An Audience of One

Every one of us lives for an audience. The question is whether that audience is God. In this final episode of our study on pursuing distinctive living, and the close of our larger look at the blueprints for a growing church, we open 1 Thessalonians 4:1, where Paul says Christians are taught “how you ought to walk and please God” and then calls them to “excel still more.” We look at the three things Scripture says pull us away from pleasing Him (the flesh, self-centeredness, and the need to please people), four things we must strive for every single day, and nine clear, biblical ways to bring God pleasure. Then we ask the question every congregation has to face: blueprints don’t build anything by themselves, so are you doing your part? Key verse: 1 Peter 2:9.