“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (I Thess. 5:11 ESV). Try to put yourself in Paul’s shoes when you read this letter he wrote to the people in Thessalonica. He had visited this city during his missionary journeys and had established a small community of believers there. Thessalonica was a business hub and was very diverse in population. It faced all the problems that a growing city with a clash of cultures and backgrounds would face. They ...