Sermon and Worship Resources

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... of the exhortation, see the discussion on 1 Thessalonians 4:1–12. 3:6 The strong-sounding verb, we command you (parangellō, see disc. on 1 Thess. 4:11) affords a distinctly military ring to the whole verse. The metaphor contained in the reference to every brother who is idle of the soldier who drops out of line (ataktōs, see disc. on 1 Thess. 5:14) further enhances this tone. The command is issued, moreover, on the highest authority: in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Thess. 4:1 and 1 Cor. 5:4f ...

2. The Problem with Being Idle

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... one month, get married. If you would be happy for one year, inherit a fortune. If you would be happy for life, love your work. We can't all have jobs we enjoy. But even the most ordinary and humdrum of jobs is generally better for us than idleness. David Swing wrote recently in FORBES MAGAZINE: "Rest is valuable only so far as it is a contrast. Pursued as an end, it becomes a most pitiable condition." He is right. Ask anyone who has ever spent much time unemployed. It is a bummer. Sociologists tell us that ...

3. Idle Tale Or Eternal Truth?

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... had spoken those exact words and they rushed to where the men were in hiding and broke to them the most wonderful headline of all time: He is risen! How did the disciples react? Luke tells us, "But these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them." How's that for a conspiracy? Perhaps Lee Harvey Oswald was part of a conspiracy when he assassinated President Kennedy. Perhaps there are some suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of film star Marilyn Monroe. But it is ludicrous ...

4. The Problem with Being Idle

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A jar of dirt (and an earthworm, if available) Boys and girls: How many of you like to work? Do you do chores around the house? Do you help with the dishes? Work seems to be part of God's plan for life. Even the animals work. Beavers build their dam. Bees make honey and pollinate flowers. Squirrels hide away nuts for the winter. Birds feed their little ones. We are not the only ones in this world who work. Even a lowly earthworm works. Earthworms are kind of "yucky," aren't they? Some of you may ...

5. Fighting Back Against Falling Back

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... patronage and privilege. Instead he advanced a new ethic of labor as love — love for Christ, love for each other, love for the unlovely, and love for the future. We cannot look back at the first century and find the popular system of patronage and idleness an antique oddity. It is a culture alive and well, wafting over the electronic airwaves of our twenty-first century world. Over a decade ago the media was transformed by a quirky British import that was renamed “American Idol.” The quest to find the ...

6. A Faith that Works

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’ “We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.” What do you do with people who ...

7. Minute Accounting

Matthew 12:22-37

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... we may know more surely, while there is still time to do something about it, the true state of our hearts. If we want to know ourselves, we dare not ignore this valuable index to our personality and character. But what shall we do about making sure that our idly spoken words are the right words? How can we go about insuring that the evidence they give in at the time of reckoning shall be in our favor, rather than against us? One might think that the thing to do is just to guard one’s speech, to always ...

8. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ." It is out of a spirit of genuine compassion, then, that Paul now commands those not in error to "keep away" from the mistaken ones in their midst. There is a definite military sound behind Paul's "commanding" language - magnified by the fact that "idleness" was a form of misconduct with which soldiers could be charged. Yet his command to "keep away" does not invite the complete ostracism of the idlers from the Christian community. The heart of the fellowship must be exercised about them, but they are not ...

9. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

... from clime to clime, The herald of a higher race, And of himself in higher place, If so he type this work of time Within himself, from more to more; Or, crown’d with attributes of woe Like glories, move his course, and show That life is not as idle ore, But iron dug from central gloom, And heated hot with burning fears, And dipt in baths of hissing tears, And batter’d with the shocks of doom To shape and use. Arise and fly The reeling Faun, the sensual feast; Move upward, working out the beast, And let ...

10. Proper 20

Exodus 16:1-36, Isaiah 55:1-13, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 4:1-11, Philippians 1:12-30, Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... is meant to be a group of fellow-Christians working in and for the kingdom of God. Lesson 2 gives a model church in Philippi where it seems all members worked. This harmonizes with the Gospel's parable of the vineyard in which none was to be idle. Paul was not alone in his work, for he thanks the Philippian congregation for its "partnership in the gospel." He exhorts them to continue "striving side by side for the faith." Outline: A church is a working partnership. a. Pastor works - vv. 22. So work that the ...

11. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... where “greed,” improper for Christians, could be countered by the manual work mentioned earlier in 4:18; for Paul’s concern for the church’s role in civil order, see disc. on 4:12, cf. Rom. 13:1–7; Col. 3:18–4:1). This phenomenon of culpable idleness is sometimes thought to have been the product of mistaken ideas about the Parousia, either that it was near or had come (see disc. on 2 Thess. 2:2). On the one hand, this view receives some support in the fact that Paul moves from an allusion to the ...

12. Proper 28

Lk 21:5-19 · 2 Thes 3:6-13 · Mal 3:19-20, 4:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... they no longer needed to work but to enjoy life. Others expected Jesus to return in a few days. They quit work because they had to prepare for his coming and they had enough resources to provide for themselves until he came. To counteract this, Paul commanded the idle to go back to work and to follow his example. He worked so that the church would not have to support him and his ministry. Luke 21:5-19 Jesus describes the end and urges endurance in suffering. Today's gospel lesson is Luke's version of Mark ...

13. Proper 28

Lk 21:5-19 · Isa 65:17-25 · 2 Thes 3:6-13 · Ps 98

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... ! Or, put it this way: you have a terminal disease which will kill you within a year. What would you do with the time until the end? In Paul's day, the Christians were convinced that Jesus would return shortly. They gave up their jobs and were idly standing by as they waited for his coming day after day. A group convinced of Jesus' immediate return quit their jobs, sold their property, took their children out of school, and lived in a commune. What would you do? Consider the options. Outline: If you had one ...

14. God and the Minimum Wage

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... on them. You see, in Jesus' day it was a privilege for a worker to be placed in a position to earn wages. By providing work for the worker the employer was actually showing kindness and goodness. It was an act of grace on the part of the employer. Spending idle hours in the marketplace meant that the worker and his family had to rely on charity. Therefore to be offered a full day's work was really a gracious gift to the worker and to his family, regardless of what time of the day you were hired. Now this is ...

15. If, Because, Regardless

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. [10] For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. [11] For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. [12] Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. [13] Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. While Paul doesn't talk about ...

16. A Change of Mind

Exodus 32:1-14

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... her. A month later, Martha moved home, returning to her old church, catching up with her brother and sisters. "It was like my life went from black and white to color again," was how she described what she was feeling as she reaffirmed her faith.1 Yes, idle minds are the playthings of the devil. That is why it is important for us to keep our focus on our destination and not be sidetracked. Moses intervened on behalf of the people and God had a change of heart. Centuries later, Jesus Christ would intercede on ...

17. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... replace it with life and labor within a faith community where all labored and all who were able earned their own “bread.” As an example of what goes wrong in a world where labor is belittled, v.11 notes that “some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.” Or as one translation puts it, “not doing any work except the work of busybodies.” Those who remained within the client-patron system had plenty of time to waste their time on “busybodiness.” It is in the name of ...

18. The Disorderly

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... was prescribed by the ancients, especially in the sphere of moral teaching about virtue and vice (3:9; Phil. 3:17; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7; 1 Pet. 5:3). Examples were considered more persuasive than words. Paul reminds the church that he and his associates were not idle, that is, they did not lead a disorderly life with regard to work. As 3:8 says, “nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of ...

19. Service And Reward

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... you whatever is right." (v. 4) The men were in no position to bargain. Earning anything was probably better for them than spending the day idle. They had to rely on the fairness of the employer. 8. "About Five O'Clock." (v. 6) The landowner went very late in the day ... on our real needs. B. The Seeking God. The owner returned again and again to the market place to see if any were still idle. He offered all a place to work in the vineyard, even those whom others had rejected. C. The Sovereign God. The owner had ...

20. Sermons

Sermon

John R. Bodo

... distracted serving," this the brake to slow our headlong flight, this the discipline by which to lose this whole phony world and gain our soul? "Few things are needful," Jesus said to Martha, "or only one thing." No, Jesus did not prescribe a life of mystic idleness or idle mysticism, a life of all words and no action. He did not suggest that no one should be cooking dinner or that Mary should never be expected to help Martha in the kitchen. He did suggest, I am certain, that Martha should not bother to put ...

21. Mary Has Chosen The Good Portion

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... been there 24 hours before our farmer friend was worrying about the corn back home. The weeds might be infesting his fields. His neighbors might be saying he was lazy. For him, the vacation was a bust. He and his wife went home three days early. He could not stand idle time. So, along with Martha, we ride off into the sunset, singing, "Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work we go ..." Some time ago a friend of mine came to me with the exciting news that he had just received a job promotion. He said it would mean ...

22. The Baptism of Our Work

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... was not permitted to do any work. His captors knew that boredom is deadly to morale. It is said that Nero instigated the burning of Rome because of boredom. Alexander the Great wept because he had no more worlds to conquest. Our fathers had a saying, "The idle brain is the devil's playground." There is more truth there than we might imagine. I was reading recently about a wealthy man in Mexico who was in the habit of buying two tangerines daily from a woman who operated a tangerine stand near his house. One ...

23. About Work

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right." Work is a gift from God. A speaker was ...

24. Putting God to Work in Your Life through Peas, Squash, Lettuce, Thyme

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... get on with our life” means living the way WE want to live and not having to submit to God’s conditions of employment. Scott Couchenour puts it like this: “It's a matter of positioning. As long as Jesus is gathering dust from my Reeboks, He's ‘idle.’ As long as I'm gathering dust from HIS sandals, He's ‘at work.’ AND, in my following, I'm ‘at work’ as well.” In today’s gospel text Jesus for the first time lets his disciples get a peak at what genuine discipleship looks like. And they ...

25. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... . Thus, the young widows are described in terms very much like the false teachers, whose talk is foolish (1:6) and empty (6:20), and who are also saying things they ought not to (cf. 1:6–7; 4:7; 6:3–4). It is probably as the “idle” purveyors of the false teachings that they are busybodies, and thus this becomes one of the reasons they are to be in all submissiveness and not to teach (2:11–12). 5:14 The activities of the younger widows in promoting the false teaching is also the best explanation ...

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