Letters to a Young Church, part 4
Awake in the dark
Lorraine Abernathy
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Paul writes to people anxious about the future. Instead of a timetable, he gives them a way to live: awake, sober and encouraging one another.
The Thessalonians want dates. Paul gives them an identity instead. They are children of the light, so they do not need to be surprised or afraid. What they need is to stay awake to what God is doing right now.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Hope, in this letter, is not a feeling about tomorrow. It is a practice for today: faith and love worn like armor, and friends who keep reminding each other who they are.
Talk it over
What worries about the future are taking up the most room in your head?
What helps you stay awake to God in an ordinary week?
Who could you encourage by name before Sunday?
Go deeper
Read Romans 13:11-14 alongside this passage and look for the shared images of night and morning.
Speaker
Lorraine Abernathy
Date
Passage
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Length
37 min
