So on to chapter 2 and just so you know I am only going to go as far as verse 17. Chapters and verses are useful for us but Paul didn’t add them into his letters believe it or not so sometimes there is real overlap between sections. Therefore I’m going to let Gaz included the end of chapter 2 in his study of 3 next week.

So to firstly give you a little background on whom Paul was writing to just in case you are like me and don’t really know much about the Thessalonians. Paul here is writing to a small church plant in Macedonia. He spent a small amount of time there with Timothy and Silas and was able to communicate the gospel to Jews and gentiles and people came to know Jesus. Paul seemed to really care about these people but was only able to stay a short while as they were forced out by unhappy Jews starting a riot. I found it really useful to read Acts 17:1-9, this documents Paul’s time there.

Chapter 2 starts with Paul stating what they did with there time at Thessalonians. Preaching the Gospel in spite of opposition, how holy, righteous and blameless they were whilst there. On first read I found this a little arrogant but on investigation found that Paul were defending there actions. There were a lot of Jew’s who were unhappy about what Paul and company were preaching and so they were attacked and discredited a lot.

The thing that really stood out to me whilst studying this short chapter was how similar in a lot of ways their situation was to ours. I think we often feel that Paul’s situation was very different from our own.

I found it interesting the way Paul had to go into the synagogue and reason with the Jew’s that Jesus was the Christ. The Jew’s knew of Jesus just as most people do today. But when it say’s in Acts 17:3 “this Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ” Paul is trying to show them that Jesus was more than just a good man but the Messiah. In other words God’s son who was sent to set us free and give us new life in Him. That is exactly what we are here to do and it is as challenging for us as it was for Paul (although we probably wont get killed for it).

There is also a good reminder in verse 9 of chapter 2 of how Paul had to work a normal job just like to all of us. They worked night and day at tent making to earn their keep spending time preaching on top of that. I find that encouraging and inspiring. Although I strongly believe ministry is working anywhere, doing extra stuff on top of our 9-5 is nothing more than the example Paul sets for us.

So there are a few nuggets I feel I’ve learnt. Like Paul in the face of opposition I want to communicate to others who this guy Jesus really was and like Paul believe we can come to see people know Jesus. I’d be interested to hear your nuggets.