2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Grounds for Prayerful Perseverance Brian Phillips Assistant Pastor

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command.5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. Have you noticed that many of the pieces we are singing this morning deal with the same themes as last Sunday— themes of security, surety, and faithfulness? For example, we have sung the word "steadfast" quite a few times over the last two weeks. But where last week's hymns were primarily calling us to remain steadfast in the face of trials, this week we are comforted by the Lord's steadfastness toward His people. The service begins and ends with the words of Psalm 100:5, "His steadfast love endures forever" (we first hear it read in the Call to Worship, then we sing it as the final hymn). We will ask the Lord to "save us with Your steadfast love" (Gently, Gently Lay Your Rod—Psalm 6) and "Let not Your steadfast love depart" (The Wicked Man Fears Not The Lord—Psalm 36). Hymns like O God, Our Help In Ages Past and psalms like Incarnate God!—Psalm 91 remind us to rest in the Lord's "faithfulness and love," where His saints may dwell secure. My prayer for this morning echoes Paul's in 2 Thessalonians 3:5—that, through the words you sing this morning, the Lord would "direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ." —Henry C. Haffner Key Words: Pray, Word, Lord, Faithful, Confidence, Command, Steadfastness Keystone Verse: But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)