Readings for the discussion on April 11, 2025:
- Let’s finish Rachel Held Evans’ Chapter 8 of Inspired all the way to the end. (Contact the Church Office for copies of this book).
- Read Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians, also known as “II Thessalonians.” This is short so we can read all three chapters.
Things to consider:
- The audience of this letter was people “of the way” (the name for Christians before they were called Christians) in Thessalonica. These people were experiencing social unrest due to Roman imperial domination. Paul is trying to reassure them and pump them up with confidence!
- The people are hoping that Jesus’s return, which Paul has told them about, will deliver them from Roman oppression. This is why the people are unsettled when they hear a rumor that Jesus’s return has already happened — Paul is writing to reassure them that Jesus’s return is still to come.
- Chapter 2 and 3 warn the people to beware of false teachings, which might have a modern resonance with the concept of “fake news.”
- Just like in the first letter, Paul encourages the people to “stand firm and hold fast” and to resist the temptation to give up.