Turn with me in your bible to the book of 1 Thessalonians as we continue in our series “While You’re Waiting” where the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Thessaloniki exhorting them and teaching them to live their lives for the Lord and to live with the hope each day that Jesus could return at any moment to take them home to the Father’s house. When you begin to understand that God created the heavens and the earth and from the beginning He has had a plan that is unfolding throughout history, the goal of this life becomes to know God and to seek to live out His plan and purpose for our lives. In short the goal of our lives becomes the glory of God and the good of mankind. 

So far in our study of 1 Thessalonians we have looked at in chapter 1 we have read about what makes for a great church… Four things that we can glean about the little church in Thessaloniki 

1. They were saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ

2. They believed in the power of the gospel. Jesus lived and died, was buried and rose again!  

3. They were serving the Lord. Influencing the world

4. They were watching and waiting for the Lord’s return…They were anticipating the Lord’s return