10/09/2019 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 12:1-14:10, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8, Psalms 79:1-13, Proverbs 24:30-34

Today is the 9th day of October. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you as we continue our journey forward, pass through the center of the week. We’re working our way through the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. And then when we reach the New Testament, we’ll be beginning another of Paul’s letters, His first to the church at Thessalonica, also known as first Thessalonians. And we’ll talk about that when we get there, but first Jeremiah chapter 12 verse 1 through 14 verse 10.

Introduction to First Thessalonians:

Okay. So, we are going to enter into Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica and that’s called first Thessalonians as we mentioned at the beginning. And the story of the establishment of this particular congregation can be found in the book of Acts in the 17th chapter. So, Paul had previously been in Philippi but then persecution had become very severe there. So, he traveled to Thessalonica where in a very short and very intense time this church was planted. And then unfortunately a mob was stirred up against the church and persecution broke out and Paul and his companions were spirited away out of Thessalonica in the night and this happen on site the second missionary journey of Paul. And, so, a few cities later Paul found himself in Corinth, where he stayed for a year and a half. And it was probably in Corinth that Paul wrote this letter back to Thessalonians somewhere around that late A.D. 51 maybe early as A.D. 52. So, very early Christian writing. And Paul wanted to go back to Thessalonica just because of the circumstances, the persecution, the intenseness, the little amount of time that he had. He wanted to go back, encourage, and build up their faith and instruct them in community but he was not able. So, he sent Timothy and when Timothy came back from Thessalonica and reported the good news that the church was actually staying true well then Paul was relieved and overjoyed and that’s noticeable in the words of this letter, making it a very encouraging piece of the New Testament and a personal letter from the apostle Paul to the Thessalonian believers. So, persecution made it impossible for Paul to spend a lot of time there as we mentioned and the forming community was under such pressure that some of the believers had begun to question what Paul had taught them, especially about the afterlife of the believer. And, so, Paul addresses this and a lot of other things in this letter giving a more solid theological foundation for the church to grow. And as with Paul’s other letters, we get a fascinating glimpse in first Thessalonians into the early church because these letters are some of the earliest existing Christian documents. And it’s in first Thessalonians that we’re taught to respect one another and to remain passionate for God, even…even while the pressures of persecution are swirling around us. And, so, with that we begin. First Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 1 through 2 verse 8 today.

Commentary:

Okay, that proverb…that proverb is so true, and when we apply it to the natural world we know it’s true, right? Like the summer time if you don’t cut your lawn or you don’t have somebody cut your lawn, right? If you don’t weed and trim then it’s can overgrow and it’s gonna take off on you get out of control and then everything’s going to start looking like a ruin. If you don’t maintain things, then they’re going to start falling apart on you and their gonna start over growing and becoming a mess. Like, we know that but have we ever applied it to our hearts? Like have we ever looked at our in interior lives from this perspective, because that could explain an awful lot? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, spiritually, and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man in the same way that it will happen in our natural lives. So, again that can explain a lot of things that are going on inside of us right now. And, so, let’s take this proverb, Proverbs 24 30: through 34, which is what we read today, and apply it to our lives and carry it around with us the next few days because it explains, it gives language, not only to the natural order of our lives but our interior lives as well.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit we invite You into that. Where have we been sleeping? Where have we been slumbering? Where have we been folding our hands to rest and not maintaining what’s going on within us? Reveal the areas that need to be maintained. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.