The point we're making is that encouragement is like the game of Ping Pong.

In this analogy, the ball may be represented by a variety of things taught by the Scriptures. Like a Ping Pong ball, encouragement passes back and forth between believers through these different means:

The Gift of Prophecy

"For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged." (I Corinthians 14:31) Notice that "prophecy for encouragement" is not limited to only one or two members.

This is the same message given at the beginning of Paul's teaching about the gifts when he writes, "But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort." (I Corinthians 14:3) In another teaching about the gifts, Paul writes, "If a man's gift is . . . encouraging, let him encourage." (Romans 12:6-8)

Personal Experience

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." (II Corinthians 1:3-5)

It is assumed that whenever we go through difficult times, and receive encouragement from the Lord, it is so that we can pass it along to others - it's as natural a thing to do as a cup spilling when it becomes full. If someone bumps your arm while you are holding a full cup of coffee, what spills out? Coffee. In the same way, when life bumps you, what spills out? Encouragement.

Love

The NIV of Colossians 2:2 misses the point with the rendering "encouraged in heart and united in love" as if these were two different things - encouragement and love. The KJV has it right, "That their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love. . . ."

Faith

Paul expected that when he would arrive for his visit at Rome, not only would he encourage the believers there, but they also would encourage him. "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong -- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." (Romans 1:11,12)

Prayer

Paul often prayed for his churches. In one letter, we have this prayer, "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." (II Thessalonians 2:16,17)

The Scriptures

Of course we read the Bible to learn more about the Lord and how to live faithfully for Him. But we also read it in order to receive the encouragement it offers. "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. " (Romans 15:4)

The Holy Spirit

"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord." (Acts 9:31) One can only think that this activity of encouraging one another is an essential ingredient of any church growth strategy, and it can be assumed that churches which honor the Spirit will excel in the matter of encouragement. The world gives stress - the church gives strength, and that is very attractive.

All of these verses have been taken from the New Testament, but we can note that this reciprocal encouragement activity is not totally absent from the Old Testament.

For example, in the days prior to the establishing of Israel as a monarchy, we have this commentary: "But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day." (Judges 20:22)

And later under the excellent leadership of Nehemiah, as together they worked to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, "They strengthened their hands for this good work." (Nehemiah 2:18c)

We also have, in the story of Job, a very early example of encouragement gone bad:

"When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him." (Job 2:11) So far so good. Later we find out what Job really thought of their efforts: "So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!" (Job 21:34)

We also learn that sinners and idol makers engage in encouragement Ping Pong:

"[The wicked] encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, 'Who will see them?'" (Psalm 64:5)

"The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smoothes with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil. He says of the welding, 'It is good.' He nails down the idol so it will not topple." (Isaiah 41:7)

Yes, at times we are left to encourage ourselves, like one of the Old Testament greats, "David [who] encouraged himself in the LORD his God" (I Samuel 30:6) when he had learned that the city had been burned which had housed the women and children, and all of his men, in their severe grief, turned against David.

And yes, this is a task assumed by the apostles.

For example, there was Barnabas, who at one point was named an apostle (Acts 14:14), and who visited the newly formed church at Antioch. "When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts." (Acts 11:23)

Later we hear of "Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers." (Acts 15:32)

We can also note, from a verse quoted earlier, that the Apostles evidently expected this to be a two way street - they both offered and received encouragement.

However, the kind of encouragement we're speaking of today is mutual encouragement - Encouragement Ping Pong.

There are several Scriptures we could turn to in order to encourage the gift of encouragement. What we will do is focus on a series of statements found in what could well be very earliest text of the entire New Testament.

Halfway through his second missionary journey, the Apostle Paul, along with Silas, after spending a night in jail and converting the jailer to Christianity, had left Philippi and traveled on foot the 68 miles west (and a little south) to the city of Thessalonica. This was a thriving port city, the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia as well as its chief port. Today the name is virtually the same, Thessaloniki, also known as Selānik, or Salonica) and boasts of being the second largest city of Greece with a population (including its suburbs) of more than 1,350,000. By the time Paul arrived, the city was already over 350 years old, formerly named "Therma" because of the hot springs located there. However, it was later renamed after the sister of Alexander the Great who in turn had been named by their father, Philip, who first heard of her birth on the day of his gaining a victory over the Thessalians.

When Paul and Silas arrived, they preached Christ in the Jewish Synagogue, while residing with a man by the name of Jason. However, their visit was short-lived and they were forced to leave town. To quell the disturbance he caused, Jason made a pledge that Paul would never set foot there again. Consequently, even though many believed the Gospel message, especially Greeks (former pagans - 1:9), there had been very little time to establish the church. Being anxious for them, Paul sent Timothy back to see how they were doing, and when Timothy later caught up with Paul in Corinth, Paul dictated this letter we know as the First Epistle to the Thessalonians.

So what we have in this letter amounts to a set of teachings primarily intended for a very young church. There are not a lot of doctrinal statements in this letter, such as we find in such books as Ephesians or Romans. On the other hand, what we do find is a lot of attention given to this activity of encouragement. It begins in Chapter One with Paul writing words of strong affirmation, saying that this young church was a "model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia" (1:7). Then, in each of the following chapters, there are repeated messages having to do with the activity of Encouragement Ping Pong.

In Chapter Two, it's Paul reminding them of his own efforts:

"For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.' (2:11,12)

In Chapter Three, Paul acknowledges that it was their fair that produced encouragement in the other direction - in his own time of "affliction and distress" (KJV), he was greatly encouraged.

"Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." (3:7,8)

A direct exhortation was given in Chapter Four, "Therefore encourage each other with these words." (4:18)

Twice in Chapter Five this advice is repeated,

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (5:11)

"And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." (5:14) (The word "feebleminded" of the KJV means "little-spirited, faint-hearted.")

Briefly note five points from these verses:

1. Encouragement in the church should be like that given by a father to his children.

One of the saddest commentaries on family life today is that fathers forgot how to be encouraging. Too often they have been harsh and critical, putting their children down rather than building them up. Thankfully, with the current generation, that is beginning to change - more and more fathers are becoming "dads."

2. Encouragement is especially needed in difficult times.

Even the great Apostle realized the benefit of receiving encouragement during his own time of persecution. Of course this in turn rides upon our willingness to share with our brothers and sisters our own needs, stresses and discouragements. If we maintain our privacy, the encouragement dries up. In our analogy with Ping Pong, one player can't be the only one to hit the ball, he must also receive the ball.

3. Most encouragement is carried by words.

Yes, what we do, our actions, can also offer encouragement, but in the end, encouragement consists primarily of what we say. In his letter, Paul actually gives them words to speak to each other, and we can follow his example by giving Scripture verses to each other. While our own words may feel empty and hollow, we know that the Word of God will never return to Him void.

To encourage is to build up the other member. By our words of affirmation and encouragement, we are contributing to the spiritual well-being of one another.

5. In the activity of encouragement, special attention should be given to the weak.

In our country, we tend to champion the "self-made man." We say, "I picked myself up by my own boot-straps - they can do the same." At times we don't notice that "they" don't even have boots. No doubt this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up" (Romans 15:1)

During my young teen years, I developed a fondness for this game of Ping Pong. I remember being at youth camp, where a table was set up in the barn. I found that I could win against everyone in the camp except for the son of the superintendent. His name was Rozie, and one day I casually suggested that we change hands and play with our left hands. At last, I beat him! The next time someone commented, "Wow, Rozie sure is a good Ping Pong player, isn't he?" I would nonchalantly respond, "Not really, I beat him playing with my left hand."

At one point I wanted to increase my skill so I placed a plywood table-top up to the wall in my basement and practiced by hitting the ball against the wall. However, I soon learned that it was counterproductive when I tried to practice my spins. When I put on a top-spin, a move designed to curve the flight of a hard hitting slam so that it will descend in time to hit the other end of the table, the ball instead would careen of the wall and fly over my head. A back spin could be hit very hard and always bounce right back on the table in front of me. The lesson is this - Ping Pong is not a game to play by yourself, it is best played with another player.

And so it is with encouragement. Like friendship, encouragement requires reciprocation - you give it and you receive it. Going back to a verse we read earlier from Paul's letter to the Romans - "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong -- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." (Romans 1:11,12)

There's one more thing I want to tell you about the game of Ping Pong. Usually it is played by two or perhaps 4 people, but there is a way for a larger group to play. To do this, everyone forms a circle around the table. One person on each end of the table picks up a paddle - one hits the ball to the other then quickly lays down the paddle for the next player. By the time the ball comes bouncing back, the next player is in position to hit the ball - and so it goes. Everyone gets to hit the ball, and everyone gets to receive the ball.

The game of Encouragement Ping Pong has already begun. Someone has already taken up the paddle and hit the ball to each of us. Now it is our turn to hit it back. The object however isn't to win the game, but to keep the volley going - the encouragement we have received will now be bounced to another, and another. When everyone plays, everyone gains, and the entire church wins.

We close with this favorite verse from the last page of the Old Testament, "Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name." (Malachi 3:16)

1. According to Hebrews 3:13, how often should we encourage each other?

2. We are reminded in Hebrews10:25 that we should not slack off in our church attendance. What one ministry activity is mentioned in that verse?

3. What are some of the ways that "prophecy" provides encouragement?

4. What would be required in order to turn our own personal experiences into encouragement for other people?

5. According to Romans 1:11,12, whom did Paul expect to be benefited from his upcoming visit to the church at Rome?

6. For what reason do we include Scripture verses in our attempts at encouraging one another?

7. What Old Testament story related to Nehemiah gives an example of workers encouraging each other?

8. Why were the encouragement efforts of Job's friends futile?

9. In the church, who besides the leaders should be involved in the ministry of encouragement?

10. What book of the New Testament is mostly likely to have been the very first to be written?

11. Why is it that some fathers have not evidenced tenderness and encouragement toward their children?

12. What is the obvious requirement for someone who is in trouble to receive encouragement from other members of the church?

13. If, as the saying goes, "actions speak louder than words," why bother speaking encouraging words?

14. According to Romans 15:1, what group of Christians should especially be targeted for encouragement?

15. In your imagination, what kind of talk was going on in Malachi 3:16 which says, "Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other"?