Introduction

Welcome church! Today we begin an encouraging 4-week series in the book of 1 Thessalonians. 1st and 2nd Thessalonians were some of the first “epistles” or letters written by Paul, and the church in Thessalonica was one of the churches established by Paul during his second missionary journey. So, we get a first hand look into how Paul, the Apostle and pastor, encouraged this young church. Each week we will take a different principle from 1 Thessalonians about standing firm in the faith. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, a bit of background information about Thessalonica would be good.

“Thessalonica was a coastal town on the major Roman road, Via Ignatia (the way of the nations), running eastward from Rome. A seaport, it was also very close to a rich, well-watered, coastal plain. These three advantages made Thessalonica the largest, most important commercial and political center in Macedonia. Thessalonica was a cosmopolitan metropolis similar to Corinth, inhabited by peoples from all over the known world. Barbaric Germanic peoples from the north were living there, bringing with them their pagan religion and culture. Greeks lived there, coming from Achaia to the south and from the islands of the Aegean Sea, in turn bringing their refinement and philosophy. Romans from the west also settled there. They were mostly retired soldiers and they brought their strength of will, wealth, and political power. Finally, Jews came in large numbers from the east; eventually one third of the population was Jewish. They brought with them their ethical monotheistic faith and their national prejudices.”

The diversity of people, with their diversity of thought and culture, made Thessalonica an interesting place for the early church to take root. The constant swirl of dissenting opinions and power structures often led to persecution and segregation of those early Christ followers. They had to learn, sometimes the hard way, to stand firm in their faith, no matter what was going on around them.

Main Teaching

When was the last time you really had to either step out in faith or stand firm in your faith? Maybe you’re in the midst of a challenging season right now.

We all experience difficult seasons in our lives and I don’t think that’s breaking news here today ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium

Don’t give up! Keep fighting for faith. Take hold of the life God has given you.