Episode 08 - Salutations (1 Thessalonians 1: 1 - 10)

1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10 Grace and Peace to all. This is Paul’s salutation in all of his letters, whether it be to the Romans, Hebrews, Colossians, Ephesians and the other cities he’s writing to. His purpose is to make a strong connection to these people who will build the first churches, and he uses the standard Roman greeting, but adding “grace”, showing humility and thankfulness to these people. Craig and I talk about how we as Christians need to make serious connections to our fellow Christians and be sincere in our greetings, in our bond with others, no matter how different they are to us. We talk about how the failure in having empathy has damaged Trump in a very simple call to the mother of a fallen soldier, how we must take up the banner after our leaders leave us, whether it be Dr. King who died in ’68 or a member of Craig’s church, who is leaving the musical ministry after 12 years. I also talk about the dangers of individuality and bring up Marshawn Lynch of the Raiders, who got thrown out of a game Oakland won against the first place Kansas City Chiefs – without him. God may have blessed you with a gift, but you must use that gift for the benefit of others. And your first connection with others begin with your salutation. When you say “Hi – how are you”, do you really mean it? Do you really care?