November 4th 2007 When Two Worlds Kiss: An interactive commentary on I Thessalonians Message #4

“When Two Worlds Kiss’ is a saying the rabbis of the ancient world used to talk about death. It was a way of describing the removal of the thin veil between our world and the next one. It was a moment of truth and connection where the lips of that reality welcome ours with a kind of sweetness.

This series is a brief commentary on Paul’s first epistle, the earliest written piece of the New Testament, the most enthusiastic and pastoral book of the Bible — I Thessalonians.

Because of his great love for the church in Thessalonica, and because of his eagerness to help that church be continually formed into the image of Christ, Paul begins to offer teaching and counsel on living well as the people of God. We will refer to these insights as lovesigns, because they demonstrate Paul’s deep affection for the church. He doesn’t simply tell them how much he really loves them (though he is hilariously redundant with sentiments amounting to the same thing), but he does one better — he gives them “his very soul.”