July 17, 2012
The world
commercializes just about everything: from fast food to clothes, jewelry to
fragrances, cars to phones, and even pork! These presentations are usually uninformative,
unoriginal, and unhelpful to the state of our lives.
Just listen
to these REAL company slogans. I’ve even categorized them. And
for funsies, I’m gonna try and say some of them them how they do… or how I
think they do.
1. Products
promising happiness comes from the physical realm
a diamond
is forever –DeBeers
every kiss
begins with Kay- Kay
Maybe she’s
born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline
2.
Products promising instant gratification is more important than hard work
Have it your way-BK
Have it your way-BK
So easy a
caveman can do it-Geico
One call
could save you 15% or more on car insurance- Geico
Warning it
works every time – Colt 45
3.
McDonald’s – which conveniently offers you the voice of your dream spouse
We do it
all for you 1975- McD
We love to
see you smile- McD
You deserve
a break today-McD
And then
the fourth category, which is my favorite.
4.
Products involving plain nonsense and flat out lies
Between
love and madness lies Obsession – CK Fragrance
…because we want our love to constantly pour out a healthy dose of
madness and obsession…terrible.
With a name
like smuckers…it has to be good -
that’s historically bad.
And then
there’s the slogan for Camel cigarettes: I’d walk a mile for a Camel …There’s
something almost hyperbolic about exercising in order to do something that can
kill you. It’s like running a marathon that ends in a free fall cliff dive. I
don’t know understand how that sells…
So what’s
the point?
These
commercials are intentionally deceptive. They are filled with false realities,
false promises, and false information. The message, motive, and method behind
these commercials is plagued. They have no credibility in their presentation.
So what do
you think?
Is it possible to communicate a message without ‘marketing’ or ‘manipulating’?
What would
that look like? Is it possible to communicate the gospel in a qualitatively
different way than the world sells stuff?
And what
makes a message credible when it is competing with so much dishonest selling?
In
tonight’s passage, Paul has a few thoughts on the topic, and this is what our
DG’s are going to focus on.
Discussion
Groups
1. What is one really catchy commercial you have seen
recently?
2. What are the motivations behind the commercial? What tactics are they using?
3. What do you notice are common
characteristics of commercialism in our present day? Fill in some examples of
commercial practices that you find deceitful, honorable, or neutral in the
table below.
Common Characteristics of Commercialism
Deceitful
|
Honorable
|
Neutral
|
|
Examples
|
4. Read I Thessalonians 2:1-8.
5. What motivations does Paul accept
as legitimate and what motivations does he believe are illegitimate for
Christian service? In the table below, write your findings along with the
verse.
What Paul claimed he did
|
What Paul claimed he did not do
|
6. If Paul had tried to summarize
this passage in a catchy slogan, what might it be?
7. Look at v. 1, 2, and 5. What
short phrase is in each passage? (It’s also in 1:5, too) What do you think
Paul’s aim is with this phrase?
8. In v. 1 Paul says “our coming to
you was not in vain”: What, generally, do you think Paul did in his presentation
of Jesus build credibility with his listeners? (for help: see v. 8 and 2b,4)
9. In what ways can we share our
lives to those we want to share Jesus with? (v. 8)
10. In what ways can we speak the
truth to those we want to share Jesus with? (v. 2b,4)
11. Paul is convinced that we are to
‘share’ (v.8) and ‘speak’ (v.4) Are you more of a gospel speaker or a life
sharer? Which does the passage suggest
is more important?
12. In v. 4 and v. 5 Paul notes that
God tests hearts and is witness to the ministry effort of Paul and his team.
What are the implications of the phrase ‘who tests our hearts’ for our sharing of
the gospel?
Optional Questions:
1. Which of Paul’s positive
motivations for Christian service are you most prone to? (from #3)
2. Which of Paul’s illicit
motivations for Christian service are you most prone to? (from #3)
3. What do you think of Paul using
both fathering and mothering metaphors for his care for his friends in 1
Thessalonians 2:8, 11?
4. What is the difference between
encouragement and flattery?
Wrap Up:
So what were some Pauline slogans
you guys came up with tonight?
Mine is
probably not accurate, but something like “Come to bro” but really…“Come at me,
thessabronians” ..yeah mine’s terrible.
Okay, as
you were in your discussion groups, I hope you discovered the burning issue
within this passage.
How do
you become a credible source of God’s good news?
I’ve got
two big ideas from the passage on this, and here’s my first one.
1. Share
your life (commitment to
people)
Look with
me to verse 7-8 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care
of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to
share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you
had become so dear to us.
For Paul,
sharing our lives is often foundational to how we go about sharing the gospel.
Messages
are generally accepted based on authenticity and motivation of its presenter.
These elements
can only be made known to the audience through shared relationship. When we
truly love someone, our motivations become more positive, because our love for
them demands it. It demands that we do right by them.
Our path to
credibility is simple and yet not at all easy: we need to share our lives to
impact other’s lives.
Being in a
Western culture make this difficult because we see so much irrational behavior and
we tend to believe that words alone can make sense of the strange decisions
people make. That words alone can change their mind.
But the
truth is that what you’re saying makes no sense for them until they see Jesus
through you.
What you’re
saying makes no sense until they see Jesus through you.
This is why
v. 8 is our theme verse for next! Sharing our lives is crucial to our
presentation of the gospel!
Chances are
many of us became Christians because somebody walking in the Way of Jesus shared
their Jesus-centric life with us.
So how are
we going to do it?
How are
we going to become credible sources of God’s good news by sharing our lives?
What did your groups talk about?
Here’s my
take; we must embrace servanthood in all relationships. This is done
through valuing others above ourselves. And this involves us being willing to
learn from those we share our lives with. It has to be a mutual
relationship.
We have to
be open to being changed by those who we share Jesus to.
The key
word is relationship. It’s gotta be something real- a friendship- built
on time spent together, common interests, and genuine conversation.
Well that’s
my take.
Ok, so
how else do you become a credible source of God’s good news?
Here is my
second big idea.
2. Speak
the truth! (commitment to Word)
Look with
me to v. 2 “As you know we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel
of God in the midst of much conflict.”
And then in
v. 4 “we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we
speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts”
Sharing our
lives is what makes the Jesus-centric life compelling...But at some point
you actually have to open your mouth and speak.
Within the
relationships we have with our friends, family, co-workers, or classmates, we
will have the opportunity to speak and declare Jesus.
There is a
strong interdependence between ‘sharing’ and ‘speaking’. Paul was convinced
that neither is sufficient without the other. And I think we have enough data
in our own lives to agree with him.
The point
here is that we should be bold when we do speak. This is not to impose, rather
it’s to be clear and make the most of every opportunity.
We are
taught to avoid conflict at all costs.
But we need to learn to speak about Jesus in a kind and credible way -to
people we are sharing our lives with- even if it is going to invite conflict.
We can’t
just be silent and let our world of pluralism play itself out.
The demand
of our culture is to keep your ideas to yourself. But, to be a spokesman of
Christ we have to advocate real tolerance when we speak truth.
Real
tolerance is, as Nic Gibson says, the openness of mind that allows for
disagreement and nonconformity. It’s an act of humility that does not claim to
be right or change anyone’s mind.
Our role is
speaking the truth while avoiding being bullied emotionally and intellectually.
We must do this while kindly being tolerant of those who do not hold the Way of
the gospel within our pluralistic society.
So what do
you think?
How can
we properly speak the truth and allow ourselves to be credible sources of God’s
good news?
If we are
to speak the truth, we need to make sure it’s consistent with how we share our
lives.
Boldly and
gently. We share our lives boldly and gently. And we speak the truth boldly and
gently.
If we’re
missing out on these, then I would offer that there is something fundamentally
wrong with our motivation to declare the gospel, and we would need to reassess.
Remember,
in v. 4 Paul says it is God who tests our hearts. God tests the inner self (the heart,
the center of our being). He is making sure our message is true, our motives are
pure, and our methods are open.
Each of
these criteria strongly relies on boldness and gentleness within the construction
of the message.
What does
this mean for us?
It means we
need to do this in community. We need to share our lives and speak the truth
with our believing community aware of
our efforts. We have to not only do what’s right, but we have to do it for the
right reasons.
That way God can speak into our message, motive, and method. As Paul said again and again … ‘you yourselves know’.
We should
make our efforts known through prayer and community and then we will be approved
by God and entrusted with his gospel – to speak boldly and gently.
So that is how we become credible
sources of God’s good news:
1. Share your life…
2. Speak the truth…
If we do
this, we can say like Paul in verse 1 “For you yourselves know, brothers, that
our coming to you was not in vain” ….
So let’s do
this. Let’s be a community who puts the right effort forward to faithfully make
the most out of every opportunity to share God’s good news.
