Paul describes a stark contrast here in 1 Thessalonians 5. It is between daylight living and night-dark living. And with it he urges Christians to get up and get on with living with Christ.

Something about this time of year that sets our thinking on what's ahead. Behind the smiles and the looking forward, some of us may be running on a supply of hope that's a little bit depleted. The future might feel uncertain because of loss or tragedy that has hit hard in your life, or maybe, some of life has come tumbling in around you. For whatever the reason, hope can be short supply. Even as we look to the future, even at the start of a new term, even for Christians.

As we read between the lines in 1st Thessalonians, this group of Christians appear to have suffered loss of some people very close to them and that has left them running low on hope, worried about the future. So Paul writes this letter to the Thessalonians to encourage in the midst of all of that. It's to teach them, to restore them, to assure hope.

I know how the world is going to end. That's a bold claim, right? The truth is all I know about the end of the world is what Jesus said in Luke 17:20-34. It will end on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. It will be sudden, unmistakable and irreversible. Are you prepared for the Coming Kingdom? For the return of King Jesus?

As we dive into our study of 1 Thessalonians we learn that the bible actually commands Christians to learn self-control and not to be driven by our fleshly desires, but to please God instead. If we don't stay within the guidelines God has given us, the consequences will be severe for us and those around us.

This episode we are looking into Hebrews 12:1-3 where the writer urges Christians to endure in the race, using the picture of an athlete in a race. Telling us believers that, as an athlete, we need self-discipline, encouragement and a singular focus in the Christian race.

We can get a lot of insight as we listen to the apostle Paul explaining his deep concern for this recently planted church. This letter bursts with heart that Christians will not only profess to be Christians but live it out and stay the course, whatever opposition they face, whatever influences are surrounding them. So as we listen to Paul’s heart, here are some insights to help Christians stay the course. Listen in.

As Paul describes his work and conduct in Thessalonica, we get to see what constitutes genuine Christian ministry. Establishing this picture will help us because we sometimes get a bit mixed up about what genuine ministry is and what it is not. Listen in.

This letter to the Thessalonians is one of deep encouragement. Specifically here in chapter 1, there are two weighty encouragements for Christians. Listen in.

The fact that there are so many needs around us mustn’t stop us from recognising (and addressing) the greatest need of people everywhere. Here in Acts 6, Luke describes the priority.

Two names here in Acts 5 are now synonymous with deceit. Reading these names must stop us all in our Blackrock tracks to think about the difference between devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and the opposite: some sort of deceitful pretence.