First Letter to the Thessalonians 1

¹ From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace.

² We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all,

³ and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen,

⁵ because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction,

⁶ and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with the joy of the Holy Spirit that you took to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you.

⁷ This has made you the great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia

⁸ since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it:

⁹ other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God;

¹⁰ and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.