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Camp Pioneer RLS High School Trip - I Thessalonians 3:9-13

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Posted: Saturday, September 3rd, 2016 by Pastor Westgate

We’ll be home by now tomorrow. Our trip is almost over. A new school year will really start for us in a couple days. How should we start this year? St. Paul gives us a guide. Give thanks for your classmates and your teachers. Love them. Don’t hate them. Don’t think bad things about them. Want the best for them and from them. Certainly that’s what the faculty wants for you. That’s what I want for you as your pastor. Love them. Be willing to help them however you can.

St. Paul tells us to grow in love. Actually He prays that The Lord would make us grow in love and establish our hearts as blameless in holiness before God our Father. We can’t do these things on our own. We aren’t blameless in His sight. Perhaps you got blamed for something today. Your parents have certainly blamed you for all sorts of things, and whether you like to admit it or not, you might have been guilty.

Your parents don’t see everything you do. If they did, would they be pleased? Probably not. So think of how God sees what you do. He loves you. He wants you to please Him. But so often we don’t. In school it might look like this: we don’t do our best, we make fun of somebody, we say something mean about the teacher, we do something mean to one of the little kids.

What’s God’s answer? He tells you, that if you want to enter into life, to repent and desire to do better. But then He also tells you about Jesus. He tells you that Jesus always did His best. He never made fun of anybody, yet was often made fun of. He never said anything mean about anyone, even though people liked to be mean to Him. He never did anything mean to anybody, but always did really nice things to people. Why? He did it for you. He has been punished for your sins, and now everything He did for you – God says you’ve done it. It’s credited to you. Your credit card statement no longer shows you owing God anything for your sins. He’s paid it all in full. You owe Him nothing to get saved. You are saved already.

So let us give Him thanks. How do we do that? By desiring to please Him. That desire He will not leave unrewarded. His Spirit works in us to do what is good. Pray Him for help in school, and He’ll provide. Pray Him to forgive you when you mess up or fail, and He will, for Jesus’ sake. Your teachers and pastor are here for you too, sent by Him, to teach you how you should live and act. Listen to them, follow their instructions. For out of love God has given them to you to teach you repentance and faith and holy living. May He help you to live these things this school year and throughout your life.

Categories: Pastor Westgate's Sermons

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