Wednesday Evening Bible Study Cancelled

Title: Wednesday Evening Bible Study CancelledDescription: We have cancelled our normal Wednesday evening prayer and Bible study to allow people to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday. Have a great Thanksgiving! Date: 2010-11-24

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 – I Saw Four “Ships” Come Sailing In

There is a 19th century English Christmas carol which repeats the words, “I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas day.” Not that that old carol has anything to do with today’s text, but in going through this passage in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we come across four “ships,” as it were: [...]

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – “Children of the Light” – Part 2

In a song by the Christian band Jars of Clay we hear the statement, “…you are not what you do” (“Lesson One” on the CD “The Long Fall Back to Earth”). While a Christian most certainly will suffer the consequences of personal sin, ultimately we will be judged not by what we do, but by [...]

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – Children of the Light – Part 1

Aside from the often unproductive and distracting debate regarding a pretribulational versus a posttribulational rapture of Christ Jesus’ saints, what exactly was the apostle Paul trying to convey to the small persecuted congregation of new Christians in the ancient Macedonian city of Thessalonica? Paul’s message may be paraphrased: “You are children of light, therefore act [...]

1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 – Resurrection/Rapture/Return (Three Sides of the Same Coin)

[Please forgive the poor audio quality! It's a message still worth listening to! - Don Ebel] Many in the American evangelical church believe that because Christ will come to take the Church to heaven before the Tribulation starts the Church will be spared from the horrors of the “Great Tribulation”. This claim is rooted in [...]

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – I Hate Chapter Divisions!

In the 13th century, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, divided each book of the Bible into chapters and verses. His divisions have been followed to this day. For the most part this was a very effective dividing and it is quite helpful in finding specific verses or passages that we are interested in. Unfortunately, [...]