Paul goes into a testimony of how Jesus changed his life. He talks about his past and tells Timothy that he was the worst of sinners. This was triggered because he was talking about these people who think they know the law but really have no idea what they are talking about. As he was talking, he starts going through the ten commandments and he must have started reflecting back on how, even though he knew the law well as a Pharisee and had a zeal for God, was a sinner and needed the grace and mercy of God. We are all sinners and need Jesus to save us. We all have a sinful past, some of you are still in sin because you have never died to yourself and been washed in the blood of Jesus! Why not? What is holding you back? We want to hear your story of how God changed your life when you met Jesus!

Have you ever listened to someone who sounds smart yet they have no idea what they are talking about? If you ever watch a “Reel” on social media, then you have listened to these people we call “Influencers.” They do these little, short videos, little snippets, sound bites, that sound amazing but once you get hooked and “Reeled” in, you find out they really have no idea what they are talking about and they lead people astray from the truth with their false teaching. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to deal with people like this. People who sounded smart by telling myths and fables, using genealogies to sound educated and important, were leading people away from Jesus and destroying their faith. Paul tells Timothy to put a stop to these people!

Paul leaves Timothy in Ephesus to deal with some issues in the church at Ephesus. He is a young man who is timid so Paul will tell him not to let that be a deterrent to what he is called to do. Before diving in to what instructions Paul gives Timothy for the church at Ephesus, we take a deep dive into the book of Ephesians to explore what some issues the church had, along with what Jesus had to say about the church in Revelation 2. There isn’t a perfect church because there aren’t any perfect people, so the church is full of imperfect people, or what people in the world call “hypocrites”. We are all sinners in need of salvation, grace, and mercy, and thought the church is full of imperfect people, it’s still the body of Christ and together, we strive to be more like him every day! Want you join us?!?!

Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to confront some issues the church was having and we dig into all of these issues looking at what we know about the church given to us in scripture. Timothy was a young man that Paul had converted to Jesus and he had traveled with Paul on his journeys as he started new churches and visited churches he established in the past. Timothy would be a little intimidated by what he was given to do and Paul offers him these three things: grace, mercy, and peace. Three things that are much needed today as we confront sin in the church and false doctrine, because these things stem from one place—an enemy that wants to stir up strife, chaos, confusion—an enemy who wants to divide the kingdom of God to weaken it. That is why it is imperative to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on one another!

Paul writes a letter to a young man that he pointed to Jesus and after accepting him as his Lord and Savior, Timothy joins Paul in his travels as he starts churches and visits the ones he had already established. The point of Paul writing this letter is because there are issues beginning to crop up with the Gentile church in Ephesus and Paul is going to leave Timothy in Ephesus to confront the issues. The transformation that Jesus makes in people when they dedicate their lives to him is amazing! Just look at the one who is writing this letter—Paul! He was so full of himself and who he thought he was until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul was completely changed from the inside out. He was given a new identity in Jesus and Jesus will do the same for you!

Paul writes a letter to a young man that he pointed to Jesus and after accepting him as his Lord and Savior, Timothy joins Paul in his travels as he starts churches and visits the ones he had already established. The point of Paul writing this letter is because there are issues beginning to crop up with the Gentile church in Ephesus and Paul is going to leave Timothy in Ephesus to confront the issues. The transformation that Jesus makes in people when they dedicate their lives to him is amazing! Just look at the one who is writing this letter—Paul! He was so full of himself and who he thought he was until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul was completely changed from the inside out. He was given a new identity in Jesus and Jesus will do the same for you!

Paul ends his letter like he started it, by telling the church, “May the God of grace give you peace...at all times...in every situation. The church at Thessalonica has gone through severe persecution since it started and they have lost loved ones because of it. They have to wonder what is coming next...Will they make it through the next day? Will they make it through the night? Are they going to get beaten before they get home from work or while they are out shopping? We may not be undergoing persecution like the church at Thessalonica, but we all face something in life that is difficult. As we do, our prayer is the same as Paul’s...may the God of grace give you peace at all times, in every situation.

Paul is going to give some final thoughts to the church at Thessalonica as he wraps up this short letter in chapter 3. He tells them to avoid any brother or sister in Jesus who doesn’t live according to his rules and the example that he set before them. What rules? What example did he set? He tells them he could have eaten their food for free but they all worked hard day and night and paid for everything they received. Paul says if there is a brother or sister that wants to be a freeloader and not work, make plans to avoid them at all costs!

God’s grace allows us the opportunity to hear the gospel and believe the gospel. God’s grace gives us time to accept Jesus and live for him, even while people reject Jesus, doing their own thing, every second they live they are given grace because they have breath in their lungs and have the capability to accept Jesus and the sacrifice he made on the cross for our sins. But someday, that grace is going to turn into vengeance when Jesus returns. All of those who rejected Jesus will separated from God for eternity, never having another opportunity to repent of their sins and be washed in the blood of Jesus. Don’t let God’s grace run out on you. Accept Jesus today so you will be with the redeemed in heaven for eternity!

The church at Thessalonica has another concern about the return of Jesus so Paul writes a second letter to help them understand but in this letter, he causes confusion for us today! How? Because of what he says to them about the man of lawlessness and him being revealed some day; how this man will even sit in the temple of God! How can this happen when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 and no longer exists?!?! Did we miss the return of Jesus? Who is this man that will one day be revealed? Who will he deceive? We answer all of this in this podcast...