Rev. Matt Ulmer, pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bishop, TX joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10.
The first letter to the church in Thessalonica is one of the...
Rev. Matt Ulmer, pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bishop, TX joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10.
The first letter to the church in Thessalonica is one of the earliest, and very likely the earliest, books of the New Testament. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote to the young church to encourage them to continue to stand firm in Christ even amidst persecution. Following his usual pattern for letters, Paul greets the Thessalonians in the grace and peace that come only from the true God. He speaks of his thanksgiving to God in his prayers for their faith, love, and hope centered in Christ Jesus. In Him, God had chosen the Thessalonians by the Gospel, the word that is powerful by the working of the Holy Spirit. That powerful Word made them imitators of the Lord and His servants, as the word received affliction produced great joy. This provided an example throughout Macedonia, how the word of the Lord produced fruit among the Thessalonians. They had turned from dead idols to the living God, in whom Christians have the hope of resurrection on the Last Day because of Christ’s resurrection on the Last Day. All who have such faith in Him are delivered from the wrath to come.
“Christ Is Surely Coming” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that journeys through the two epistles to the Thessalonians. Through these two letters, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy encouraged the young church in Thessalonica to stand firm in the midst of persecution as they eagerly waited for Christ’s second coming. This Word of God still strengthens the Church today to live now with faith, hope, and love, even as we long for the Day of Christ’s return, the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
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