After a short ministry in
Thessalonica, Paul was forced to leave (Acts 17:1-10). Probably less than a
year later, Paul heard that the believers there were being persecuted. Paul
wrote to reassure them that their faith and sufferings were not in vain. This
is one of his earliest letters.
Salutation
(verse 1)
Verse 1 presents the authors and
the audience: “Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.”
Paul gives Timothy instructions about how the church should function and how to address some problems in first-century Ephesus. In chapter 3, Paul describes the kind of people Timothy should appoint as leaders for the churches.
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Program Transcript (click to view):
Some people think that
Christianity is interesting, but basically irrelevant--a harmless superstition.
It’s fine for you, they might say, but it really makes no difference to anyone
else.
Now, the opposite was true
for Jesus: his ministry and teachings did not help himself at all, and they
made a big difference for everyone else.
In the modern world, there
is often a big disconnect between Christ and Christianity, and today I’d like
to explore that a little bit. We’ll start with one of the events in the life of
Christ, recorded in Mark chapter 6.
Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to
correct a few doctrinal problems in the church. He also sent Timothy a letter
outlining his mission—a letter that was designed to be read to the entire
congregation so that everyone would know that Timothy was acting with Paul’s
authority.
Jesus used a steward as an example in several of his
parables, because all of us in some way or another manage things that belong to
God. The word “stewardship” often refers to the way that we use money, and it
is a reminder that the stuff we have is not really our own, and so we ought to
be generous in giving some of it back to God for his use.
Perhaps you
know of someone who might like to watch this program. If so, go to the bottom of
the page and click on "Email this page." Fill out the short form, and share the
good news! There's also a way to share the page on Facebook, Twitter,
Buzz, and other websites.
If you'd like to support this ministry, click here.
Program Transcript (click to view):
Christian churches sometimes talk about the idea of
“stewardship,” but especially for new people, it is often an unfamiliar word.
We don’t know what stewardship is, and we don’t know what a steward is.
But Jesus used a steward as an example in several of
his parables, so it is helpful for us to see what he is talking about.
There
are many difficulties involved in interpreting prophecy, but if we take the
Bible seriously, we need to study prophecy, because prophecy is a large part of
the literature God has inspired to be written and preserved in the Christian
canon. And since prophecy encourages us to know God and do his will, it is
important for us to study it, even if it is difficult.
After a short ministry in
Thessalonica, Paul was forced to leave (Acts 17:1-10). Probably less than a
year later, Paul heard that the believers there were being persecuted. Paul
wrote to reassure them that their faith and sufferings were not in vain. This
is one of his earliest letters.
Salutation
(verse 1)
Verse 1 presents the authors and
the audience: “Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.”
We have a new life in Christ, but what does that look like in real life? What does it look like in our friendships and relationships with other people?
Perhaps you
know of someone who might like to watch this program. If so, go to the bottom of
the page and click on "Email this page." Fill out the short form, and share the
good news! There's also a way to share the page on Facebook, Twitter,
Buzz, and other websites.
If you'd like to support this ministry, click here.
.
Program Transcript (click to view):
Our nation is full of immigrants. Many of us were born in a different nation, and we moved to America at some point in our life. Or maybe it was our great-great grandparents who moved to America from “the old country.” Even if we are Native Americans, if we go back far enough, we will see that our ancestors came to this land from somewhere else.
God created the first humans in the image of God, in the likeness of God (Gen 1:26-30). What does the "image of God" mean? In what way are we humans different than animals, and in what way are we like God? How has sin affected the image? Is this image relevant to Christian growth, sanctification and the ministry of the church?
