Bible Text: 1 Thessalonians 4 | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lou Saldiveri | Series: Sunday Morning Worship

Are you willing to live to honor God?

— Pastor Lou Notes —
Intro:
Usually, if you love someone, you want to honor them. This is especially true of someone who loves us even if we do not deserve it. The Bible says, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us..”. God so love rebellious people, He sacrificed His only Son to make payment of our sin so we could be forgiven and set free. In Romans, Paul says in view of His great grace and mercy, we should live in a manner that honors and pleases Him. The question is, how do we do that?.

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 how to live to honor and please God.

It is God’s will that:

1. We should be sanctified: set apart for God and His will
1. Avoid sexual immorality
1. Illustration: How our culture has confused what is the reality of good and moral. Goodness are morality should not defined by what the culture decides, but by the moral standard of biblical principals.
2. How do we define sexual immorality? The way God and only God defines it
1. Any sex outside of marriage
2. Includes pornography

3. Learn self control
1. We are responsible for our own actions
2. Only with am intimate relationship with God will we be able to begin to have self-control

4. God will discipline disobedience
1. People get hurt.
1. The other person
2. The other spouse
3. The adulterer’s spouse
4. The adulterer
5. Families

2. Love one another
1. They were doing this, but need to do it all the more
2. Love as we are taught by God
1. God’s love is a holy love not an enabler love
2. God’s love teaches us to do what is best and God honoring for the other person

3. Lead a quiet life
1. Mind your own business: stop gossiping!
2. Work with your hands

Closing Illustration:

1. Pray, worship, study the Word
2. Hang around with people who are serious about pleasing God
3. Don’t be unequally yoked in business or marriage
4. Honor God and live a good testimony toward unbelievers

Cultural issues