that Paul was asking us to imitate the God we see on Calvary, the God who cares more for someone else than He does for Himself. Paul says that the self-sacrificing love pleased the very nostrils of God. But how can I get out of my self –interest, which seems to contaminate everything I do and touch? Paul gives us the key. It lies not in us but in the very love that sent Christ to Calvary. Paul believed that God can put His own love in us, if we want it and seek it. If we let His Spirit fill us, we will find that His love comes with His presence. Then we can live as He lived because He will be living through us.”
a. Now that is amazing!
f. The 7 labors of love:
i. Works diligently to not have a judgmental attitude:
• If we do away with a judgmental attitude toward others then we are laboring in love for the cause of Jesus.
a. Brodin states, “When I judge someone, I unconsciously feel superior to them. That keeps me from loving them” (43).
• Truth is we are all prone to judging others, in other words, if they do not do it the way I want it done -- then it is wrong –it is of the devil -- this always blows out the flame of love - and promotes selfishness which blows out the image Jesus in your life.
• Sometimes we judge others motives and mishear, or misperceive, misunderstand and we jump to conclusions about others and this blows out love and blows out Jesus and the Christian witness!
• Pharisees were always blowing out love and blowing out the flame Jesus to others all because of their judgmental attitudes
ii. Works against allowing fear to dominate your life.
• If we do away with fear then love shines through and Jesus beams through your life.
• 1 John 4:16-18: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
• Love prompts us to take risks and have faith in God and this reflects the life of Jesus.
• The fear of rejection prompts us into becoming secluded so no one can hurt us or reject us. Therefore we never let anyone in close to us. Jesus knew he would be rejected but he loved any way and let people in! He took the risk!
• The fear of commitment holds us at bay from giving 100% to spread of God’s Kingdom -- it keeps us from making full commitment to the cause of Christ. This blocks the image of Jesus in our life.
• The Thessalonians did not allow the fear of persecution drive out the Spirit of love. They loved like Jesus did and therefore projected His image all over the place.
iii. Works to be self-less not selfish.
• Do away with selfishness it blows out the light of love and takes away the image of Jesus in your life.
• The opposite of love is selfishness these two battle for your soul!
• When selfishness takes over sorrows explode, heartaches rip across the world and tears start to flow from the throne of God because selfishness is so ugly and cruel.
a. Kenyon writes, “It has caused all the wars and other atrocities in which men take part.”
• Selfishness demands to be served and provided for by others -- it places the focus on itself not others. It uses words like “I”, “Me”, and “Mine”.
• An Article by Mike Breen “An Obituary for the American Church” inspired me to remind us what will kill the American Church.
a. The three diseases that killed the American church were:
i. The infectious disease of worshipping the celebrities.
ii. They also died from the contagious disease of consumerism.
iii. They also suffered a major stroke from the disease of competition.
iv. Works extra hard on forgiving.
• Do away with unforgiveness because it blows out the light of love and you lose the image of Jesus when unforgiveness is rooted in your heart.
a. Matthew 6 “If you do not forgive your father will not forgive you.”
• Love always forgives others - Paul wrote “Forgive each other, just as Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4:2).
• Jones states, “Forgiveness means loving in spite of wrong. Love may see the sin in others, but love sees beyond what is offensive and loves anyway.”
v. Works overtime to accept and embrace others.
• Do accept others and the light of love will burn bright and others will see the face of Jesus through your acceptance of them.
• Romans 15:7 “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.”
• Jones notes, “A common accusation against Christians is that we reject others. Often it is true that in our opposition to an evil world we fail to follow our Master in His accepting attitude. We proclaim that people may come to Him ‘just as they are’, but then we do not accept them as they are perhaps we’ve forgotten who we were when He accepted us” (39).
vi. Works tirelessly on serving others.
• Do serve others and the light of love will glow and they will see Jesus shining through your service.
• Jesus modeled this in John 13 when he washed the disciples feet and told them to do likewise because he set the example.
• Yancey noted that in this era this act was not even done by slaves because it was considered to be so degrading - Yet Jesus showed us we need to serve each other.
• Jesus washed their feet knowing that they would abandon him, betray him at his most trying time but love drove him to serve them in spite of what they would do. BUT in the end it was love that won them.
• The Thessalonians imitated Jesus and became famous for their servant spirits.
vii. Works everyday to be a living sacrifice for Jesus.
• Sacrifice your life for the Kingdom of God and others will see the bright light of love and they will see Jesus in you.
• Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy (love), to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.”
• Mother Teresa wrote: We must grow in love and to do this we must go on loving and loving and giving and giving until it hurts --- the way Jesus did. Do ordinary things with extraordinary love: little things like caring for the sick and the homeless, the lonely and the unwanted, washing and cleaning for them. You must give what will cost you something. This, then, is giving not just what you can live without but what you can’t live without or don’t want to live without, something you really like. Then your gift becomes a sacrifice, which will have value before God. Any sacrifice is useful if it is done out of love. This giving until it hurts ---this sacrifice---is also what I call love in action.
Conclusion:
A story of how people are watching us and even imitating us so be aware of what you are doing!
President Calvin Coolidge once invited friends from his hometown to dine with him at the White House. Unsure of their table manners, the guests decided to imitate the president. They watched closely to see which utensils he used, what foods he ate and when. Their strategy seemed to succeed until coffee was served. Coolidge poured some coffee into his saucer. They did the same. He added sugar and cream. His guests did, too. Then the president bent over and put his saucer on the floor for the cat!
Be careful whose example you follow.
The Thessalonians became role-models for the Mediterranean region of the world and their faith, hope and love imitated Jesus so much they became examples of what it means to be a Christian. They impacted 1,000 of people with their lives and their church became known as a church that everyone admired and respected. Why?
This poem tells why?
Poem “Sermons We See” – written by Edgar A. Guest was born in Birmingham, England, became a United States citizen in 1902. His poem drives home the urgency of being a good, Christ-like role model for others to follow like the Thessalonians were:
I’d rather see a sermon
than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me
than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil
and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing,
but example’s always clear;
And the best of all the preachers
are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action
is what everybody needs.
I soon can learn to do it
if you’ll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in action,
but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lecture you deliver
may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get my lessons
by observing what you do;
For I might misunderstand you
and the high advice you give,
But there’s no misunderstanding
how you act and how you live.
When I see a deed of kindness,
I am eager to be kind.
When a weaker brother stumbles
and a strong man stays behind
Just to see if he can help him,
then the wish grows strong in me
To become as big and thoughtful
as I know that friend to be.
And all travelers can witness
that the best of guides today
Is not the one who tells them,
but the one who shows the way.
One good man teaches many,
men believe what they behold;
One deed of kindness noticed
is worth forty that are told.
Who stands with men of honor
learns to hold his honor dear,
For right living speaks a language
which to everyone is clear.
Though an able speaker charms me
with his eloquence, I say,
I’d rather see a sermon
than to hear one, any day.
(The quote is from sermoncentral.com by David Reynolds)
