Sermon text: I Thessalonians 5:1-11
This morning we are going to take a look at a passage in 1 Thessalonians. We will look at the beginning of chapter 5, which is primarily about the end of the world, particularly when Jesus will return again.
In the Bible we have two of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians. They are written to a predominantly Gentile church of new converts. Part of the purpose of 1 Thessalonians is to comfort and motivate the believers there with the truth of the Lord's sure return. So the primary issue that Paul emphasis throughout is that of the second coming of Christ.
The city of Thessaloniki still exists today. In fact it is one of the few cities from the New Testament times that still exists. Thessalonica was a very important city in biblical times. Its main street was a part of the very road which linked Rome with the East. Trade poured into the city from east and west. It is impossible to overstress the importance of the arrival of Christianity in Thessalonica. If Christianity was established there, it was bound to spread east along the Egnatian Road until all Asia was conquered, and west until it stormed even the city of Rome.