Future Glory | Present Trial: Acts 17:1-15, 1 Thes. 1:1-2

Acts 17:1-15 :: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2

Today we begin a new series on Paul’s letters to the Thessalonian church. But before diving into the first few verses of the first letter, there is some essential context work we must do.

Reviewing the escapades of Paul since his conversion in Acts 9 includes significant controversy, difficulty, suffering and persecution. Paul was targeted with a death threat immediately after his conversion in Damascus (Acts 9:23-24). The Disciples in Jerusalem feared him (9:26). During his first missionary journey, after being selected by the Holy Spirit and sent out by the church in Antioch, he was stoned in Lystra and presumed dead (Acts 14:19). Nonetheless, after leaving he returned to the city to check on the new believers there (14:21).

After returning to Antioch and reporting on his journey, Paul attended the Jerusalem Council as the early church leaders met to decide what the church of Jesus Christ would do with Jewish food restrictions and circumcision. Afterward, with this clarified teaching, Paul set out to revisit all of the cities and churches he planted before. But a sharp dispute broke out between he and Barnabas, who wanted to take John Mark for the journey. Paul disagreed as John Mark had “deserted” them on the first tour (Acts 13:13). Thus Barnabas and John Mark sailed to Cyprus, and Paul separated from them taking Silas, also called Silvanus, with him by land to Tarsus and then Derbe, Lystra, and onward.

After trekking through the length of modern-day Turkey, Paul, Silas and Timothy, whom Paul enlisted while in Derbe, were prevented by the Holy Spirit to trek further north into Asia. Keeping west they eventually came to Troas, on the coast of the Aegean Sea, where Paul have a vision of a man from Macedonia asking for help. They immediately put to sea and sailed to Neapolis, in Greece, a city on the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road running east to west from the strait of Bosphorus to the Adriatic Sea. Moving west they came to Philippi, a Roman colony founded in the days of the first Caesars. Lydia, an immigrant laborer, would be the first person in Europe to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe in Philippi. Afterward, Paul and Silas were captured, beaten with rods and thrown in jail. Then they were miraculously released, the jailer and his family also trusting in Jesus in the process.

Moving west again they eventually came to Thessalonica, a prominent port city on the Via Egnatia. Acts 17 records their initial approach to the city, spending three consecutive sabbaths reasoning with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue, many of them believing in Jesus. But some angry Jews roused a mob and attacked the house of Jason, most likely the leader of the synagogue, in an effort to nab Paul himself. Not finding him, they settled for Jason and several other new believers, dragging them before the authorities and accusing them of rebellion and disorder. The believers promptly sent Paul and his companions out of town, again west, to Berea.

But while there, some of the angry Jews from Thessalonica followed them and caused trouble in Berea as well. The new Berean believers promptly sent Paul by sea to Athens, Silas and Timothy staying behind. Once there, Paul toured the city and engaged with many of their people, including philosophers on Mars Hill, near the Acropolis. From there he went to the important city of Corinth, where Timothy and Silas rejoined him. In Corinth, Paul planted a young church of new believers and remained with them for a full 18 months, teaching, discipling and writing letters to other churches in other areas. This is where and when Paul penned the letter of First Thessalonians, probably around 50 AD. He did so, not to discipline an unruly church, but to largely commend and encourage, remind and reinforce.

“The epistles of the Thessalonians are all too little studied today. It may be true that they lack the theological profundity of Romans and the exciting controversy of Galatians; but nevertheless their place in Scripture is an important one. No other writing of the great apostle provides a greater insight into his missionary methods and message. Here we see Paul the missionary and Paul the pastor, faithfully proclaiming the gospel of God, concerned for the welfare of his converts, scolding them, praising them, guiding them, exhorting them, teaching them; thrilled with their progress, disappointed with their slowness. Though the continuous exposition of great doctrines is not a characteristic of the Thessalonian writings, yet it is fascinating to see how most, if not all, of the great Pauline doctrines are present, either by implication or direct mention. When we consider the undoubtedly early date of these letters this is a fact of importance in the history of Christian thought.”
—Leon Morris

Spending a good amount of time in Acts 17, we look today only at the first two verses of First Thessalonians, which is only the introductory greeting and a blessing of recalled prayers for the young church. Putting the two texts together, along with the remaining content of the Thessalonian letters, we can surmise the fullness of Paul’s prayers for the young church. These young believers continued to struggle through the suffering of persecution, ridicule and attack, the specifics of which we do not know in full.

Today we will simply try to wrap our hearts and minds around these two texts and find their relevance to our day and time, which is surprisingly similar. In this, we will be reminded of the necessity of endurance and perseverance in the face of persecution and ridicule for faith in Jesus, elements of our culture that are objectively on the rise over the last four or five decades. We must find ways to stand firm in hope, peace, grace and truth, without compromising our values or our witness to the world.

February Prayer Challenge :: Week 1
Tomorrow, the first day of February 2021, will begin a month-long prayer challenge for our church family, our city, our nation and world. Each week I will highlight some specific prayer points from our bible study that will hopefully seed and guide our prayers for that week. We will conclude our month of prayer with a night of worship and prayer in early March.

The prayer points for this week are:
1. Please pray for our church and the Church to revive an enduring missionary spirit - to revive our witness and testimony to our city and world.
2. Please pray for boldness and courage in the church - in individual followers of Jesus - as we graciously respond to the challenges of our culture.
3. Please pray for more prayer - a renewed spirit of desperation, repentance and dependence in our church and the Church.

Group Discussion Questions:

1. Outside of your personal struggles, what are you worried about most right now? Why? Share with your group.
2. What specific parts of the account in Acts 17 do you find most interesting? Most surprising? Most troubling?
3. Paul’s message in Thessalonica included that “Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead” (Acts 17:3). How does this fact about Jesus relate to Paul’s experience on the mission field? How does it relate to your life?
4. How did Paul and his companions handle the suffering they experienced (All the way back to being stoned in Lystra in Acts 14:19-23; and beaten/jailed in Philippi in Acts 16:19-24)? Can you identify some principles, practices, attitudes and application points?
5. Paul begins his letter with a greeting and mention of prayer. On the subject of prayer, someone has once said “prayerlessness is our declaration of independence.” Discuss this saying with your group. Agree? Disagree? Apply it to your life.
6. How would you currently characterize your prayer life? Share with your group.
7. What challenges do we face in our culture that seem similar to those that the young Thessalonian church might have faced?
8. What cultural challenge are you most concerned with right now? What is the biblical response to this challenge for a follower of Jesus?
9. Share with your group a time when your faith in Christ caused significant tension or friction with important elements of your work or family.
10. The angry mob in Thessalonica reported that Paul and his companions had “upset the world.” What do you think they meant?
11. Share with your group at least one point of personal application you took from these texts and discussion - one that you plan to implement this week.