captivate

TURN:SERVE:WAIT

The Power of the Jesus Story

1 Thessalonians
 captivate
captivate \ˈkap-tə-ˌvāt\
verb

to attract and hold the interest

and attention of
 captivate series
through this series i hope you are . . .
encouraged
in your missional living as you consider the
transformative power of the gospel.

challenged
in your personal spiritual journey as you evaluate
your own life in light of the transformative power
of the gospel.
 paul
1. Paul’s Calling
Acts 9:15-16
This man is my chosen instrument to
proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their
kings and to the people of Israel. I will show
him how much he must suffer for my name.
 paul
2. Paul’s Intention
Romans 15:19, 24
by the power of signs and wonders, through
the power of the Spirit of God. So from
Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I
have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope
to see you while passing through and to have
you assist me on my journey there, after I
have enjoyed your company for a while
 paul’s intention

Romans 15:19, 24
 paul
3. Paul’s Strategy
๏ Pioneer the gospel to key areas (1 Thess
2:1-3)
๏ Attempt to lay a spiritual foundation in the
lives of new Jesus followers (1 Thess
2:11-12; 3:4)
๏ Appoint key leaders (Titus 1:5)

๏ Nurture the spiritual growth of the fait

communities through visits, emissaries, and
letters. (1 Thess 2:17-3:2)
 MODERN DAY THESSALONICA

Thessalonica, or Salonika is the second-largest city in

Greece and the capital of the region of Macedonia.
 thessalonica
1. Named for Alexander the Great’s half sister
Thessaloniki and was founded in 316 BC.
2. Was a commercial and cultic center.
the egnatian way
 thessalonica
1. Named for Alexander the Great’s half sister
Thessaloniki and was founded in 316 BC.
2. Was a commercial and cultic center.
3. The city’s religious climate was extremely
tolerant and inclusive.
4. The city actively sought to be in a favorable
standing with Rome so they were committed
to imperial worship.
These las two characteristics of Thessalonica
were a problem for the Jesus story since it
demanded exclusive allegiance to Jesus.
 Emperor Worship

The worship of the emperor

began even during the lifetime
of Octavian (in 27 BC the
Senate awarded him the title
Augustus: the Holy, divine
Son, father of the native land,
descendant of Venus and
Aeneas), and under his
successors this became an
official cult.
 the tensions
Acts 17:1-9 
1 When Paul and his companions had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,
where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his
custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three
Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the
Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah
had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am
proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of
the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as
did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a
few prominent women.
 the tensions
5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up
some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a
mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to
Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to
bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not
find them, they dragged Jason and some other
believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men
who have caused trouble all over the world have now
come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his
house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying
that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When
they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were
thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the
others post bond and let them go.
 chronology
Struggles at Phillipi (Acts 16:11-40; 1 Thess 2:2)
Travel to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1)
Share the Gospel (17:2-4; 1 Thess 2:2)
Forced to leave (Acts 17:5-10; 1 Thess 2:17)
Heads to Athens (Acts 17:14-15; 1 Thess 3:1)
Sends Timothy form Athens to visit the
Thessalonians (1 Thess 3:2)
Timothy returns with a favorable report of their
faith and Paul writes the letter to them while likely
in Corinth (1 Thess 3:6-7)
 text observations
Greeting (1:1)
The titles “father” and “Lord” would have been
dangerous to ascribe to anyone else but the
emperor since these were given to him in the
practice of imperial worship. This letter would
have been considered subversive (rebellious) to
the Roman Empire.
 text observations
Thanks (1:2-3)
The faith community was characterized by . . .
1) work of faith, 2) labor of love, 3) steadfastness
of hope.
1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and
love. But the greatest of these is love.

Their transformation was amazing especially

given their environment. They were truly
captivated by the Jesus story.