1 Kings 10:1-10 & 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 (ESV) - Not long after the Apostle Paul and his co-workers began to preach the Gospel in the Greek city Thessalonica, they saw more than a few people come to faith in Jesus Christ. Soon after they were forced to leave the city because of harsh persecution, and Paul was prevented from pastoring this infant church in person. On Sunday, we will read Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church and we will read of his joy for them. But what was he joyful about? What about this infant church led Paul to praise God constantly for them? And what sorts of things make a church truly praiseworthy among the saints? As we drawn nearer to the time of our dissolution, let us be asking these things so that we can rightly judge a holy and faithful church from a sea of alternatives and charlatans.