Disclaimer: Paul talks about the Rapture in this passage a concept I still struggle with. I believe that once you die you go direct to the Lord, so bodies awaiting till the rapture to rise is hard for me to grasp. I can see how Paul was comforting the Thessalonians here but was his concept correct? Add any comments you wish to this bafflement of mine. That said, I wrote this per the text. What do you all think? Psalms 78:1-7; I Thessalonians 4:13-18   The psalmist in Psalms 78 is not only telling his current audience to listen to his teaching but to pass it on from one generation to the next. Just like he has heard it from his ancestors, he asks the Israelites to teach them to the coming generations. They are to teach them to the children yet unborn so that these children will teach their children. Why? So, they should set their hope in God, not forgetting God’s works. Fast forward to the New Testament where Paul is passing on this hope to the Thessalonians. The question these bel

  Matthew 23: 1-12; I Thessalonians 2:9-13   Jesus when he talks about the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew 23 basically says: “Do what they teach but not what they do.” What he questions most is their motivation. They do what they do to be seen by others. They wear fancy robes and love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect. All this Jesus sums up in the word pride or not being humble. He states then that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Years later Paul writes to the Thessalonians telling how he did what Christ had instructed. That he was humble leading a life worthy of God, his motivation being for God’s glory not his own. He tells that not only are the Thessalonians his witnesses of this but God also. They have seen how pure, upright, and blameless his conduct has been. He encourages the Thessalonians to do the same. To live a life worthy of

  Matthew 22:34-40; I Thessalonians 2:3-8 Jesus tells of the greatest commandment in Matthew 22. It is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and then to love your neighbor as yourself. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy as they write the Thessalonians seem to have this great love for their neighbors – the Thessalonians. Even though they were persecuted greatly out of their love for God and the Thessalonians they declared the gospel of God to them. Their highest goal was to please God, not mortals. They tell how God tests their hearts to see if what they’re doing is out of the love of God or just love of themselves seeking praise from mortals. Then they further their love for the Thessalonians by when making demands of them being gentle with them, tenderly caring for them. Not only did they share the gospel, but these leaders shared themselves. Why? Because they had become very dear to them. What a way to show love to your neighbor by sharing yourself with them.