Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson 2026

2  Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ  and our being gathered to him,  we ask you, brothers and sisters,   2  not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter —asserting that the day of the Lord  has already come.   3  Don’t let anyone deceive you  in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion  occurs and the man of lawlessness [ a ]  is revealed,  the man doomed to destruction.   4  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God  or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. One of the false teachings that was circulating among the Thessalonians was the assertion that Jesus had already returned.  Paul confirms that this is false and describes the true conditions which will be present when Jesus returns.  Paul teaches a b...

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 " This is evidence  that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy  of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6  God is just:  He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you   7  and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven  in blazing fire  with his powerful angels.   8  He will punish  those who do not know God  and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.   9  They will be punished with everlasting destruction  and shut out from the presence of the Lord  and from the glory of his might   10  on the day  he comes to be glorified  in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." Paul begins his second letter to the Thessalonians and commends them for their f...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17  " Rejoice always,   pray continually,   give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." As Paul closes out his letter to the Thessalonians he says these words. The common theme is some form of the word "all".  Rejoice ALL ways. Pray continu ALL y. Give thanks is ALL circumstances.  Paul knows these new believers are concerned about Jesus' return in their lifetimes.  He knows that they will be facing persecution for their beliefs.  He knows some of the brothers and sisters will grow idle and cause problems in the body of Christ.  But through it all he admonishes them to focus on these three disciplines.   Rejoice always .  Paul says this as well in Philippians 4, " Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice ."  Paul is not saying that everything is going to go well all the time.  But we can "re-joice"!  We can return to the "joy of the ...

Living to Please God 4  As for other matters, brothers and sisters,  we instructed you how to live  in order to please God,  as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.   2  For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. I think we often get confused on this idea of living to please God.  Paul obviously thought it was important for the new Christians in Thessalonica.  In fact he commends them for living a life pleasing to God, and urges them to do so more and more.  This would seem to imply that we can also endeavor to please God in new ways.  So where can this be tricky?  How can it be a slippery slope? It can become dangerous when we think we have to please God in order for him to accept us.  This leads to a " works mentality " that is constantly trying to do enough to earn God's approval.  We see this in life as well....

1 Thessalonians 3:1-5  So when we could stand it no longer,  we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.   2  We sent Timothy,  who is our brother and co-worker  in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ,  to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,   3  so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.  For you know quite well that we are destined for them.   4  In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.   5  For this reason, when I could stand it no longer,  I sent to find out about your faith.  I was afraid that in some way the tempter  had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain. Paul was so concerned about his new friends in Thessalonica, that he sent Timothy to check on them and see how they were doing.  Paul knew that the Thessalonians were going through trials bec...

1 Thessalonians 2:4-7 4  On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.  We are not trying to please people  but God, who tests our hearts.   5  You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed —God is our witness.   6  We were not looking for praise from people,  not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles  of Christ we could have asserted our authority.   7  Instead, we were like young children among you.  Just as a nursing mother cares for her children  8  so we cared for you.  Paul shows his pastoral heart once again and points out an aspect of his ministry that is esstential for him.  Paul's primary calling is to preach the gospel.  In another passage he says he is called to preach the gospel "in season and out of season."  And he prefers it to be "free of charge".  Paul never used his calling as a reason...

1 Thessalonians 1:4-8 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God,  that he has chosen you,   5  because our gospel  came to you not simply with words but also with power,  with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know  how we lived among you for your sake.   6  You became imitators of us  and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering  with the joy  given by the Holy Spirit.   7  And so you became a model  to all the believers in Macedonia  and Achaia.   8  The Lord’s message  rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. As we start out the letters of 1 and 2 Thessalonians here is some historical context to these letters. Paul started the church of Thessalonica on his second missionary journey when he also went to Philippi, Athens and Corinth with Timothy and Silas.  While at Corinth, Silas a...