Paul touches on some of the basic concerns the Thessalonians had about those who sleep in Jesus. He doesn’t answer all possible questions about those who have gone on before us, but he does tell us what we need to know and explains it in a way that can help us understand.

The love of God was shown to us through the sending of His Son and we celebrate that expression of His love every Christmas. But the world doesn’t fully comprehend God’s love until it sees it expressed between brothers. That’s why we’ve been commanded to love each other and why we need to fully understand brotherly love.

Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, and after seventeen verses that most of us pretty much skip over, he jumps right into the birth of Jesus. But he’s the only one who tells us something very important about Joseph...

Paul told the Thessalonians how he felt about them, and we need to do the same to those we love and care about.

Some of the Thessalonians were so sure that God was speaking through Paul that they accepted what he had to say. They received his word as the very word of God.

So what do we look for in a leader... and how do you know if you’ve found one?

No one wants their witness for Christ to be in vain... I don’t, you don’t, and the Apostle Paul didn’t.

The hope of Christ’s return should be the primary motivator in every Christian’s life. And if it were we too would be known for our work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope.

Make sure this letter gets read to all the brothers and sisters. Don’t leave anyone out.

All that remains is for John to bring the Revelation to a close, and he does so by affirming the truthfulness and the relevance of all we’ve seen.