Session 1 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
the Thessalonians endured and influenced, despite severe persecution.
5b You know how we lived among you for your benefit,
6 and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord
when, in spite of severe persecution,
you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.7 As a result, you became an example
to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
8 For the word of the Lord rang out from you,
not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but in every place that your faith in God has gone out.
Therefore, we don’t need to say anything,
a brief summary about persecution for verses 5b-8.
Acts 17:5-10 N ASB5 But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men
from the market place, formed a mob
and set the city in an uproar;
and attacking the house of Jason,
they were seeking to bring them out to the people.
6 When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason
and some brethren before the city authorities,
shouting, "These men who have upset the world have come here also;
7 and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary
to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."
8 They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.
9 And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.
10 ¶The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea,
and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Point out that the church not only endured,
but became an example (v. 7).
Distribute copies of Pack Item 8 (Handout: Memory Verses Bookmark)
Draw attention to verse 6, this session’s memory verse.
Focus on the phrase “imitators of us” (v. 6),
which refers to Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
Emphasize that the church knew how to endure because of their models.
Ask:
the phrase “rang out” in verse 8.
the phrase points to the blasting of a trumpet or to proclaiming with vigor.
Stress that the “word of the Lord” was proclaimed despite persecution.
The gospel was being shouted through the lives of those enduring.
If the Thessalonian church had turned inward and focused on either temporary or secondary matters,
it would have missed its greater purpose.