WEBVTT 00:00.970 --> 00:04.366 Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from the Lord and 00:04.388 --> 00:05.840 Savior Jesus Christ. 00:06.290 --> 00:07.310 Amen. 00:08.930 --> 00:13.400 Well, welcome to spring semester 2023. 00:13.570 --> 00:18.814 We begin with snow, and likely when we get to mid May, it'll already be 00:18.852 --> 00:20.814 balmy and summer like. 00:21.120 --> 00:22.494 But that's spring here in St. 00:22.532 --> 00:23.230 Louis. 00:23.890 --> 00:29.702 Today in Chapel, we begin a series that will run through Paul's first 00:29.756 --> 00:34.246 letter to the Thessalonians, typically on Mondays, and this will 00:34.268 --> 00:36.258 continue through the end of Lent. 00:36.434 --> 00:41.000 And so today, I've been assigned First Thessalonians chapter one 00:41.450 --> 00:45.746 Paul's Opening and his Prayer of Thanksgiving 00:45.938 --> 00:53.758 for the believers in Thessalonica. Paul's prayer of thanksgiving is one 00:53.764 --> 00:56.650 of the better prayers, I think, that Paul writes. 00:56.810 --> 00:59.820 He's got a lot to be thankful for as he considers how 01:00.330 --> 01:05.770 the Gospel has come to these people in power and in the Holy Spirit. 01:05.930 --> 01:10.174 He remembers their work of faith, their labor of love, their 01:10.212 --> 01:13.760 steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. 01:14.210 --> 01:18.366 He praises them for being imitators of him and for receiving the 01:18.388 --> 01:21.150 Gospel even amid much affliction. 01:21.650 --> 01:26.294 And all of this, I believe, is driving Paul to the conclusion of this 01:26.332 --> 01:31.366 prayer in verses nine and ten when he lays out some of the things that 01:31.388 --> 01:35.494 he will be discussing in this letter. Where he writes for they 01:35.532 --> 01:40.886 themselves, the other churches in Macedonia, report concerning us the 01:40.908 --> 01:45.174 kind of reception that we had among you and how you turn to God from 01:45.212 --> 01:50.526 idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from 01:50.548 --> 01:53.306 heaven, whom he raised from the dead, 01:53.497 --> 01:56.479 Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. 01:58.610 --> 01:59.900 Paul writes to 02:00.900 --> 02:04.206 comfort these believers in Thessalonica and to strengthen them in 02:04.228 --> 02:08.580 their faith and to encourage them to live as disciples of Jesus. 02:08.234 --> 02:11.918 But let's be honest, when you read one Thessalonians, a lot of the 02:11.924 --> 02:16.350 first part of the letter is Paul defending his apostolic ministry. 02:16.930 --> 02:21.514 Paul went to Thessalonica, preached the Gospel, founded the church, 02:21.642 --> 02:24.998 but then Jewish opposition arose against him and he had to flee to 02:25.440 --> 02:27.202 Baria and then to Athens. 02:27.346 --> 02:31.814 And so someone might tell these believers in Thessalonica, Paul does 02:31.852 --> 02:36.118 not love you, he doesn't care about you, and his Gospel has been 02:36.204 --> 02:37.974 ineffective among you. 02:38.172 --> 02:43.446 And so the best proof of the effectiveness of Paul's ministry is how 02:43.468 --> 02:47.714 the Gospel indeed came to these believers empowered in the Holy 02:47.762 --> 02:53.630 Spirit and how they turned to God from idols. 02:54.500 --> 02:57.322 And this is Paul's ministry among the Gentiles. 02:57.466 --> 02:59.740 If we think back to the first century, these are people 03:00.000 --> 03:04.158 who used to worship as gods things that were not God. 03:04.324 --> 03:08.654 They used to worship idols that in fact could not hear them, could not 03:08.692 --> 03:14.142 love them, could not choose them, could not save them, could not 03:14.196 --> 03:19.470 justify them, and on the last day could not raise them from the dead. 03:19.810 --> 03:24.446 These are false gods that could not save them from God's wrath to 03:24.468 --> 03:25.400 come. 03:25.770 --> 03:30.180 And yet the gospel came to them in power and in the Holy Spirit. 03:30.114 --> 03:34.514 And as a result, they turned from those false gods, those lifeless 03:34.562 --> 03:39.894 idols, to the true and living God. To the God of Israel. To the God 03:39.932 --> 03:45.174 who created all things. To the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. To a 03:45.212 --> 03:53.962 God who can hear them did love them, has chosen them, has justified 03:54.260 --> 03:55.278 and saved them. 03:55.444 --> 03:59.100 And through his Son, Jesus Christ will raise them up on the last day. 04:00.250 --> 04:05.700 A God who has saved them from his own wrath for their sins. 04:05.650 --> 04:12.190 For this is the predicament of those Thessalonian Christians. Before 04:12.260 --> 04:14.140 the gospel came to them 04:14.212 --> 04:18.974 they were idolaters and so subject to the wrath of God. 04:19.172 --> 04:24.250 For as Paul says in Romans One, the wrath of God is being revealed 04:24.410 --> 04:28.482 against the the godlessness and unrighteousness of men who suppress 04:28.546 --> 04:30.630 the truth in unrighteousness. 04:31.130 --> 04:36.774 And these men, these women, these children were once subject to that 04:36.812 --> 04:39.350 wrath, but not anymore. 04:39.930 --> 04:43.846 Now that the Gospel of Jesus has come, now that they have found out 04:43.868 --> 04:48.802 what God has done for them through His Son Jesus Christ. Sending Jesus 04:48.866 --> 04:54.846 to redeem Israel, but not Israel alone, but to redeem the nations, to 04:54.868 --> 04:58.506 call his human creatures back to Himself. 04:58.698 --> 04:59.930 Now that they've heard about what 05:00.170 --> 05:04.206 Jesus has done in his death for them and his resurrection from the 05:04.228 --> 05:04.938 dead. 05:05.114 --> 05:08.270 Now they are no longer subject to the wrath of God. 05:08.420 --> 05:12.110 Rather, Jesus saves them from that wrath. 05:12.850 --> 05:18.750 Even today those Christians heard that they are justified. 05:19.250 --> 05:20.654 There it is God's end 05:20.692 --> 05:24.950 time verdict on the Last Judgment has come to them ahead of time, 05:24.980 --> 05:28.578 proleptically through the gospel. 05:28.754 --> 05:32.466 And now they not need fear of the day when Jesus comes back to judge 05:32.498 --> 05:36.406 all people, for they have already received the judgment of God in 05:36.428 --> 05:37.480 Jesus Christ. 05:37.850 --> 05:42.760 They've been declared righteous for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 05:43.770 --> 05:48.134 And this is the power of the gospel that has been given to us to 05:48.172 --> 05:48.870 preach. 05:49.810 --> 05:53.726 This is a gospel that comes in power and in the Holy Spirit, and can 05:53.748 --> 05:59.820 turn all people from lifeless, false gods, no matter what they may be. 06:00.890 --> 06:06.682 Gods that cannot hear, cannot help, cannot love, cannot choose, cannot 06:06.746 --> 06:09.630 save, cannot raise up the dead. 06:09.970 --> 06:14.782 And instead, we ourselves have been called to serve a true and living 06:14.836 --> 06:19.700 God the God of Israel, the God who created all things. 06:19.140 --> 06:24.140 The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom you yourselves have been 06:24.520 --> 06:30.582 justified, have been loved by him, have been chosen by him to be his 06:30.636 --> 06:35.320 people and out to be bears of the same gospel to the world. 06:35.850 --> 06:40.626 A gospel that comes in power and in the Holy Ghost. 06:40.818 --> 06:47.894 A gospel that can save people from false worship and false trust and 06:47.932 --> 06:53.760 lifeless gods and lifeless things to the one God who can truly save. 06:54.610 --> 06:59.580 And so you too have been called to serve the living and true God. 07:00.650 --> 07:05.678 And to patiently wait for his Son, Jesus, whom he raised from the 07:05.684 --> 07:06.350 dead. 07:07.250 --> 07:10.000 Jesus, who saves you from the wrath to come. 07:10.770 --> 07:14.766 And now may the Lord God, our heavenly Father, keep you steadfast in 07:14.788 --> 07:18.698 this faith, both now and in the life everlasting. 07:18.874 --> 07:19.870 Amen. 07:20.850 --> 07:24.158 And may the peace that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and 07:24.164 --> 07:25.938 minds in Christ Jesus. 07:26.114 --> 07:27.300 Amen. 07:27.850 --> 07:28.420 Please stand.