Archive for 2012
Thessalonians 08 – Encouraging the Faint-Hearted
Paul instructs Christians to encourage those in our communities who may be struggling in faith, calling on similar statements in Colossians 3 and Romans 12. Download MP3 (40:35; 23 MB)
Read MoreThessalonians 07 – The End of the World
Paul tells is that we must be prepared for the end times, and not be in the dark like the rest of mankind. Isaiah 59 may have been in Paul’s mind when he wrote this section. Paul uses a metaphor of armor here that is similar to the one in Ephesians but with different metaphors.…
Read MoreThessalonians 06 – The Christian View of Death
Paul instructs Christians not to shun manual labor but to engage others in their lives in Christian love so that we are command the respect of others. We must be blameless and holy on the last day, since it will be on that state that we will be judged. There will not be a period…
Read MoreThessalonians 05 – Holy Chastity
Paul calls Christians to catechize and root the new disciples in faith and in practice, but he focuses on three issues in chapter 4 under the subject of holiness: sexual issues, love of the brotherhood, and those Christians who have died. For Christians, it is vitally important that they do not give those who would…
Read MoreThessalonians 04 – Longing for Thessalonica
Paul is driven to Athens and preaches there, but is not able to return to Thessalonica to continue preaching there, and sends a letter back to them explaining his great desire to return there with Timothy. Paul also says that we must be vigorous in our faith, even to the point of suffering. Download MP3…
Read MoreThessalonians 03b – Paul’s Personal Ministry
Paul did not preach for prestige or glory, unlike other false teachers. He has worked intensely and personally with the people to make people’s lives worthy of God. In Philippians 1:6 and Philippians 2:13, Paul speaks of how God works through us to bring His work to completion. Paul is deeply grieved by his inability…
Read MoreThessalonians 03 – Pushed by the Holy Spirit
When Saul first encountered the Christian faith, he would have been offended that a man who claimed to be the Messiah was hung on a tree, and such men are described as being cursed. Paul visits Cyprus as part of his first missionary journey, and they have a disagreement as to whether the Gentile converts…
Read MoreThessalonians 02 – Paul in Thessalonica
On Paul’s journey, he is imprisoned, but through an earthquake, he persuades the jailer to convert to Christianity. Paul is released and goes to Thessalonica, where he preaches on the subject of the messiah for three weeks. The Jewish establishment sent troublemakers to cause a riot, and Paul is forced out of the city. The…
Read MoreThessalonians 01 – Introduction
Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians show a vivid snapshot of the church in mission. Paul was sent from the church in Antioch as a mission to the Gentiles to Cyprus. The Antiochan church was being torn apart by the question of whether Gentiles must be circumcised. The Council of Jerusalem would decide that Gentiles must…
Read MorePastoral Epistles 25 – Appealing to Philemon
Paul tells Philemon that he could be bold enough to command him to do what is required, he chooses to appeal out of love. Paul appeals to Philemon to take Onesimus back as he is useful to Philemon and to Paul, with whom he has formed a special bond. Paul also says that he will…
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