Waverly Church of Christ

In Paul’s letter to the brethren in Thessalonica he reveals to us that which brought him and Timothy and Silas great joy.

He remembered the three short weeks which he and the others had spent in that great city sharing the gospel of God.

He spoke of how . . .
a. Some of the Thessalonians “received the word in much tribulation and with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1:6).
b. They became “an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” (1:7).
c. Their faith had become so well known in those places that Paul and the others had no need to say anything (1:8).

He also wrote of the “fond affection” which he, Timothy and Silas had for them and of how “dear” these new Christians had become to them (2:8).

He was grateful for the fact that they had become “imitators of the churches of God . . . in Judea,” even though they had “endured the same sufferings at the hands of [their] own countrymen” that the brethren in Judea had “from the Jews” (2:14).

All of this brings us to the heart of our lesson this morning:

a. The deep longing that is within us.
b. The one who constantly works against us.
c. Our hope, our joy, our crown of exultation.