1 Greetings from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

To the church of those in Thessalonica, who are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace be yours.

The Life and Faith of the Thessalonians

² We always remember you when we pray, and we thank God for all of you. ³ Every time we pray to God our Father, we thank him for all that you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ Brothers and sisters, God loves you. And we know that he has chosen you to be his people. ⁵ When we brought the Good News to you, we came with more than words. We brought that Good News with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with the sure knowledge that it was true. Also you know how we lived when we were with you. We lived that way to help you. ⁶ And you became like us and like the Lord. You suffered much, but still you accepted the teaching with joy. The Holy Spirit gave you that joy.

⁷ You became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ The Lord’s teaching has spread from you throughout Greece and beyond. In fact, your faith in God has become known everywhere, so we never have to tell anyone about it. ⁹ People everywhere are already telling the story about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell about how you stopped worshiping idols and changed to serve the living and true God. ¹⁰ And you began waiting for God’s Son to come from heaven—the Son God raised from death. He is Jesus, who saves us from God’s angry judgment that is coming.