2013-09-19T16:04:05-05:00

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 St. Paul, as we have seen in 2 Corinthians, is a firm believer in dealing head on with the hardships of life.  In fact, Paul is the one who, having suffered more than most others, can say that he takes pleasure in his infirmities.  He has a doctrine that accepts suffering as a suffering with His Lord Jesus Christ and a suffering that is ultimately transformed into glory and joy – even in this life. So Paul... Read more

2013-09-18T20:26:38-05:00

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Why is St. Paul so concerned about the “abundant life”?  What is this abundant life of which he speaks?  Some would have you believe that this “abundant life” is the same thing as material prosperity.  If so, I think St. Paul would have been surprised that he wasn’t living a very abundant life after all! In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul urges and exhorts the Thessalonians to “abound more and more,” and in verse 4:10 he urges them... Read more

2013-09-17T16:12:53-05:00

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13 There are a lot of myths that we receive in American culture that are not necessarily consistent with the life in Christ revealed in the Bible.  One of these is what I call the Myth of Graduation. We like graduations, and with good reason.  Graduations mark the times when we have graduated or progressed from one stage of life to another.  So we graduate from high school or college, not only because we have survived a particular... Read more

2013-09-16T19:54:22-05:00

1 Thessalonians 2:1-13 St. Paul’s ministry is both so fruitful and so apostolic that we might be tempted to think that such fruit is only for apostles, or bishops or pastors. Not so! While none of us will ever have the same apostolic ministry Paul had and very, very few will ever have the scope of his ministry (maybe if you’re a pope or a patriarch you might), we can all minister in the same way that St. Paul ministered.... Read more

2013-09-15T17:12:29-05:00

1 Thessalonians 1 In 1 Thessalonians we are privileged to see the remarkable ministry of St. Paul in action in a different church, the Church at Thessalonica.  While for so much of 2 Corinthians Paul’s focus was on his ministry and how he has served, needing to defend his apostolic ministry against those who would undermine his ministry, the focus on 1 Thessalonians 1 is equally on the Church at Thessalonica. Often, we have a tendency to read Paul’s epistles... Read more

2013-09-13T21:10:54-05:00

2 Corinthians 13 In St. Paul’s final words of the two letters we have of his to the Corinthian church, Paul speaks of power and weakness in the Kingdom of God, especially as it relates to Christian ministry.  For those who are familiar with St. Paul’s writings, it will come as no surprise (even if it remains somewhat strange and mysterious) that St. Paul so often speaks of his weakness and yet even 2000 years later manifests himself in his... Read more

2013-09-12T17:57:43-05:00

2 Corinthians 12:14-21 Would you like to know the secret to being a successful minister of the Lord?  Would you like to know the secret to being a successful church? I just underlined in red the relevant phrases in my Bible – something I never do anymore. It is all right there, in verses 14, 15, and 19.  How much clearer could St. Paul make it? Verse 14: “for I do not seek yours, but you.” Verse 15: “I will... Read more

2013-09-11T19:41:37-05:00

2 Corinthians 12:1-13 Sometimes I want to be the apostle Paul and other times I don’t.  Who cannot but hope for such visions and revelations as Paul had, and who cannot help desiring to be caught up into the third heaven?  Of course, with such visions and revelations go the kind of persecution we read about yesterday, as well as Paul’s infamous thorn in the flesh. I would talk more about Paul’s visions, except that I’ve had none like them... Read more

2013-09-10T19:46:34-05:00

2 Corinthians 11:16-33 While Jesus Christ is, of course, the ultimate superhero, St. Paul should definitely be seen as a hero.  I could go into a discussion of how Paul can be seen as a hero in classical terms – but I’ll spare you. But by almost any definition, Paul is a hero and should be considered as such.  Here are a few definitions of “hero”: 1.  In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed... Read more

2013-09-09T17:43:49-05:00

2 Corinthians 11:1-15 In the past 10 chapters we have heard and seen in action the extraordinary lengths St. Paul goes to minister to the Corinthian church in love. What is Paul’s secret to being so faithful and so dedicated, in spite of incredible difficulties and suffering?  It is this: that he sees the Corinthian church as the very Bride of Jesus Christ. This requires the exercise of the religious imagination, which is so closely related to faith.  In our... Read more

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