Book of Common Prayer

1 Paul^[a] and Silvanus^[b] and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

We Give Thanks For Your Faith And Love And Endurance

² We are giving-thanks to God always for you all while making mention of you in our prayers, unceasingly^{[c] 3} remembering your work of ^[d] faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father; ⁴ knowing, brothers having been loved by God, your election^[e], ⁵ because our good-news did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with great fullness-of-conviction— just as you know what-kind-of men we proved-to-be among you for your sake.

For You Became Imitators of Us And Examples To All

⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having accepted the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the ones believing in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For from you the word of the Lord has sounded-forth— not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place your faith toward God has gone-out— so that we are having no need to speak anything! ⁹ For they themselves are reporting about us as to what-sort-of entrance^[f] we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to be serving the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to be awaiting His Son from the heavens Whom He raised from the dead— Jesus, the One delivering us from the coming wrath.

¹¹ You are blessed ones whenever they reproach you and persecute you and speak every [kind of] evil against you while lying, because-of ^[a] Me. ¹² Be rejoicing and be overjoyed, because your reward is great in the heavens. For in this manner they persecuted the prophets before you.

You Are Salt And Light. Salt Must Be Tasty. Light Must Shine

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should become-tasteless, with what will it be salted^[b]? It no longer has strength for anything except, having been thrown outside, to be trampled-underfoot by people. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city lying on a hill is not able to be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they burn a lamp and put it under the basket, but on the lampstand— and it shines on all the ones in the house. ¹⁶ In this manner, let your light shine in front of people so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in the heavens.