SERMON

NOTES

SEPTEMBER 20, 2026

Living in Between: I Love My Church
Pastor Jordan Moody
1 Thess. 1-3

  1. A Waiting People (Hope)

  2. A Gospel People (Faith)

  3. A Connected People (Love)

Reflection Questions

START: Skim through 1 Thessalonians 1-3 together, and call out every place you find Paul expressing love, affection, or care for this church. 

  • The sermon opened with "I love my church," and drew a line between tolerating a church and loving one. What’s one thing you love about your church locally and the church in general? 

  • Paul calls the Thessalonians his "hope, joy, and crown of boasting" before Christ at his coming (2:19-20). Who in your life could you say that about, and have you ever told them?

  • Read 1 Thess. 3:8. "Now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord." Paul's own sense of life was tied to whether this church kept its faith. What would it look like for your well-being to actually be bound up with the people around you at church, not just your own?

  • The sermon named a difference between the self-reliant "New England independence" (I'm fine, you do your thing) and the interdependence Paul describes. Which one better describes how you relate to the people in your row on Sunday?

  • Paul's prayer is that their love would overflow "to one another and to everyone," not just insiders. Who's someone outside your church circle that this week's overflow could reach?

Close your time in prayer:   Lord Jesus, thank you for your church, imperfect as she is, and for the family you've placed us in. Teach us to love the people you've put around us. Make us stand fast in the faith, bearing each other's burdens, rejoicing in each other's faith. Make us increase and abound in love for one another and for all, until you come again with all your saints.