How The Gospel Shapes Our Life Together — 1 Thessalonians 5:12–28 | Video Devotion with Dave Miers
Aug 31, 2026 25556
The gospel shapes our life together as we learn about Jesus, care for one another, worship together and trust God to complete his work.
[Watch this week’s video devotion with Dave Miers]
Do I really need to belong to a church community?
You are reading or watching this devotion from Good News Unlimited. Good News Unlimited is not a local church. We exist to help everyday people see Jesus clearly in God’s word.
Surely, if people can receive a good diet of Bible teaching online from ministries like Good News Unlimited, then being part of a church community doesn’t really matter. Right?
Not quite. We hope these devotions help you to grow in your faith; however, they cannot replace belonging to a local church. Granted, there are some places in the world where there are no local churches, and some people may also have health issues that keep them from being part of a church community.
Scripture makes it clear that following Jesus is not to be done alone. We need fellow believers who know us, and whom we can love, serve and encourage to keep going as a Christian.
This week, we are in our final section of 1 Thessalonians. I hope the series has been an encouragement for your faith.
We will focus on chapter 5 from verse 12 to the end of the chapter.
The question to keep in mind is this:
How does the gospel shape our life together?
Four things we’ll consider briefly, and then we’ll slow down on each for the rest of the week.
1/ PASTORS
Pastors are a gift from God to encourage us in the gospel.
In verses 12-13, we are called to respect them because of their labour in leading God’s people.
Often, pastors are among the most influential people in our lives because they teach us about Jesus. Pastors teach us the gospel. They remind us of God’s grace shown in the perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection of King Jesus.
2/ FELLOWSHIP
The fellowship we share together enables us to keep going in the gospel.
It’s not just the pastor’s role to encourage us in the gospel; we all have the opportunity to spur each other on in love.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15 for some of the ways we are to do this:
[14] And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15] See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. (ESV)
We treat each other this way because in the gospel Jesus has treated us this way.
3/ WORSHIP
We can worship together because the gospel teaches us that Jesus is worthy of our worship.
I won’t read them now, but scan your eyes over verses 16-22. And you’ll see, in quick succession, a whole bunch of ways we are called to worship God together.
We rejoice together, pray together, and give thanks together. We don’t quench the Spirit, but we test everything and hold fast to what is good.
4/ GOSPEL CONFIDENCE
We give ourselves to life together because of our confidence in God’s work through the gospel.
A church with Pastors who teach us about the gospel, with fellowship rooted in the gospel, and worship in view of the gospel. It sounds inspiring!
But who can ultimately form us into a community like that?
1 Thessalonians 5:23–24
[23] Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (ESV)
We give ourselves wholeheartedly to gospel community, but we know ultimately it is God who will complete that work.
Church communities are usually messy, and that makes sense because people are messy!
And yet, as imperfect as all of our earthly churches are, we can have great confidence that God will use our church communities for his glory and our good. On the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, God will display his perfect work in us.
The Good News Is…
We do not earn God’s favour by being a good church. His grace enables our life together.
The final verse of the book, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, says this:
[28] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (ESV)
In the words of John Stott,
“If a local church is to become a gospel church, it must not only receive the gospel and pass it on, but also embody it in a community life of mutual love. Nothing but the grace of Christ can accomplish this.” (p.135 BST)
As we give ourselves to a gospel-centred church community, we love and serve one another like Christ loved and served us, and we trust our faithful God to keep doing his gracious work among us.
Like and share so others can see Jesus clearly.
Further reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Rev. Dave Miers
President, Good News Unlimited