The Church in Noble - Cornerstone
May 3, 2026
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      • 2 Timothy 4:8NASB95

  • To God Be The Glory
  • All Hail King Jesus
  • Doxology
  • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
  • How Deep The Father's Love For Us
  • When We All Get To Heaven
  • ILLUST:
    1) People you’ve never met, but have a good impression of
    What is it you hear about them?
    2) Time flies when you are _________
    Busy doing something that brings you joy
    Pick up where left off - you became imitators
    READ 1 Thess 1 - whole chapter, focused on vv 8-10

    Three Components to Your Testimony

    There is a great picture of the church here in 1 Thess. 1
    These believers are centered on Christ
    They are busy with others - selfless
    They seek the return of Christ
    I see in this three characteristics of a solid testimony: They are marked by a Shift, by Serving, and by Staying

    1) Shift

    As in, priorities
    Or turn, change, REPENT
    It’s ‘easy’ to say to “turn from sin”
    These people turned from their idols…meaning…
    Whatever was most important in life, is now less important than their walk with Christ
    (Paul is referring to having been Gentiles, people who were not Jews )
    The priority of the lost is self, whatever someone makes the most important
    Their ‘worship’ was focused on themselves
    Whatever looked good, tasted good, sounded good, felt good…
    Priorities had to shift, and they did
    Notice two KEY aspects of this turning - it marks repentance
    They turned FROM….
    They turned TO…
    Actually, the text says they turned TO God, FROM idols
    Turning “to” something” requires turning “from” something else
    Important concept: They didn’t just stop focusing on self, they also shifted their focus to worshiping Christ
    This leads one to…

    2) Serve

    Service is to the Lord, seen in serving others
    SERVE
    When your primary focus shifts away from YOU, it turns to God
    Then you desire to serve Him. How?
    He has all the glory, He has everything, how could you serve Him?
    By serving others, those around you, those He has put in your path
    This service marks the presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer
    it was clear to those who interacted with this church, those who came through this port city
    People in surrounding areas knew of the faith and service of this church
    It was clear! It was their identity!
    These people love Jesus and it shows! And not by what they say…
    ASIDE - Paul acknowledges this, and he hopes it will continue
    Persecution is coming
    False teachers will tempt them to turn back to their love of self
    You have a choice whether or not to serve others
    There are pressures all around to steer you back to what you like, what feels good, what is more convenient
    Even coming to church is a form of serving others, because it benefits others to see you here
    Pressure from vices, sports, family, work, and so on
    POINT - You will not fully commit to serving others unless you have made the shift in priorities
    We try to balance two worlds, here and Heaven - it does not work - it makes you double-minded
    James 1:8 NASB95
    being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
    Strong focus on church and serving the Lord! Unless…something else more important comes up
    (Shift priorities, Serve…)

    3) Stay

    Paul came to this church on a vast missions journey
    Paul brought a message that was not popular or in line with cultural values
    And the result was that people made a WILLFUL act of turning from their lives of being lost to one of devotion to the LORD!
    Hold your position, stand your ground
    Our message of truth is not popular today, and not even in line with so many who are “religious”
    WAIT
    You will stick with something you believe in - you WILL
    The Thessalonians became models and messengers - as should we
    They did not send out other messengers to advertise their church
    They didn’t put up flyers or take out ads, or put up billboards
    THEY LIVED THE LIFE OF SURRENDERED BELIEVERS
    They remembered that the life they once loved so much was never truly satisfying
    So Paul encourages them to recall that
    Don’t go back to that life, it is spiritually empty
    ILLUST: I really want Ho-Ho’s - you remember them?
    Nutritionally empty
    Oh, but they tasted so good
    Ho-Ho’s and diet Coke
    I know better, so why would I go back to that?
    I came from a spiritually empty religion - never truly satisfied
    Full of nice people, doing nice things
    In the middle of “success” - I realized I truly did not have God in my life
    Conversion to Christ meant taking it seriously
    There is no fence to sit on
    You really can’t live with one foot in this world and one in the next
    When you try, people see hypocrisy
    Waiting means serving and being busy for the LORD until He returns
    The parable of the Talents in Luke 19
    What are you doing with the salvation Jesus has offered?
    Waiting shows that one is fully satisfied by the life lived for the LORD
    Serving others, ministering in the church, learning every day, growing, evangelizing, increasingly devoted prayer, desire for the Word
    THIS IS TESTIMONY
    You have one - what is it?
    Someone who knows you well - What would they say is your TOP focus in life?
    Paul is thrilled that the Thessalonians are known for their shift from the old self, by their service to others, and by their staying firm in the faith
    They are marked by genuine conversion!
    Impossible without HOPE
    Their surrender to the Lord was fixed on the HOPE they had
    Jesus will return!
    Philippians 2:9 NASB95
    For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
    Philippians 2:10 NASB95
    so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
    Philippians 2:11 NASB95
    and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
    1 Thessalonians 4:17 NASB95
    Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
    Believers are saved from God’s wrath
    1 Thessalonians 5:9 NASB95
    For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
    There is no condemnation in Christ
    2 Timothy 4:8 NASB95
    in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
    To this part in this letter - great anticipation, READ ON!
    Paul will defend himself and the truth of the Gospel
    Paul knows how crucial his message, the message of the Gospel is, to the dying world in which he lives
    Do you get that?
    What’s Wrong With the World?
    What’s wrong is there are too many people who have not turned to God
    And they need a guide, they need help, they need someone who has been there to show them
    That’s you!
    If you are genuinely converted to Christ from the world…
    People here in Noble, Olney, Richland County
    Need to see genuine converts to Christ- able to defend the faith
    Your shift in priorities
    Your selfless service to the church and others
    Your staying firm in the faith
    All of us, we need to be WAITING - Biblically
    And it is hard to do that PATIENTLY
    I am EAGER for Christ to return - (there is nothing patient about it)
    But I wait
    We wait on the LORD
    Busy serving, resisting pressure to live like the world
    Remaining faithful in the waiting
    Because we have HOPE in His return

      • James 1:8NASB95

      • Philippians 2:9NASB95

      • Philippians 2:10NASB95

      • Philippians 2:11NASB95

      • 1 Thessalonians 4:17NASB95

      • 1 Thessalonians 5:9NASB95

      • 2 Timothy 4:8NASB95

  • Living for Jesus
  • Shine Jesus Shine
The Church in Noble - Cornerstone
cornerstone@wabash.net
618-723-2779
https://cccnoble.faithlifesites.com
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