************************
The Life and Faith of the Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 1.1-10
Good News Translation (GNT)
1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy -
To the people of the church in Thessalonica,
who belong to God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ: May grace and peace
be yours.
The Life and Faith of the Thessalonians
2 We always thank God for you all and always
mention you in our prayers.
3 For we remember before our God and Father
how you put your faith into practice, how your
love made you work so hard, and how your
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm.
4 Our friends, we know that God loves you
and has chosen you to be his own.
5 For we brought the Good News to you, not
with words only, but also with power and the
Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of
its truth.
You know how we lived when we were with
you; it was for your own good.
6 You imitated us and the Lord; and even
though you suffered much, you received the
message with the joy that comes from the
Holy Spirit.
7 So you became an example to all believers in
Macedonia and Achaia.
8 For not only did the message about the Lord
go out from you throughout Macedonia and
Achaia, but the news about your faith in God
has gone everywhere. There is nothing, then,
that we need to say.
9 All those people speak about how you
received us when we visited you, and how you
turned away from idols to God, to serve the
true and living God
10 and to wait for his Son to come from heaven -
his Son Jesus, whom he raised from death
and who rescues us from God's anger that is
coming.
*************************
Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by the
Scripture Union
It was to a group of very new Christians
The Thessalonian letters,
are two of Paul's early epistles.
At the time of Paul,
Thessalonica was important politically.
It was established 365 years earlier
by Cassander,
Alexander's general
and brother-in-law,
who named the city
in honour of his wife Thessaloniki.
It was the provincial capital
and a free city for military support
in earlier Roman wars.
Paul planted the church in Thessalonica
only a year before writing the letters -
so it was to a group of very new Christians.
There were some Jews,
but most of the converts were Gentiles.
We live in such an interconnected world
that is hard to remember that, for most
of human history, contact
and information across distances
was rare and costly.
Paul waited for months to hear
what had happened to the group
of believers that
he had hastily left in Thessalonica.
He could not gain news
at the press of a button,
but had to sacrifice the companionship
of his friends so that they
could travel back to the church.
Our ease of communication means
that we have a harder task
of distinguishing
what is really important
from what is merely interesting.
It means that our prayer lives
can become full of trivia.
The apostle knows what is really important
for him to know about the state
of the Thessalonian believers.
He can thank God
that their conversion was real.
This was evidenced by their response
to the message that was preached to them.
They had turned from their idols,
their faith had become a talking point
throughout Greece,
and they were labouring in love
and were willing to endure suffering,
with joy, in the Lord.
Their lives had become orientated
away from short-term concerns
and they had become people
who lived in the light
of the coming of the Lord.
As we reflect on Paul's concerns
for the Thessalonians,
we may consider what interests us about
what is happening in the lives
of our friends and fellow church members.
Could we give as encouraging a report?
Do we know more about their social situation
than their spiritual state?
Are our prayers for them
and our ministry to them,
as directed as Paul's,
so that their faith might also
become a talking point throughout the area?
Maybe above all we need to ask what signs
of true conversion
we are seeing in the lives of those
who are joining our church.
Other versions are available here
Return to the Home Page
Contact the Rector
The Revd.Nic.Edwards
The Rectory,
Church Lane,
BUGBROOKE,
Northampton,
NN7 3PB
Land Line: 01604 - 815496
(Can be accessed from the mobile device)
Mobile: .....
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Contact the Benefice Office
Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
Land Line: 01604 830373
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Mon., Tues., Wed,, Thur., Fri.
9:00am to 11:30am
For Baptism bookings (Christenings)
to arrange an appointment please contact
the Benefice Office.
For Wedding bookings:
please contact the Benefice Office to arrange an
appointment.
Who Made This?
Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful advice or report
factual corrections and 'deliberate mistakes',email
regparker3 at gmail dot com
Email addresses shown using words in an attempt to avoid 'spam',
Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@', and 'dot' with '.'
|