Study Desk

You also know we did everything for you that parents would do for their own children.

My friends, we were kept from coming to you for a while, but we never stopped thinking about you. We were eager to see you and tried our best to visit you in person.

After all, when the Lord Jesus appears, who else but you will give us hope and joy and be like a glorious crown for us?

How can we possibly thank God enough for all the happiness you have brought us?

May the Lord make your love for each other and for everyone else grow by leaps and bounds. That's how our love for you has grown.

and you already have shown your love for all of his people in Macedonia. But, my dear friends, we ask you to do even more.

My friends, we want you to understand how it will be for those followers who have already died. Then you won't grieve over them and be like people who don't have any hope.

Christ died for us, so that we could live with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes.

My friends, we ask you to be thoughtful of your leaders who work hard and tell you how to live for the Lord.

Friends, please pray for us.

My dear friends, we always have good reason to thank God for you, because your faith in God and your love for each other keep growing all the time.

All of this shows that God judges fairly and that he is making you fit to share in his kingdom for which you are suffering.

It is only right for God to punish everyone who is causing you trouble,

but he will give you relief from your troubles. He will do the same for us, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven with his powerful angels

God chose you, and we keep praying that God will make you worthy of being his people. We pray for God's power to help you do all the good things that you hope to do and that your faith makes you want to do.

You already know what is holding this wicked one back until it is time for him to come.

My friends, the Lord loves you, and it is only natural for us to thank God for you. God chose you to be the first ones to be saved. His Spirit made you holy, and you put your faith in the truth.

Finally, our friends, please pray for us. This will help the message about the Lord to spread quickly, and others will respect it, just as you do.

and we didn't accept food from anyone without paying for it. We didn't want to be a burden to any of you, so night and day we worked as hard as we could.

We had the right not to work, but we wanted to set an example for you.