By Sam E. Stone The apostle Paul founded the church in Thessalonica on his second missionary journey (Acts 17). Because he was not able to stay with the new converts as long as he would have liked, he continued to instruct them by letter. A central theme in both epistles to the Thessalonians is […]
Where You Live — for April 21, 2013
By Dan Lentz 1. What is your favorite book (other than the Bible)? What is your favorite movie? Do you tend to like specific books and movies because of themes, or because of surprise endings? Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:1-11. 2. These verses command us to encourage one another with words about […]
Where You Live — for April 14, 2013
By Dan Lentz 1. Do you tend to be a person who is intrigued, or annoyed by conspiracy theories? What is a conspiracy theory you’ve heard lately and what do you think about it? (A conspiracy theory is the belief that something or someone is responsible for the outcome of seemingly unrelated events.) […]
The Lesson and Life — for April 14, 2013
By Dr. Barry Thornton “God is more interested in our availability than our ability.” The wisdom in this statement is illustrated over and over again in Scripture as God often chose average individuals to fulfill his extraordinary purposes. “Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?’” (Acts 2:7). Incredulous, the crowd […]
In the World — April 7, 2013
By Christy Barritt Majority of Americans Feel Religious Freedom Is Declining in U.S. Fifty-one percent of American adults say they are very or somewhat concerned that religious freedom in the U.S. will become more restricted in the next five years. This was the result of new research from the Barna Group, in partnership with […]