Thursday – Letters

Reading – 1 Thessalonians 1-2

Highlight Verse:

“This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God give you grace and peace.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I usually credit Paul with evangelizing the greater Mediterranean region and writing the vast majority of letters to the early Gentile churches.

That’s not exactly how it happened.

From the first day on the road to Damascus, Paul had help.

While he was the main speaker, he never could have fulfilled God’s call for him without many helping him.

Silas was a frequent companion sharing the teaching duties and suffering.

Timothy was his best-known trainee, helping establish the churches that Paul started.

Luke travelled with and helped support Paul, especially toward the end.

Various scribes, disciples, and helpers accompanied him, helping support the work in different ways.

They were a team.

Paul himself taught about the importance of believers working together to do the work of the Church.

While it is possible to be a Christian in isolation, it is far from ideal.

God’s calling for each of us is best accomplished as a body working together.

Paul showed this throughout his letters including the very first line of today’s letter to the Thessalonians.

Have you ever been an isolated Christian? How did that work for you?
What success have you experienced as part of a team?