A Church with the Right Stuff

1 Thessalonians 1:4-10

Introduction

 The Situation: Paul wrote this letter while he was in the middle of his second missionary journey. He had left Thessalonica and after a short stop in Athens, moved on to Corinth. So from Corinth he penned this letter, probably the first of his recorded letters around 50 A.D.

The City: Thessalonica was a thriving metropolis in the first century. The city was located on the superhighway of it’s time the – Via Egnatia – which brought people from the east to the west. Travelers literally poured into Thessalonica. At one point the city grew to be some 200,000 people.

At the heart of this chapter are the words in verses 7-8:

“And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.”

Note the following:

A church that knows how to celebrate

A church that cares deeply for people

A church that is striving to make an eternal difference