Twin Cities Grace Fellowship Sermons

Sorrow Not as Others | Lesson 10

What difference does it make, in real grief, that Jesus really rose from the dead? In this sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, the focus is not merely on the timing and mechanics of the rapture, but on Paul’s primary purpose in the passage: comforting sorrowing believers. Pastor Josh unfolds how the “patience of hope” thread running through the epistle reaches a climax here, as Paul corrects the Thessalonians’ ignorance about those “who are asleep” in Christ. By grounding Christian hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus, he shows that believers who have died are not lost, not forgotten, and will in fact rise first when “the Lord Himself” descends with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God. The message carefully distinguishes Christian grief from the hopeless sorrow of the world, emphasizing that our tears are to be mixed with confident expectation. Pastor Strelecki explains the order and nature of the rapture—dead in Christ raised, living saints changed and “caught up together” to meet the Lord in the air—and highlights the relational joy of that great reunion with Christ and with one another. The sermon closes by pressing the practical call of verse 18: to actively “comfort one another with these words,” learning to face death, hospital beds, and funerals with a shared, Scripture-shaped hope in the certain coming of the Lord.

Abound More and More | Lesson 9

Are you confident you know how to walk and actually please God—or do those phrases feel vague and unattainable? In this sermon from 1 Thessalonians 4:1–12, we explore Paul’s call not just to walk in a way that pleases the Lord, but to “abound more and more” in that walk. Building on Romans 8 and 12, the message unpacks the basic mechanics of the Christian life: how the Spirit uses God’s Word to renew our minds, direct our bodies, and move us from merely knowing our identity in Christ to actually living it out. We also examine the difference between positional holiness (who we are in Christ) and practical holiness (how we live), and how God’s will—our sanctification—shapes every area of life. Paul’s warnings about “fornication,” coveting, and defrauding are applied beyond sexual sin to dishonest, self-serving patterns in daily life, including work and business. The sermon presses into how lust, greed, and fraud reflect the way “Gentiles which know not God” live, and why believers must instead “possess [their] vessel in sanctification and honor.” Finally, we consider what genuine brotherly love looks like: being “taught of God to love one another,” increasing in love beyond the local church, studying to be quiet, minding our own affairs, working with our own hands, and walking honestly toward those outside. All of this is set in the larger context of God calling us not to uncleanness, but to holiness, as we await the coming of Christ.

The Care Following Christian Entrance | Lesson 8

How do you keep loving and caring for fellow believers when you’re no longer with them—and especially when they’re under pressure and suffering? In this message from 1 Thessalonians 3, we trace Paul’s “labor of love” for the Thessalonian church after his forced departure. We see his restless concern in absence, his costly decision to send Timothy, and the specific mission to establish and comfort their faith in the midst of ongoing affliction. The sermon unpacks how Satan uses suffering to move believers, why Paul feared his labor might be “in vain,” and how strong, tested faith can stand firm instead of being shaken. We also explore the deeply reciprocal nature of Christian love as Timothy returns with “good tidings” of the Thessalonians’ faith, love, and ongoing remembrance of Paul. Their steadfastness becomes Paul’s comfort and joy, even in his own distress, leading to renewed thanksgiving, overflowing joy, and unceasing prayer. The message closes by applying Paul’s pattern of “Christian entrance”: not just sharing the gospel, but imparting our own souls; not just loving in presence, but in absence; and praying that our love would increase and abound—so that our hearts might be established “unblameable in holiness” at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

The Fruit of Christian Entrance | Lesson 7

What really happens when God’s Word truly enters a life—is it just a decision, or does it produce lasting, visible fruit? In this sermon from 1 Thessalonians 2:13–20, we explore how the Thessalonians received Paul’s message “not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God,” and how that Word then “effectually worked” in them. We trace the radical, though often unseen, change that occurs the moment someone believes the gospel, and how ongoing faith in God’s Word—not personality, style, or human opinion—strengthens believers, sustains them through suffering, and shapes their walk to be “worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” We also consider the deep fellowship and shared joy that grows where the Word is at work. The Thessalonians became companions in suffering with earlier churches in Judea, and even in Paul’s physical absence, Scripture continued to work powerfully in them. Their steadfast faith became Paul’s “hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing” as he looked ahead to standing with them “in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming.” This message calls us to examine how we receive God’s Word today and whether it is truly bearing fruit—producing endurance, holiness of heart, and an eternal, Christ-centered joy in our relationships and our future hope.

Christ Before All Things | Lesson 9

Have you ever started your view of God’s plan with yourself, your needs, or even with sin and redemption—rather than with Christ Himself? In this sermon from Colossians 1:15–17, we explore the “determinant counsel of God” before the foundation of the world and learn that everything God purposed began not with man, but with the exaltation of His Son. Christ is revealed as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, the One by whom and for whom all things were created, and the One in whom all things consist. From creation to authority structures, from history to eternity, everything is designed to center in and display the glory of Jesus Christ. Building on supporting passages in 1 Peter 1, John 17, Psalm 2, Proverbs 8, Hebrews 10, and Ephesians 1, the message shows that Christ was foreordained before the world began, set up as the Father’s wisdom and delight, and willingly accepted the Father’s eternal will. Redemption, then, is not God’s main purpose but the necessary means to reach His ultimate goal: the full exaltation of His Son and the gathering together of all things in Christ. The sermon challenges us to stop beginning with ourselves and to start thinking from Christ outward—seeing creation, history, salvation, our identity, and our future all “in Him,” where God has placed every spiritual blessing.