Origins – Growth

November 3, 2024
The church at Thessalonica is a model of church success. This leads to the big question: why? At the end of Chapter 2 we get the answer. It is God’s Word, Suffering, War, and the Win.
Spiritually mature Christians adjust their attitude and mindset onward; they have a forward looking mindset. We are to follow Paul’s and other mature Chrisitan's example of making spiritual things a priority in their lives by developing an upward perspective.
Paul leaves Thessalonica after only 3 weeks and into that vacuum of leadership comes accusations leveled against him. He uses chapter 2 to defend how he ministers and gives us a brilliant path to follow.
One of the themes in the prophets is their call of exhortation to God’s people. The call can be to get back to Torah observance, or justice or it in case of Haggai to stop procrastinating. We get to learn from how God shepherds His people during periods of “we will do it later” and gain wisdom for our own tendencies.