hotcoffee
New Member
Well.... here we go again. I've been putting off writing regularly because there was no clear sign telling me where to go next.
Then last night a page on FB showed up in my group lists. I don't remember signing up for it but because the title is 1 Thessalonians:5 I decided to take a look. It was started by a young woman who was in a Sunday School Class many years ago. She's a young woman now but she was in the 1st grade when she was in that Sunday School Class. Her mother is a devout woman who also taught Sunday School and Children's Church. This young woman is one of my daughter's long time friends, so I've had the honor of watching her grow up. She's not one of those perfect little girls.... who goes to church every time the doors are open. She hasn't been the perfect little goodie two shoes but she has always had a special relationship with Jesus. She's one of the children who was thrilled to learn that Timothy of the New Testament Letters was actually not an old man. She checked out my lessons with her mom before believing that Timothy was only a young teen when he became a church leader.
She is calling for people to "Pray without Ceasing". It brought tears of happiness and humility to my eyes. Now I know where I am to go next in the Bible. So for my young friend.... here we go.
1 Thessalonians 1
Thessalonica, now known as Salonica, is one of the biggest cities in Greece. The Greeks as you recall loved to debate everything. They also had a lot of gods. The idea of the one and only God was debated over and over again by the Greeks. Conversion to Christianity meant giving up all the little gods for One God.
Paul, we know, once murdered Christians. He was a Roman Citizen who was also a Jew. He lusted after murdering Christians because he felt they were extremely dangerous. On the Road to Damascus Paul experienced a true "come to Jesus". After that conversion, Paul spent the rest of his life serving Jesus.
We met Silas in Acts at the Council at Jerusalem. We don't know how old he was and we don't know much about his family background. Because he was part of the Council at Jerusalem, though, we know that he was active in setting up the early church. The Council at Jerusalem was the place where the Jewish Leaders of the new church wanted gentiles to be circumcised before joining the new church. During this debate Paul said "Acts 15:10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? "
And then there's Timothy.... the young teen who served the Lord so well. Timothy's father was Greek and his mother was a Jew. He was from Lystra and that's where [according to the commentary] he first met Paul. Paul circumcised Timothy. Based on the notes on Silas, it may seem a bit strange that Paul would first say that circumcision was too much to bear and then meeting Timothy we find that Paul circumcised Timothy.... but according to the commentaries.... it was because Timothy's mother was Jewish that made it proper for Timothy to be circumcised.
Then last night a page on FB showed up in my group lists. I don't remember signing up for it but because the title is 1 Thessalonians:5 I decided to take a look. It was started by a young woman who was in a Sunday School Class many years ago. She's a young woman now but she was in the 1st grade when she was in that Sunday School Class. Her mother is a devout woman who also taught Sunday School and Children's Church. This young woman is one of my daughter's long time friends, so I've had the honor of watching her grow up. She's not one of those perfect little girls.... who goes to church every time the doors are open. She hasn't been the perfect little goodie two shoes but she has always had a special relationship with Jesus. She's one of the children who was thrilled to learn that Timothy of the New Testament Letters was actually not an old man. She checked out my lessons with her mom before believing that Timothy was only a young teen when he became a church leader.
She is calling for people to "Pray without Ceasing". It brought tears of happiness and humility to my eyes. Now I know where I am to go next in the Bible. So for my young friend.... here we go.
1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
Thessalonica, now known as Salonica, is one of the biggest cities in Greece. The Greeks as you recall loved to debate everything. They also had a lot of gods. The idea of the one and only God was debated over and over again by the Greeks. Conversion to Christianity meant giving up all the little gods for One God.
Paul, we know, once murdered Christians. He was a Roman Citizen who was also a Jew. He lusted after murdering Christians because he felt they were extremely dangerous. On the Road to Damascus Paul experienced a true "come to Jesus". After that conversion, Paul spent the rest of his life serving Jesus.
We met Silas in Acts at the Council at Jerusalem. We don't know how old he was and we don't know much about his family background. Because he was part of the Council at Jerusalem, though, we know that he was active in setting up the early church. The Council at Jerusalem was the place where the Jewish Leaders of the new church wanted gentiles to be circumcised before joining the new church. During this debate Paul said "Acts 15:10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? "
And then there's Timothy.... the young teen who served the Lord so well. Timothy's father was Greek and his mother was a Jew. He was from Lystra and that's where [according to the commentary] he first met Paul. Paul circumcised Timothy. Based on the notes on Silas, it may seem a bit strange that Paul would first say that circumcision was too much to bear and then meeting Timothy we find that Paul circumcised Timothy.... but according to the commentaries.... it was because Timothy's mother was Jewish that made it proper for Timothy to be circumcised.