Paul wrote two letters to Christians in the city of Thessalonica. In the first letter, he wanted to encourage them because they knew that what Paul was teaching was the word of God and they obeyed it. After they obeyed, the enemies of God began to treat them badly. They remained faithful to God and were a good example to Christians in countries around them.
Paul and some men who traveled with him had to get out of Thessalonica because the enemies did not want him to preach. The Christians who were left did not give up and it made Paul feel great. He prayed that God would help them to continue to grow stronger.
Paul warned them to always be ready for Jesus to come again to punish the evil and take the good people to heaven. Some people think that Jesus is not going to come back or will come some time in the future. Paul told them to always be ready because Jesus would return when no one is expecting Him and will punish those who are doing evil.
In his second letter, Paul again reminded them to be faithful even when God’s enemies were not treating them well. He told them that even though they had strong faith and love for each other, they still needed to grow in faith and love. The Christian should never stop growing.
Paul told them that some day Jesus would come and punish those who were mean to them and give them a life in heaven with God.
Paul warned them that people would begin to teach many false things and some would follow their lies instead of the truth of Jesus. He wanted them to know the truth so they would not be led away by evil men.
Paul told the people to not be close friends with people who said they followed Jesus but did not follow the truth. They did not work like they were supposed to do and thought the other Christians should feed them. They were lazy and Paul said to avoid them so that they would not sin with them. Whenever they could they should try to teach these people to do what is right. Paul wanted them to obey and not give up.
Lessons from 1 and 2 Thessalonians
- Stay faithful when people mistreat you
- Always be ready for Jesus’ return
- Always grow in faith and love
- Know the truth so you will not follow the lies of evil men
- Do not make best friends of people who are doing wrong
- If you do not work you should not eat; do not be lazy
