Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1-3, Psalm 18 Unlike the second letter to the Corinthians, it seems likely that this correspondence to the church in Thessalonica was written very close on the heels of Paul’s first letter to them. So close in fact that there has been speculation that the second letter
Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5, Psalm 17 When is it all going to end and how will it happen? I think pretty much everyone asks this question at some point. At least every generation has someone who seriously considers it, and tries to map out what the future will look like.
Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3-4, Psalm 16 Yesterday we read about how Paul, after he was kicked out of Thessalonica and ended up in Athens, wanted to return to the city but was prevented by Satan from doing so. Hints of spiritual warfare permeate Paul’s letters, and here I believe he
Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1-2, Psalm 15 We come today to the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. If you recall, the city of Thessalonica was a very large and important city in the ancient world. It has not been as well excavated as some other ancient cities because it
Reading: Colossians 3-4, Psalm 14 What do you pay attention to? I had a revelation a couple of years ago about that question. Try swapping out the word “attention” for some other thing you have. Most obvious would be “money,” but other things work. How about “time?” Does that change
Reading: Colossians 1-2, Psalm 13 The ancient city of Colossae was significantly different from the cities we have read letters to so far. Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, and Philippi were all really important places. Galatia was a region. Colossae was a small commercial town of little international importance, with one exception.
Reading: Philippians 3-4, Psalm 11 Having given the Philippians the reason to endure suffering with joy in his great meditation on the person of Christ in chapter 2, Paul now turns to what this looks like. He will (again) address licentious living and legalism, this time in much shorter terms.
Reading: Philippians 1-2, Psalm 11 We turn now to the Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, a city in Macedonia that Paul and Luke visited in Acts 16. This letter, which appears to have been written during Paul’s captivity in Rome, addresses issues of the identity of Jesus and
Reading: Ephesians 5-6, Psalm 10 Paul continues his tirade against behavior that is rooted in the human problem. Paul tells them to stop engaging in immoral behavior, instead being imitators of God, as his beloved children. What does that look like? Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave
Reading: Ephesians 3-4, Psalm 9 For this reason… At the beginning of chapter 3, Paul builds on his prior argument that Jesus has killed the hostility that divides all humans. As he did with the Corinthians, he sets up the message as coming from a higher authority than himself. He