Our series on 1 Thessalonians — titled “Real Christians in Challenging Times” — had been planned for a quite a while before we finally began it a few weeks ago.

But who could have known that when we started it, our church — and our world — would begin battling a pandemic that has closed schools and businesses? That has put millions out of work? That has overwhelmed doctors and nurses? That has struck fear in hearts and minds? That has forced friends, family members, and coworkers to stay separated from each other?

It is indeed a challenging time. But it’s also an exciting time to be part of God’s plan for the planet. And we’ve been learning through our study of 1 Thessalonians that the Lord has given his sons and daughters in Christ many resources to deal with life’s challenges.

This past Sunday we looked at seven verses in chapter two. And at this stage of state-mandated social distancing measures — which have been in effect for a little over a month — we can all relate the Apostle Paul’s longing to be with his brothers and sisters in the church at Thessalonica. Check out what he writes in verse 17: ^“But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.”

Wow! We at Calvary Chapel Living Hope sure can relate to Paul’s longing. We were torn away from each other by the coronavirus — and we certainly want to be together again and see each other face to face. Paul’s term “torn away” in fact implies the idea of being orphaned. (It can feel like that sometimes, can’t it?) But he also uses the word “heart” — and we know that just as Paul couldn’t see his church family, he still shared a heart connection to them that’s beyond flesh and blood presence. And we have a heart connection with each other just like that!

And keep this unexpected blessing in mind too: Since we’ve started “virtual” small groups which meet online, we have more people in them than we had before the pandemic hit! Something else to consider: Before this crisis happened, a survey came out saying that 72% of people feel lonely. Can you imagine what those people who don’t have a church home are feeling right now? Where do they go for support? Where do they go to safely be vulnerable? Where do they go when they need prayer? Let us keep them in mind and in heart as we move forward to stay connected as a church body, even though we can’t be together in person.

In verse 13, Paul writes: “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” Let’s look at the word “received.” The idea here is the same as when Jesus in Gospels tells his listeners that whoever welcomes one of these children welcomes him. It’s that kind of welcoming in and taking to heart, just as if you’re caring for a little boy or girl. That’s the degree to which the Thessalonians received the power of God’s word in their lives!

And God’s word is also “at work” in them. Which means that, just like the Thessalonians, God through his word empowers us and encourages us, especially when we’re frustrated or need energy to complete a task the Lord has given us to accomplish.

We’ve indeed covered a few more resources in this passage: First, our connectedness to each other; second, God’s word at work in our lives. And there is a third resource: Sharing the gospel with others. What does sharing the gospel mean to you? What has your experience been when you’ve tried it? It’s not always easy to do, that’s for sure. We’re treading on very personal ground with others since it means more or less telling them there’s sin in their lives (like there’s sin in everybody’s life), and they have an eternal need: Jesus.

And how many times have you heard non-Christians declare that they don’t need Christ in their lives? That they’re happy with the way things are? Well, remember — that may be true! God’s “common grace” falls upon everybody to one degree or another, and people who’ve been rejecting God still may be the recipients of his grace and mercy. It can be quite a concept for Christians to wrap their heads around, too, because seeing others living apparently happy lives without God can make our gospel efforts seem pointless. But take heart — they’re not! One of the biggest misunderstandings about the gospel is that it’s supposed to make us “happy.” Not true! The gospel is supposed to save us and launch us into an amazing relationship with God — one that certainly may take us to great heights of happiness … but also through dark times when we suffer, emotionally and physically. The gospel of Jesus rescues us from sin that would kill us eternally. It’s not built to make us temporally or materially “happy.”

When you’re faced with the other common misconception about the gospel — that God looks at our lives with a scale and determines that if we’ve done more good things than bad, he welcomes us into heaven — remember that’s also not true. Not even the person who’s done the most “good” things in life is worthy of heaven because everyone is still stained by sin. And Christ is the only one who can clean that sin from our lives as we put our trust in his finished work on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Keep that in mind as you share the gospel with others.

And there’s one more thing we can examine from this passage. In verse 18, Paul tells the Thessalonians that Satan “hindered” him from coming to them. So, who is Satan, and what does he do? For starters, he’s a liar, an accuser, a tempter — and yes, a hinderer. He puts roadblocks in front of our best efforts so that hopefully (in his mind) our thoughts will stray from God and hurt our faith in him. But remember: Whatever hinderances or roadblocks Satan puts in front of us, God still wants to empower us — and to remember that when all is said and done, Satan will never destroy the church. Jesus said so. No amount of political unrest or persecution — and not even the coronavirus — will prevent the church from moving forward.

Consider what Satan and his angels may have realized after the pandemic forced churches to stop meeting in person around the world: Sure, all the churches may be empty … but instead churches opened up in every home. Nothing will ever stop or destroy Christ’s church. Count on it.

Written by Dave Urbanski

What was it like to be a follower of Jesus on the morning he rose from the tomb?

The Bible tells us that it all started when the sun was just coming up. The sky probably was still pitch black. But then an earthquake rumbled, an angel came down from heaven, and the guards were paralyzed with fear and fell down like dead men. At that point a group of women including Mary Magdalene visited the tomb where the angel told them Jesus is risen, just as he promised.

That was amazing enough — but then as the women began running to tell the disciples the wonderful news, Jesus suddenly was there in their midst. Boom! He literally interrupted their emotions and invaded their presence: “Do not be afraid,” he told them.

Can you imagine being one of those women — the first believers to see him risen from the dead? What did he look like? What did he sound like? Did he seem different? The same? They had front-row seats to the most important event in all of human history — and in that moment their lives were forever transformed. How could they not be? This Jesus was so much bigger than they ever could have imagined. And it of course gave them an entirely new meaning for living as Christ-followers.

But how does that affect you and me? Well, just like the women who literally ran into Jesus, we need to recognize how big God is, especially when he interrupts us.

Around the middle of the day, Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They, too, had visited his tomb and didn’t find his body. They were downcast and upset. Even though they’d heard the news that the women saw Jesus alive, their countenances didn’t reflect the amazing news. And then suddenly there was Jesus, walking with them! But they didn’t know the true identity of this fellow traveler.

You know what else is interesting about his passage? These two disciples were walking in the wrong direction! Away from Jerusalem and all the action surrounding Jesus’ resurrection. But Jesus still came to be with them. And isn’t that just like us? We tend to move away from the Lord and drift in our thinking, too. It’s our sin nature pulling us like a magnet away from God and transporting us into selfishness. And yet, Jesus is right there in our wanderings away from him.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus also were victims of dashed expectations — which is also a lot like us. We’ve all had our share of disillusionments. We’ve had ideas in our heads of what our marriages, relationships, finances, and careers were supposed to be — but then in the aftermath maybe they haven’t been what we’d hoped for.

But then here comes Jesus, interrupting us in the middle of our wanderings — and turning our negative, ungodly thinking inside out! And just as he went through the Scriptures with the two disciples and showed them God’s huge plan to redeem the world, he also shows us that God is so much bigger that we ever could have imagined.

Of course, the pair of disciples still didn’t realize this guy who’s blowing their minds is Jesus, but they wanted to spend more time with him. So about 3 p.m. or so they all headed inside for a bite to eat and a rest. Then as Jesus broke the bread and gave thanks, the two disciples’ eyes were opened, they recognized Jesus — and then he disappeared. Incredible!

But as it turns out, God gave them just what they needed: A momentary glimpse of the risen Lord. And that’s all they required to get moving — and that’s all we need too, isn’t it?

The first day of Jesus’ rising ends in the upper room in Jerusalem where the disciples — hunted by Roman soldiers and accused by the Jewish leaders of stealing Jesus’ body — were behind a locked door in total fear. What would they do? Where would they go? How will they survive when so many are out for their hides? And then suddenly Jesus interrupted their fearful debate and stood among them — just like he interrupted the women at the tomb in the morning; just like he interrupted the disciples on the road to Emmaus later in the day.

That’s what Jesus does to us, too. He has our lives in his hands, and all he wants is our attention, our devotion. And when he doesn’t get it or our eyes are focused elsewhere, Jesus thankfully interrupts our tiny thoughts that blind us to his presence, charges in — and changes us!

As the Lord himself stood in the upper room, he knew his friends were startled and scared. “Peace be with you,” he told them, also encouraging them to dismiss the doubts that were invading their minds. But soon Jesus would remove all disbelief that he was really there with them — just like he proves to us all the time that he’s right here with us.

The truth is that just like the disciples needed to experience Jesus in this way to empower them to do the amazing things in the church that the Lord had planned for them, we need that same touch from Jesus to accomplish our mission. And through the Bible, he’s telling us the same things: “Peace be with you” and “be not afraid.”

If you come away with one thought after our virtual Easter gathering this week, let it be this: Let Jesus interrupt you! Invite him to swoop into your life and tell you “be not afraid.” Ask him to give you new insights as you read the Word he wrote! He’ll do it all if you just ask.

Happy Easter, Calvary Chapel Living Hope!

Listen to sermon here: