Last Sunday we finished a two week study titled "1st Thessalonians and the Ministry of Paul - taught by Mike Ervin
The earliest piece of Christian literature that survives is Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. It was originally written around the year 50, some 20 years after the crucifixion of Jesus - although the oldest copy of it that we have dates to the late 2nd century. It was also written importantly many years before any of the four Gospels were available. In fact Paul the Apostle lived and died long before any written Gospels were available.
1st Thessalonians has received much modern scholarship because Paul’s background, as well as the topics he chooses to address in 1st Thessalonians, give us insight into the history of early Christianity and the concerns of believers during this important period. We will examine some of this work, reading through the lens of literature and try to discern what early Christianity may have been like.