Living in the Last Days: A Study of Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians.
Feeling overwhelmed by life right now? You’re not alone. When everything feels uncertain, we often worry about what’s next. But what if it’s possible to regain perspective and live with purpose? Are living in the last days? How do we live in the Last Days? How do we make a difference in uncertain times. Let’s dig into Paul’s letters to the Church at Thessalonica and learn to live by faith, stand firm, make a difference, and face the future with courage instead of fear.
Work Hard, Do Good, and Pray – 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
Are we living in the last days? Yes. And every day we are one day closer to Jesus’ return. So how do we live in the last days? We work hard, set and example, do good and pray.
LIVE OAK CONNECTION POINT:
Family Sunday this coming Sunday, March 22 for TWO SERVICES ONLY- 10am/11:30am! K-5th graders worship in our main services. Babies-PreK will go to their small groups as normal.
DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- Do you have any Spring Break plans?
- If you were given a week off and a gift of a vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
READ: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18.
Spend some time SOAPing this passage. You can either spend time SOAPing individually and documenting for a several minutes and then spend time sharing with each -OR- SOAP in real time with each other. Either way make as many observations as you can.
- OBSERVATIONS: What are the things that stand out to you about this passage?
- How would you summarize this passage in one sentence?
- What does this passage tell me about who God is?
- What does this passage tell me about who I am?
- What does this passage tell us about the importance of prayer?
- What does this passage tell us about how we navigate dealing with people who are idle and disruptive?
- What are the dangers of how we try to warn people? And what are some best practices for how we could try to warn and redirect fellow believers to living life that honors god and follows Him faithfully?
READ: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15.
- What do 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 and 1 Thessalonians 3:1-18 us about who was going on in Thessalonica?
- Why does how we work matter?
READ: Colossians 3:17, 23-24. Discuss these verses and what we are challenged to do.
- Where is an area of life you could be in danger of “half-hearted” working or living that you need to do it as Jesus would and as if you were serving Jesus?
- What else stood out from this week’s sermon?
APPLICATION: What is your big takeaway from this passage and this week’s sermon? Be specific.
NEXT STEPS:
Everyone has a next step to apply what we’ve learned. What’s your next step?Be specific.
MEMORY VERSE: *Challenge yourself or your group to commit this verse to memory:
2 Thessalonians 3:13 “And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.”
PRAYER: Encourage your group to pray this prayer often in 2026 & use to close your group time.
A 2026 Prayer for MORE: Ephesians 3:14-21
“Heavenly Father, Help me to engage with you MORE. Work in me to make me MORE like you. Use me to help MORE people know you. Make my story about your glory! Amen.”
Scripture References:
2 Thessalonians 3:1-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15; Colossians 3:17, 23-24