If you are a Christian reading this, what are you known for? Imagine that people evaluate your life to answer the question, “What are two of the most important Christian principles for living?” What principles would they land on? What principles should define Christians? There are many good possibilities. In this post I share twoContinue reading “Christian, what are the top two principles that define your life? – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Part 4”
Tag Archives: 1 thessalonians
What a Christmas card taught me about ancient communication technology – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Part 3
A few years ago during the Christmas season, I got the mail from our mailbox, and as is so typical at Christmas, the mail that day included numerous Christmas cards. I opened them one by one, glancing at the pictures. As I looked one card’s picture, I thought “I have no idea who this is.” Continue reading “What a Christmas card taught me about ancient communication technology – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Part 3”
Is three weeks enough time to start a church? – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Part 2
Paul is very troubled about the Christians in Thessalonica. Why? Two reasons: too little time and too much pressure. First, time. He was only with them for about three weeks. That is such a short amount of time. How could they possibly learn to be followers of Jesus in three weeks? I’ll grant you thatContinue reading “Is three weeks enough time to start a church? – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Part 2”
A new house church network begins, and right away there is trouble – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Part 1
Today we start a study through the New Testament book titled 1st Thessalonians. What is 1st Thessalonians? Turn to Acts 17, because there’s a back story we need to hear if we want to answer the question “What is 1st Thessalonians?” In Acts 17, the Christian church is only about 20 years old. What JesusContinue reading “A new house church network begins, and right away there is trouble – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Part 1”
Maybe all Christians need to attend a pastoral assessment center – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Preview
My denomination, the Evangelical Congregational Church (ECC), has something I love called the Pastoral Assessment Center (PAC). The PAC is one of the early steps a pastoral couple or single attends on the road to becoming a licensed pastor in the ECC. When my wife and I started at Faith Church in October 2002, IContinue reading “Maybe all Christians need to attend a pastoral assessment center – 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3, Preview”
Engaging Scripture 