In recent years, the local church has been threatened by a changing tide of cultural forces.

So how does a church survive when persecution sweeps through like a storm?

The Apostle Paul wondered the same thing about younger Christians in Thessalonica, mere saplings

in their Christian faith left to weather the storm alone.

That's the context for Paul's first letter, in which he wondered, did they have the right

stuff to make it?

Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindall launches a practical study called Contagious Christianity.

In the coming days, we'll discover how local churches can foster grace, hope, and love.

The first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians.

That's a rather daunting title, isn't it?

Originally, though, it was just a heart-to-heart letter from a pastor named Paul to a struggling young church in the Greek city of Thessalonica.

About a year had passed since a storm of persecution had swept Paul away from the Thessalonians,

leaving them as mere saplings in their faith.

Paul had to wonder if they could weather the tumult alone.

So much was at stake. These people,

this city, the momentum of the faith, all of that was on the line. According to commentator

William Barkley, it is impossible to overstress the importance of the arrival of Christianity in Thessalonica.

If Christianity was settled there, it was bound to spread east along the Ignatian Road

until all Asia was conquered and west until it stormed even the city of Rome.

He continues,

The coming of Christianity to Thessalonica was crucial in the making of it into a world religion.

Thessalonica was a test case, and Paul was torn with anxiety to know how it would turn out.

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