Arch of Galerius in Thessalonica

Acts 17 Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens 17 Paul and Silas in Thessalonica verses 1-9 1-9

1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 1

2And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 2

3explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. 3

4And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 4

5But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.

6And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

7and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. 7

8And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 8

9And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 9

I Thessalonians 1 1 2:13 1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 1

2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 2

3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 4

5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 6

7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 7

8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 10

1For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 1

2But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

3For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 3

4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 4

5For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greedGod is witness. 5

6Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 6

7But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 7

8So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. 8

9For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

10You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 10

11For you know how, like a father with his children, 11

12we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. 12

13And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

II Thessalonians 2 1:1-3 1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 1

2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2

3We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

I Thessalonians 4:13-17 13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 14

15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Arch of Galerius in Thessalonica

Thessalonica forum ruins

Church of St. Demetrios in Thessaloniki

Rotunda in Thessaloniki

Paul and Silas in Berea verses 10-15 10-14

10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 10

11Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

12Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 12

13But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 13

14Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 14

Acts 20:4 4Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus from Berea, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Monument in Berea

Waterfall in Berea

School children in Berea

Paul in Athens verses 15-21 15-21

15Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. 15

16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 16

17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 17

18Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, What does this babbler wish to say? Others said, He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinitiesbecause he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

19And they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 19

20For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean. 20

21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. 21

Agora ruins in Athens

Paul Speaks from Mars Hill verses 22-34 22-34

22So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 22

23For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To the unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

24The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 24

25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 25

26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 26

27that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 27

28forIn him we live and move and have our being;as even some of your own poets have said,For we are indeed his offspring.28 ' ' ''

29Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 29

30The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 30

31because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

32Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, We will hear you again about this. 32

33So Paul went out from their midst. 33

34But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

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Arch of Galerius in Thessalonica