It’s episode 80 of the Busy Christian Mom podcast, and we are in our Anchored Attitude mini series. These 9 episodes will walk you scripture memorization strategies of specific bible verses that will help you anchor your attitude, mindset, and effort on Christ. Today, we’re walking through how to memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 in minutes.
CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN: EP 80
Review
The 9 episodes in this mini series are broken down into three sections, each with three verses (attitude, mindset, effort). We are on the third of three bible verses specifically addressing attitude. Happen to remember them? I’ll give you some hints, and you think about it. If you forgot, good news! You can give episodes 78, 79, and 80 some relistens. Bonus tip: when you practice memorizing with others, you’re more likely to remember. Bring your kids, your husband, your friends, and your mama. Ready?
The first verse we talked about how nobody wants to hang around a poop mouth, and how we need to watch our attitude in what we say. Hold it in your mind. Let’s say it. “Do everything without complaining and arguing.” Philippians 2:14.
How about the second verse? We talked about donuts, rocket ships, and boosting our attitude with a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 countdown to liftoff. I’ll give you a second to think. Ready? Let’s say it together. “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. Romans 12:12.” Woohoo! Again, it’s completely normal to give yourself a relisten.
- EP 78: Philippians 2:14 (attitude) “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”
- EP 79: Romans 12:12 (attitude) “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
- EP 80: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (attitude) “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances. For this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Verse
Here we are our third verse in the Anchored Attitude mini series. Our third verse that addresses attitude adjustments. The verse reference is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. “But, Brooke, that’s three whole verses!” Yes, but they’re short, and growth only happens outside of the comfort zone.
Now’s a good time to mention the free workbook that goes right along with these episodes. You can spend some time each day to practice. You also have episode 24 that covers a ton of memorization techniques. Friendly reminder, the only thing you need is God. Pray and ask him to help you with this. He wants you to remember bible verses. And, you have all these resources at your disposal. Use them to memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Let’s hear this week’s verse together. Remember, this is all about getting our attitude in check and focused on God. Weeks 1, 2, and 3 come together to help us recognize what not to do, and what to do instead. I’ll be reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 from the NLT.
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Verse Context Breakdown
Before we memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, let’s talk about context. Here are some quick facts about 1 Thessalonians:
- Paul penned this letter to the church at Thessalonica (learn more about Paul in episode 5)
- Paul has a connection with these people and cares about them
- This letter serves as a check in, encouragement, and advice
- Thessalonica is suffering major persecution, but Timothy (remember him from last week?), brings word to Paul that the church at Thessalonica is absolutely thriving.
Let me say the verse again. Keep in mind the context. Paul is sending praise, encouragement, and advice to the Thessalonians who are suffering persecution, yet they are thriving in Christ. So when we too are suffering, let’s step into this attitude adjustment:
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Wondering what God’s will is for you? Want step by step instructions on how to get there? No sweat. This verse tells you what God’s will is for you, and it says exactly what to do. There should be no doubt in our minds that whatever circumstance we’re in, this is the Godly way to respond. More on this in a few minutes.
Memorize Verse
Now, it’s time to memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong in Christ Jesus.” I need you to get your mind right and your game face on.
This is three verses, so embrace the stretch your mind is getting. Remember, you have the workbook, you have episode 24, and you’ll have the strategy we’re going over today (which you can put on repeat as much as you want/need). So, dig deep, say a prayer, and put in the work. Memorizing God’s word is always worth the effort.
Just like last week, we’ve got three directives (that are similar).
- Always be joyful
- Never stop praying
- Be thankful in all circumstances
…For this is God’s will for you who belong in Christ Jesus. When we need that attitude adjustment, a simple fix is to choose joy, talk to God, and express gratitude. If you do this regularly, your attitude will naturally shift to help you look more and more like Jesus. Hallelujah sanctification!
Strategy Technique
Time to talk strategy now that we’re ready to memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. We’re going to practice memorizing this verse with a phrase technique. We’ll have a phrase that triggers a response. Here’s the phrase we’re using: “Three to do. For who? For you!” Let’s break this down a bit:
- Three to do= the three tasks we need to regularly do to regulate our attitude. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances. God’s will for you is to do these things! Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will.
- For who? For you!= this helps us focus on the last line “for you who belong to Christ Jesus” As Christians, we have different standards we’re held to. It would be silly for us to walk around the world and hold non-Christians to these standards. Come across a non-believer who’s living in sin? We’ll, that isn’t surprising…As Christians, we’re called to be more like Jesus. So, in response to the “Who is this verse even for? For who?”, it’s for you who belong to Christ Jesus. It’s for who? For you!
Three verses. Three objectives. And bonus, the first two objectives are three words each. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Look, you already have two of the three verses memorized. Great job. You can walk away now with two wonderful pieces of advice. But, ask yourself, “Can I stretch myself here? Is it worth another few minutes of practice to memorize the rest of the scripture?” You can do it!
Three to do. For who? For you!
Glad you’re still here! Three to do. For who? For you! Always be joyful. Never stop praying. The third is “be thankful in all circumstances.” I know it’s five words and not three like the other verses, but we can remember that being thankful is important. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances.
Why should we do these three things? Because it’s God’s will! Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will. Three to do. For who? For you! It’s for you who belong to Christ Jesus. These three tasks are for followers of Christ. That’s you!
Now, we practice. If you’re a visual person, click the show notes to see how this scripture is broken up into five lines. Are you an auditory learner, rewind me a few times to get it. If you’re a kinesthetic learner, grab that workbook. You can relisten to this as many times as you need. I’ll be here as long as you want. Yay technology. Are you ready? Here’s the trigger phrase: Three to do. For who? For you!
- Always be joyful
- Never stop praying
- Be thankful in all circumstances
- for this is God’s will
- for you who belong to Christ Jesus
Again! Rinse and repeat as much as you need. It’s short and sweet, and you can relisten for the next couple minutes and have it memorized. Really, it’s about 10 seconds long. If you still know the lyrics to NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye, you know you can memorize 10 second’s worth of God’s word. Commit to memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Verse Reference
Now, let’s work on the verse reference. Think back to our context. Paul is writing to the Thessalonians because they’re doing such a great job in this persecution circumstance. You could consider them #1 at joy, prayer, and thankfulness. #1, 1 Thessalonians, get it? Chapter five, and the five lines of this verse (again, see show notes for how it’s broken down if you’re visual).
1 Thessalonians 5. Now for 16, 17, 18. Think back to your good ol teenage years, or, if you’re in the throws of parenting teenagers…they could stand an attitude adjustment every now and again. Could your 16 year old self chosen joy a little more? How about your 17 year old. Wouldn’t you just love it if they never stopped praying? What about your 18 year old niece?
Don’t you want her to be thankful in all circumstances? Yes. Amen. ALL CAPS YES we want that for our teenagers. We want them to always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Let’s say it all again! Three to do. For who? For you!
- Always be joyful
- Never stop praying
- Be thankful in all circumstances
- for this is God’s will
- for you who belong to Christ Jesus
Live It Out
Now that you can memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, let’s talk about how we can live out this scripture. Here are a few questions that I’ve asked myself, and I’m wondering if we have some common answers. Do you suffer gracefully? Are you always able to choose joy? Do you constantly pray throughout your day? Do you represent God well in all of your circumstances? Girl, same. I can practically hear you talking back through my computer as I’m recording this.
I don’t always choose joy when my U10 girls lose a game, or when I have to do laundry…again. Sometimes my knee jerk reaction in traffic is not praying. And, while i’m confessing my flaws for the world to hear, I don’t choose to be grateful in all my circumstances.
Sometimes, I get pretty upset and let my emotions run wild. Looking at you Type 1 Diabetes! Yep. Attitude check time, because when I zoom out and look at the big picture. I don’t deserve anything good. I was born a sinner needing saving, and the only reason anything good exists is because of God.
He didn’t have to give us puppies, or chocolate, or the feeling you get when you see your kids’ faces light up. But he did. He is so good. And for that, I know that I have the ability to always be joyful, never stop praying, and be thankful in all circumstances. Thank you, God, for giving us the ability to do this! So live out this verse with perspective in mind. There is always a reason to be joyful, pray, and be thankful. This is God’s will for you.
Podcast Recap
Congratulations! You have everything you need to memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18! And, I bet you can say the verse already! Let’s try it!
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
You’ve completed the first 3 of 9 memory verses for this Anchored Attitude mini series! Let’s zoom out a bit and look at all three verses, all together. It’s a clear picture of our attitude adjustment. What not to do, and what to do. It’s step by step, and it’s simplified.
- EP 78: Philippians 2:14 (attitude) “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”
- EP 79: Romans 12:12 (attitude) “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
- EP 80: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (attitude) “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances. For this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Links from the Show
- Anchored Attitude Mini Series
- EP 24: Tips to Memorize Scripture
- Etsy Shop: Busy Christian Mom
- Busy Christian Mom Podcast (Apple Podcasts)
- Pinterest: Brooke Collier BCM
- Busy Christian Mom Instagram
