Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith

2 We always thank God for all of youe and continually mention you in our prayers.f 3 We remember before our God and Fatherg your work produced by faith,h your labor prompted by love,i and your endurance inspired by hopej in our Lord Jesus Christ.

4 For we know, brothers and sistersb loved by God,k that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospell came to you not simply with words but also with power,m with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You known how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of uso and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe sufferingp with the joyq given by the Holy Spirit.r 7 And so you became a models to all the believers in Macedoniat and Achaia.u 8 The Lord’s messagev rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.w Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turnedx to God from idolsy to serve the living and true God,z 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven,a whom he raised from the deadb—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.c

Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

2 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to youd was not without results.e 2 We had previously sufferedf and been treated outrageously in Philippi,g as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.h 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives,i nor are we trying to trick you.j 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.k We are not trying to please peoplel but God, who tests our hearts.m 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greedn—God is our witness.o 6 We were not looking for praise from people,p not from you or anyone else, even though as apostlesq of Christ we could have asserted our authority.r 7 Instead, we were like young childrena among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,s 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of Godt but our lives as well.u 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we workedv night and day in order not to be a burden to anyonew while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses,x and so is God,y of how holy,z righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,a 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthyb of God, who callsc you into his kingdom and glory.

13 And we also thank God continuallyd because, when you received the word of God,e which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitatorsf of God’s churches in Judea,g which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own peopleh the same things those churches suffered from the Jews