Book of Common Prayer

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, send greetings to the church people in the city of Thessalonica. The people of this church belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the kindness of God bless you and give you peace. for all of you, and we always talk to him about you.

² You do good things because you believe. You work very hard because you have love in your hearts. You are patient because you have hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We remember these things when we talk to God our Father about you.

³ My brothers, God loves you and we know that he has chosen you.

⁴ The good news we brought you was not just words. It had power. It had the Holy Spirit. It made people very sure it was true. And you also know how we lived when we were with you to help you.

⁵ You tried hard to be like us and like the Lord. You had much trouble because you believed our message. Yet the Holy Spirit made you very happy.

⁶ You have shown all the Christians in the countries of Macedonia and Greece how they should live.

⁷ People in Macedonia and Greece have heard from you the message about the Lord. And people everywhere have heard that you believe in God. So there is no need for us to write about your faith.

⁸ They tell us how glad you were to see us. They tell us about how you left your idols and turned to God. You worship the God who is the living and true God.

⁹ And you wait for his Son to come again from heaven. God raised his Son Jesus from death. It is Jesus who saves us from God's great anger which is to come.

20 One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple. He was telling them God's good news. The chief priests and the scribes came to him with the leaders.

² They said to him, `Tell us what right you have to do these things. Who gave you the right to do them?'

³ He answered, `I will ask you a question also. Tell me this.

⁴ Who gave John the right to baptise people? Did God or did men give it to him?'

⁵ They talked it over together. They said, `If we say, "God gave John the right to do it," he will say, "Then why did you not believe him?"

⁶ But if we say, "Men gave him the right to do it," then the people will kill us with stones. They believe that John was a prophet of God.'

⁷ So they answered Jesus, `We do not know who gave him the right to do it.'

⁸ Then Jesus said to them, `Neither will I tell you what right I have to do these things.'