1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10

Summary: The Thessalonians were a church over which Paul had felt great concern. Persecution drove him from the city much sooner than he’d have liked (see Acts 17) forcing him to leave these brand-new believers. Paul writes this letter in response to a report he’d just received from Timothy encouraging him that the faith of the Thessalonian Christians has remained strong in his absence. As such, Paul opens this letter expressing his gratitude to God for the supernatural evidence of His work in their midst. Though a church can seem like a profoundly ordinary institution, Paul here encourages the Thessalonians that their faith and life together is the supernatural outworking of God’s sovereign love for them since before the creation of the world (v.5). We too ought to be encouraged as we see the same supernatural signs in our life together as a congregation.