June 30, 2024 – 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Lesson Date: June 30, 2024

Focal Scripture Passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

AIM: To lead students to discover some key elements to having and maintaining relationships that honor God, and to confess their sins and commit to obeying God in their relationships.

Before class: Read the notes on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 found in the Sunday School Teacher Book.  Write the word “Relationships” on the middle of the board.

INTRODUCTION (Create Learning Readiness): Direct everyone’s attention to the word “Relationships” written on the board.  Tell the class that God created us to live in relationships with one another; in fact, He said it is not good for us to be alone (Gen 2:18).

Tell the students that each of us has many different relationships.  Ask: “Who are some of the people we have relationships with?” (parents, children, other family members, friends, neighbors, work associates, people in our church and Sunday School class, etc.).

Write the word “Dysfunctional” on the board above the word “Relationships.”  Tell the students it is not uncommon these days to hear about dysfunctional relationships.  Ask: “What does the word ‘dysfunctional’ mean?” (something that doesn’t function properly).  Ask: “What is a dysfunctional relationship?” (a relationship that does not function properly; one that does not help, support, or nurture its participants, but instead may be harmful or dangerous to them).

Tell the class that dysfunctional relationships may be common in our modern world, but God has a better way.  Tell them the title of today’s lesson is Relationships That Honor God.  Explain that we will discover some key elements to having and maintaining relationships that honor God and bless others.

HEART OF THE LESSON (Bible Study):

1. Review.
   • Remind the class that we are studying the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians.
   • Ask: “What was last week’s lesson about?” (Concern for the Brethren; we discovered some ways we can encourage and strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ).
   • Ask if any volunteer would recite last week’s memory verse (1 Thess. 3:12).
2. Please God.
   • Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2.
   • Ask: “According to verse 1, who was the Apostle Paul writing to?” (his “brethren;” in other words, fellow believers).
   • Remind the class that Paul and his ministry partners only spent a few weeks in Thessalonica, during which they led people to the Lord and taught them to follow Jesus.
   • Ask: “According to verse 1, what had Paul taught them?” (how to walk and please God).
   • Tell the students that in the Bible the word walk is used to refer to our behavior.
   • Ask: “How should we walk or behave?” (in ways that please God).
   • Stress the fact that if we want to know how to please God, we must read the Bible.
   • Ask: “If we walk and behave in ways that please God, how will that impact our relationships with others?” (our relationships will be unselfish, loving, nurturing, and encouraging).
   • Explain the following:
     • The answer to dysfunctional relationships is behaving in ways that please God.
     • Problems arise in our relationships when we selfishly try to please ourselves instead of pleasing God.
     • Believers who are trying to please God will treat others well (Rom. 12:10).
   • Ask: “Paul taught the Thessalonian believers to please God; what was his final instruction in verse 1?” (he told them to “abound more and more” in seeking to please God).
   • Tell the class that Paul taught under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 2).
   • Summarize: To have and maintain relationships that honor God and bless others, we must first and foremost seek to please God in our daily walk.
3. Obey God.
   • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Thessalonians 4:3a.
   • Tell the students that we often hear fellow believers say they are seeking God’s will.
   • Ask: “What does this verse say is God’s will for us?” (our sanctification).
   • Ask: “What do you think sanctification means?” (the process of purification and holiness that begins at salvation and continues throughout the believer’s life; in other words, growing more pure, holy, and Christlike).
   • Stress the fact that God’s will for us is our sanctification (Rom. 8:29; 2 Pet. 3:18).
   • Ask: “What do you think sanctification looks like in real life?” (allow time for responses).
   • Tell the students that in verses 3b-7 God gives us five specific commands to obey if we want to grow in sanctification.
   • No fornication.
     • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Thessalonians 4:3b.
     • Ask: “What is God’s command?” (abstain from all kinds of sexual immorality; see also 1 Cor. 6:18).
     • To grow in sanctification we must abstain from sexual immorality.
   • Self-control.
     • Read 1 Thessalonians 4:4.
     • Ask: “What does God command us to do?” (possess [control] our vessel [our physical body] in sanctification and honor).
     • If we belong to Jesus, the Bible says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we have been bought with a price, and we are no longer our own (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
     • To grow in sanctification we must exercise self-control to keep our physical bodies pure and uncorrupted.
   • No lust or evil thoughts.
     • Read 1 Thessalonians 4:5.
     • Lust and concupiscence refer to sensual desire for something that is forbidden.
     • Ask: “What does this verse say about people who live in lust and evil desire?” (they don’t know God).
     • If we let lust and evil desires inhabit our thoughts we are living like lost people!
     • To grow in sanctification we must not let lust and evil desires control our thoughts.
   • Do not defraud.
     • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Thessalonians 4:6.
     • “Go beyond” means to exceed or transgress the limits of proper, moral behavior.
     • “Defraud” means to take advantage of, exploit, or cheat someone.
     • When an unmarried couple engages in sexual activity, they are defrauding one another, their parents, and their future marriage partners.
     • When a woman dresses in an immodest or provocative manner, she is defrauding all men with whom she comes in contact.
     • When a man talks to a woman of “love” but his real motivation is lust, he is defrauding that woman.
     • When people in an office engage in suggestive or off-color language and humor, they are defrauding one another.
     • Ask: “Who promises to avenge such behavior and punish the guilty parties?” (God).
     • To grow in sanctification we must not defraud others.
   • Holy living.
     • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Thessalonians 4:7.
     • Ask: “What has God called us to?” (holiness, purity, cleanness).
     • God is holy, and He wants us to be holy (Lev. 20:7; 1 Pet. 1:16).
     • To grow in sanctification we must strive to live holy lives.
   • Read 1 Thessalonians 4:8.
   • Ask: “If we despise and reject these commands, who are we actually rejecting?” (God).
   • Stress the fact that these are God’s commands, not merely the ideas of men.
   • Ask: “If we obey God in these things, how will that impact our relationships with others?” (our relationships will be pure, loving, and uplifting).
   • Summarize: To have and maintain relationships that honor God and bless others, we must obey God in our moral behavior.
4. Represent God.
   • Tell the students that thus far we have learned that we should please God and obey God, but the remaining verses we will study today tell how we should represent God to others.
   • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10.
   • Ask: “What does verse 9 say we must do?” (love one another).
   • Ask: “According to verse 10, how well were the new believers in Thessalonica doing this?” (in addition to loving their fellow believers within their own church, their love reached to other Christians throughout their region of Macedonia).
   • Ask: “What did Paul tell them to do at the end of verse 10?” (increase more and more in their love for one another).
   • Tell the class that to properly represent God to others we must love other believers.
   • Read 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12.
   • Ask: “What three commands does God give us in verse 11?” (we must learn to be quiet and calm, mind our own business, and be good workers).
   • Ask: “What do you think it means to be quiet and calm?” (not loud or raucous; 2 Thess. 3:6-7).
   • Ask: “What do you think it means to mind our own business?” (not a busybody; 2 Thess. 3:11).
   • Ask: “What do you think it means to be good workers?” (have a good work ethic; 2 Thess. 3:8-10).
   • Ask: “How does verse 12 say we should behave toward those who are not believers?” (honestly).
   • Ask: “According to the last phrase of verse 12, what happens when we quietly mind our own business, work hard, and are honest?” (our needs will be met; we won’t be dependent on others to supply our needs; 2 Thess. 3:8).
   • Tell the class that to properly represent God we must live right before the lost world.
   • Ask: “If we try to represent God before fellow believers and lost people, how will that impact our relationships?” (our relationships will be marked by love and integrity).
   • Summarize: To have and maintain relationships that honor God and bless others, we must represent God by loving the brethren and living right before unsaved people.

PERSONAL APPLICATION: Remind the students that the title of today’s lesson is Relationships That Honor God.  Review the lesson by reminding the class that to have and maintain relationships that honor God and bless others, we must:

• Please God in the way we walk and behave.
• Obey God’s commands concerning moral purity so we can grow in sanctification.
• Represent God by loving other believers and living right before lost people.

Ask: “How will our relationships be impacted if we do those things?” (they will be pure, holy, honest, and uplifting; in other words, they will honor God).

Direct everyone’s attention to the words “Dysfunctional Relationships” written on the board.  Erase the word “Dysfunctional,” and in its place write the words “God-Honoring.”

Ask: “How are your relationships?  Do they honor God, or are they dysfunctional?”

Ask everyone to bow their head and close their eyes.  Ask: “Has God shown you anything that needs to change in your relationships?  If so, are you willing to confess it as sin and commit to obeying God from this moment forward?  If that’s the case, tell the Lord about it right now.”  Allow a few moments for silent prayer, and then voice a closing prayer.

CONCLUSION: Ask everyone to memorize 1 Thessalonians 4:3.  Urge them to follow through on any commitments they have made this morning.  Tell them to come back next week to learn about the Rapture of the church.