All right, good morning and welcome. We're glad that you're joining with us for our live stream

verse by verse Bible study. Today we're in Second Thessalonians. We're going through this epistle,

and we're going to finish Lord willing chapter 2, and our text will be verses 13 through 17.

I'll ask you to turn there if you're not there already. And once you do,

if you're able, I'll ask you to stand. You can follow along as I read. If not, where you're seated is fine.

The Apostle Paul turns a corner of sorts now here at the end of the chapter and says,

verse 13. But we ought always to thank God for you,

brothers and sisters, loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit

and through belief in the truth. He called you, verse 14, to this through our gospel,

that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you,

whether by word of mouth or by letter, may our Lord Jesus Christ

himself and God our Father, who loved us, and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope.

Encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Wow.

Let's pray if you would join with me. Thank you Lord so much.

Lord, we're so thankful to you and grateful to you for this time that we have together today

in your word. Lord, we never want to take for granted that which

we have this assembling of ourselves together and worshiping you and fellowshiping one with another.

And now as we sit under the teaching of your Word, I pray that

you'll anoint the teaching of your Word. Lord, we're so thankful to you for your Word, and

we ask you now as only you can to speak into our lives, enable us by the Holy Spirit to focus and concentrate.

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