1 Thessalonians

·       Summary (church, strengths and weaknesses, reference to Acts):

The church in Thessalonica was struggling to live righteous lives while being surrounded by immorality in their culture. However, in 1:7 we see that they were able to be an example to the believers in the surrounding regions. Thessalonica was the capitol and largest city in Macedonia. The establishment of the church can be read about in Acts 17:1-9. In Acts 17:4 we read that the church consisted of some Jews but mostly gentiles and specifically some prominent gentile women. They were persecuted and had been struggling with sexual immorality.

·       Main ideas, key words and repeated ideas:

Some of the main themes of 1 Thessalonians are directly addressing problems the church was having. Things such as perseverance through persecution, holy living and eschatology are discussed. Paul corrects their understanding about 2^nd coming, instructs their actions and encourages them to remain strong. One of the key verses is in 3:12-13, “And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.”

·       Character and nature of God:

We see God’s faithfulness in 5:24 and he will make happen what he calls us to. He alone examines our hearts motives (1:1). I love 3:13, it shows so much of God’s character that the Thessalonians would need to see in their sin, confusion and persecution, God is shown to be their strength, He is perfect, holy and He is love! More than just His character though we are told that He makes us like himself.

In 5:28 we are shown God’s grace and in 5:9 Paul talks about God’s anger and the fact that He is our salvation.