A New, New Year’s Resolution

clip from The Bucket List

Who finds it easy to tell other people about Jesus?

II. Follow-up from last week’s lesson.
a. What was special about Thessalonica?
i. It was a prosperous city.
ii. Geographically it was located in the NW corner of the Aegean Sea. It was the harbour where Xerxes had his naval base when he invaded Europe.
iii. It was a free city and there were no Roman troops housed in this city.
iv. For a time there was a question of whether Thessalonica or Constantinople would be recognized as the capital of the world.
v. The main street of Thessalonica lay astride the Egnatian Road which linked Rome with the East. East and West converged on Thessalonica
vi. Lap of the Roman Empire
vii. Trade came to the city from the East and the West and if Christianity got a foothold here it would spread East to Asia and to the West to Rome which would make Christianity a world religion.
iii. It was part of Macedonia which was the kingdom of Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great dreamed of one world dominated by Greece in culture and Philosophy. He wanted to marry the East and West. Macedonia included Thessalonica which was named after Alexander’s father and Philippi which was named after Alexander’s father. Paul embraced the philosophy of Alexander the Great but as a world for Christ rather than for Greece.

b. Why did Paul go to Macedonia?
Read Acts 16:6-10
Paul was driven to the Aegean Sea by the Holy Spirit

c. How long was Paul in Thessalonica?
Read Acts 17:2
About 3 weeks

d. Why did Paul leave Thessalonica?
Read Acts 17:10
Paul was driven out of Thessalonica to Berea which was 50 miles west

Read Acts 17:13-15
He was driven out of Berea to Athens which was 200 miles to the south, leaving Silas and Timothy behind.

Read Acts 17:14-15
He called for Silas and Timothy to come to Thessalonica
He then sent Timothy to Thessalonica for an update.


Read Acts 18
Timothy met Paul in Corinth to report on the church at Thessalonica. He told Paul that they were “enduring bravely” and their efforts were not for nothing.

e. What significance do we learn from Paul’s mission in Thessalonica?
More on that to come.

III. Read 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2

How does Paul start this letter and why?
It’s always good to start off positive and not put people on the defensive. The best way to eradicate a man’s faults is to praise his virtues.

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:3
What does Paul state that are the 3 main ingredients of the Christian Life
a. Work-inspired by faith. What are the reasons you work. This refers to your job, your marriage, and your children.
b. Labour prompted by Love. What is the difference between work and labour. Work is towards a goal. Labour is the energy put into to working towards a goal.
c. Endurance founded on hope. Endurance keeps you going

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:4
It’s very easy to overlook a phrase in this as just biblical language. That phrase is “beloved by God.” This phrase was reserved in Jewish culture for only great men which included Moses and Solomon and the nation of Israel itself.

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:5
God is present and is in the message.
Miracles took place. What are some modern miracles?

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:6
There were imitators. We need models. Who do you model your life or your walk after?
I think that this is another mention that should lead us to consider having a mentor. More on that to come.

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:7
You can be an example to the world of fortitude under persecution.

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:8
Sounding forth like a trumpet.
What kind of picture does this put in your mind. Is this a society of timid folks? No. This was a brave announcement that something had changed. I think that we need a change in this city, this church, and this Sunday school class. I think we need some trumpet blowers and I put myself at the head of the line.

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:9
This message that Paul is preaching should turn people from idols and towards God to serve. Anybody willing to admit they have an idol problem that takes them away from God’s work? What about work, bible study, television, fitness, etc.

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Paul could not wait for Christ’s return

IV. How many of you are happy with the world as it is now?

Back to the significance of Paul’s mission in Thessalonica.
As we have already discussed:
We can draw a parallel with Thessalonica and Franklin.
We can view opposition in our world today as was present then. One could argue in our nation that it was worse in Thessalonica than it is in the US. Look at the situation in China.

To Paul, Thessalonica was a test case. That is why he so desperately awaited Timothy’s report on the status of the church. Could he accomplish what he wanted on his mission in 3 weeks or would it take months or years.

Read Acts 17:4-6

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:8-9

Was Paul’s mission in Thessalonica successful?
Without a doubt. Their work was heralded all over Greece.
Are you ready to “turn the world upside down?”

Conclusion:

If all this is similar, I would put forth that we can be successful and we can turn the world upside down. You just have to decide if this is what you want to do. Does this appeal to anybody? Who wants this?

It’s a good time of year for resolutions.

I need to tell ____________________ about Jesus.

How would you fill in this blank?

Challenge: I challenge you to talk to that person about Jesus. It may be a friend. It may be a co-worker. It could even be a relative. This could be an easy or difficult conversation. The only thing that I know is that you won’t be alone. Be prayerful. I bet that if we can start this, it will be something that becomes easier and something that becomes integral in our lives.