Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Paul here indicates the importance of consistent appreciation of other believers when he states that one of the obligations that he and his friends Silas and Timothy had was to give thanks to God for the faithful believers in Thessalonica. The reason in their case was obvious because, as he goes on to say, the Thessalonians had been converted through the gospel ministry of Paul and his friends when in the city a few months previously. Paul spells out what has happened to the Thessalonians, which is a reminder that our thanksgiving should be intelligent from a spiritual point of view. The description of believers The first thing that we can observe about the description is Paul’s desire to focus on the Trinity. He writes that the Thessalonians were loved by the Lord Jesus, chosen by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit. Obviously, he could have said different things in connection to each of the divine Persons, but the point to observe is that he brought each of them into his...

What do Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Ronald Reagan have in common? Each of them has been identified as the Antichrist, although for a variety of reasons. After all, Reagan was a very different man from the other two. What do the Caesars and the Popes have in common? Several of them have been called the Antichrist. Of course, they may have been an antichrist (with a small ‘a’), but whether any or all of them are the Antichrist is debatable. The apostle John reminded his readers towards the end of the first century that ‘children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come’ (1 John 2:18). The fact is, one of the permanent distractions that affects some Christian churches is the desire to identify the Antichrist. All the attempts so far have been wrong, which is not surprising since Paul says in this passage that the man of lawlessness will be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus, which means probably that he comes to ...

We are aware that there are many serious aspects to life. Usually there are serious details in the newspaper. When we read a biography, we will come across times of seriousness in the life of the person. If the person did not have serious moments, we might wonder about the depth of their lives. The Bible contains many examples of such occasions and it is possible to read passages looking for aspects of seriousness. Did we observe any areas of life mentioned in the chapter in which seriousness is expected? Paul and his colleagues Silas and Timothy begin this letter by expressing their gracious desires for the church of the Thessalonians. They remind their readers that they now have a precious relationship with God the Father and a specific way of responding to the Lord Jesus Christ, which is that of submission. Senders and recipients are both sons of the Father and servants of the Saviour. The writers also mentioned what their readers could expect to receive – grace and peace from ...