Here on eternity's edge, let us give ear to the sermons being preached by the lives of the Christians around us.

Sometimes a sermon doesn't need a preacher. Sometimes the message rings out even without a chosen spokesman. Almost two thousand years ago such a sermon came from the Christians in Thessalonica.

A heartening message of faith

Missionaries Paul and Silas had brought the good news of forgiveness through faith in Jesus to that busy Greek city, a crossroads of the Roman Empire. Despite opposition, by the Spirit's power the Word had taken hold in the hearts of both Jews and Gentiles. In his first letter to his beloved Thessalonians, Paul happily recalled those days: "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere" (1:6-8).

The Thessalonians' story of faith during difficult circumstances had reached and encouraged every Christian in Greece. Believers in cities like Philippi, Corinth, Berea, and Athens—and also in places well beyond Greek shores—had heard about the Thessalonians. Even from a distance their example had preached "the Lord's message," the good news of God's salvation for all who believe. Their example had cheered the saddened, comforted the disheartened, emboldened the frightened, refreshed the tired, and steadied the stumbling.

An ordinary story made extraordinary

But what was so special about the Thessalonians' story? At first glance, not much. At the end of the first chapter, Paul offers an outline to their sermon, saying that the Thessalonians (1) had turned from false gods, (2) now served the true God, and (3) were waiting in confidence for Jesus to come again (1:9,10). Yes, solid evidence of the Holy Spirit's power in Word and sacrament, but, no, nothing to make it stand out from other accounts of the early church. On its face it was no different from the basic story of anyone's coming to faith. Yet the very ordinariness—if one may speak of the Spirit's miracle of conversion as ordinary—of their story gave it extraordinary impact among fellow Christians.

First-century believers would find at least some part of the Thessalonians' story similar to their own struggle in the faith. Materialism? False religion? Goods and gods came in abundance by road and water to Thessalonica. Greek philosophy dominated the outlook of the culture's best thinkers. Hostility from the local establishment? Acts chapter 17 tells of a mob action that put the city government into turmoil against the Christians. Here, as in several other cities, Paul and company had been forced to leave town.