captivate 1: welcome to thessalonica!

8/8/2019 Captivate 1: Welcome to Thessalonica!

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captivateThe Power of the Jesus Story

1 Thessalonians

T U R N : S E R V E : W A I T


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captivate

captivate \kap-t-vt\

verb

to attract and hold the interest

and attention of


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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 evaluateyour own life in light of the transformative power

of the gospel.


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paul

1. Pauls 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 showhim how much he must suffer for my name.


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paul

2. Pauls 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, Ihave 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


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Romans 15:19, 24

pauls intention


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paul

3. Pauls 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 Thess2:11-12; 3:4)

Appoint key leaders (Titus 1:5)

Nurture the spiritual growth of the faitcommunities through visits, emissaries, and

letters. (1 Thess 2:17-3:2)


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Thessalonica, or Salonika is the second-largest city in

Greece and the capital of the region of Macedonia.

MODERN DAY THESSALONICA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_%28Greece%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_%28Greece%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_and_second_largest_cities_by_countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_and_second_largest_cities_by_country


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thessalonica

1. Named for Alexander the Greats half sister

Thessaloniki and was founded in 316 BC.

2. Was a commercial and cultic center.


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the egnatian way


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thessalonica

1. Named for Alexander the Greats half sister

Thessaloniki and was founded in 316 BC.

2. Was a commercial and cultic center.

3. The citys 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.


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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, divineSon, father of the native land,

descendant of Venus and

Aeneas), and under his

successors this became anofficial cult.


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the tensions

Acts 17:1-91 When Paul and his companions had passed through

mphipolis 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 theScriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah

had to suffer and rise from the dead. This Jesus I am

roclaiming 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 afew prominent women.


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the tensions

5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up

some bad characters from the marketplace, formed amob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to

asons 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 menwho have caused trouble all over the world have now

come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his

house. They are all defying Caesars 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.


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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)


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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.


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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 13:13And 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.

captivate 1: welcome to thessalonica!

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