Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Thank you for being with
me today.
I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in
Hudson, OH.
This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday after
Pentecost. We finished the epistle readings from Philippians last week, and
this week we begin 1 Thessalonians and our epistle lesson will be from 1
Thessalonians for the next 5 weeks. Now, I say that the epistle lesson will be
from 1 Thessalonians, but that might not be what you hear in church. Many
churches move their observations of Reformation Day, which is October 31, and
All Saints’ Day, which is on November 1 to Sundays. At the church I serve, we
will observe Reformation Day on October 29 and All Saints’ on November 5. For
the purposes of our devotions, however, we will stick with the readings
appointed for the Sunday and deal with the lessons appointed for the festivals separately.
1 Thessalonians is another short book. It might take you
thirty minutes to read the whole thing. I encourage you to give it a shot.
The Reading: 1 Thess 1 ESV
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you,
constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our
God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope
in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that
he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know
what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you
became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much
affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an
example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not
only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia,
but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we
had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and
true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised
from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thess. 1:1-10
ESV)
Comments
Thessalonika
(Thessaloniki) is an ancient city that is located at the tip of a bay in the
northwest Aegean Sea. It sits in an important location for both sea and land
trade. As such was a natural place for Paul to stop and to proclaim the Gospel –
although they were only there for three weeks or so a mob formed protesting
Paul and the gospel and Paul had to leave for his safety and the safety of the
new Christians in the city. You can read about their troubles in Thessalonika
in Acts 17.
Did you notice Paul’s first statements to his readers after
the introduction? He says, “We give thanks to God always for you.” And then he
says that they constantly mention them in their prayers. Thanksgiving and
prayer. “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you
in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and
labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Interesting
that he comments on their faith, hope, and love … but not in that order.)
How might thanksgiving for our brothers and sisters in
Christ lead us into prayer for them? How might we intercede for our fellow
Christians to be filled with faith, hope, and love?
The conversion of the Thessalonians was amazing to behold.
Remember that these were ancient Greeks. They had a pantheon of gods. In
addition, because of their location there would have been influences of all
kinds of world religions of the time. Paul says they left their old religions.
They would, from then on, serve the living and true God and wait for Jesus, who
delivers us from the wrath to come – that is, from God’s judgement upon sinners
like us. It was the hope of Christ’s salvation that drew them away from the
constant need to appease this god or that god that drew them to faith in Jesus;
the knowledge that Jesus had chosen them! Chosen them! It was learning that God
sent Jesus to save us by his self-sacrifice instead of having to go and offer
sacrifices to save ourselves that really sets our faith apart from the
religions of the world. That must have rocked their world! Does it rock ours
today? Do we look in awe at what God has done to save us?
And the gospel changed the Thessalonians. They were an
example. Others were talking about what God had done in them. Part of me
thinks, “I wish I could bottle whatever happened in Thessalonika and sell it
today!” But the reality is the same God that radically transformed the
Thessalonians by the power of the gospel is still at work in us. The Holy
Spirit is at work in us. And God has turned us away from idols – idols of the
flesh, of selfishness, of wealth and comfort, and of power – he has turned us
away from idols to serve him and to wait for our Savior, Jesus.
Prayers
O God, the gospel of Jesus’ salvation transformed the
Thessalonians. They left their idols. They changed. They were filled with
faith, love and hope. Thank you for their example, and for the example of many
Christians since who have had the same experience of conversion. Forgive us for
times when we have sought the comfort of holding on to our own idols instead of
turning away from them. Give us your Spirit to transform us so that we serve
you and wait for Jesus with faith, love and hope. In Jesus’ name we pray; Amen.
Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray
that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on –
some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of
the day.
Memory Verse: [Jesus] said to them, "Therefore render
to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are
God's." (Matt. 22:21 ESV)
I want to let you know that Devotions for Worship is now
available on iTunes. There is a link in blog notes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/devotions-for-worship/id1295926846?mt=2
If you go there you can subscribe and have these delivered directly to your
computer, iPad, or iPhone. I’m pretty excited about that. And if you’re there,
please take a moment to rate and review the podcast.
And one more thing. If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or
wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and
hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
Comments