1Thessalonians 5:25 -28 “25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

We come to the close of 1 Thessalonians. I want to spend just a moment in review and then get into the closing.

Thessalonica was the city Paul went to after he spent time in prison in Philippi. He spent three weeks there before Jewish leaders forced him from the city. He sends Silas and Timothy back to find out how the church is doing. When he left they were facing great persecution. Silas and Timothy return and give Paul the news. They team together and write this letter to 1 Thessalonians. It is called 1 Thessalonians because we have in our Bible a second letter.

We outlined the book in this way. The first chapter dealt with what the Thessalonians did: Many became Christians. Paul gives the evidences in the first chapter. The next section dealt with what Paul did: Paul connected with people in a very effective way. The third section tells us what Paul would have told them if he had more time. This included what happens when Christians die and a long list of other things.

We now come to the closing of the letter. Paul asks the church to do three things: Pray, greet and read. All of these will be an act of grace.

When things are repeated several times, they bring a key to us as to what is important. In these verses, we find the word ‘brothers” used three times. Three times in two verses show that this is important.

The word that comes up second is the word “all.” It is not used in verse 25, but in verse 26-27 we find it used twice. “All the brothers” is the actual phrase. “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.” “ . . . have this letter read to all the brothers.”

Some things we do as individuals or small groups. Each of us is gifted by God in different ways. We may band together to do something with a few other people. But some things are meant to be done by all.

Paul wants every believer to pray for him and his team. The “us” is Paul, Timothy and Silas. Paul wants the believers in Thessalonica to pray for the three of them.

Why? Because they needed prayer. First, there is the issue of how well the three get along. Silas was along because Paul and Barnabas had split over John Mark. Barnabas wanted him along. Paul did not. So Paul goes off with Silas and picks up Timothy along the way. I am sure he did not want a repeat of dissention that sprang up earlier. Pray for us that we would work together for the glory of God.

Persecution was tough. How many more beatings could Paul take? How many more stonings? How many more nights in a cold, damp jail? How soon before Paul, Silas or Timothy might walk away. Enough is enough! But Paul knew that God never wanted him to quit. So he asks for prayer.

Wisdom was needed. Where should they go next and what would be the best plan of action? The possibilities were many. They could return to Antioch, their home church. Or they could press on to Rome. Or they could return to visit some of the churches they had established. What to do and where to go? Paul, Silas and Timothy needed prayer.

They wanted prayer from the brothers. Notice the “s” on the end of this word. They wanted prayer from all the Christians.

I need prayer. This church has treated me very well. The community has been great. But as with all of you, I face great spiritual pressures every day. Not only me, but the elders in this church. Ralph Littlefield, Fred Williams, Dennis Keller, Buddy Spaulding, David Jones, Gerald Stillman and myself all need prayer. The Bible says that those who lead should serve. Those who lead should live the life. Those who lead should put God first. We all face struggles and need prayer. I would encourage you to put our names on a list and pray for use regularly. Nothing good will be done in this church if God is not behind it. Pray for us that we will see and understand this. We don’t’ need a few praying, we need all of you to pray for us.

When you pray for people regularly, you build a spiritual bond with them. Gorilla glue that bond!

Then he says, “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.” One commentator said that when they had communion, people would give a mid-eastern greeting to one another. This was usually man to man and woman to woman. It was a way of showing the love and harmony that each one had.

The church at Thessalonica had the potential for some problems. There were Jews and Gentiles there. Outside the church there was great pressure for separation. We find this same pressure in Lewiston or Portland with the Somali and native population. We find it in the world between those who are for war and those that are against. We find it between people who disagree. It’s hard to greet someone that you don’t like.

But Paul said, “Let this greeting take place between all the brothers.”

If there is someone that you cannot shake hands with, someone that you cannot eat bread with, someone that you cannot talk to within the body of Christ, then the love of Christ needs to come into that relationship. Somewhere is hidden bitterness, envy, jealousy, or the like. We need to deal with it for the sake of the glory of God.

Unity does not come simply through agreement on ideas. We have a great deal of unity. We have a strong core who believe the Bible is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit indwells and empowers every believer, salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not through doing good deeds. We have a strong core who believes Jesus is physically coming again, that the church is not a building or organization, but believers in Jesus Christ. I could go on.

But the unity that God wants is deeper. The ability to interact with one another, to be used of God to help one another in our spiritual walk relies on our attitudes towards one another. God does not want barriers that prevent us from working together. We may not be in full agreement in secondary areas, but we love one another, we care for one another, we extend grace to one another. That is why the greeting must take place between all the brothers.

Paul also wanted all the believers to hear the letter. I don’t know why he said this. Were there two churches in Thessalonica, the First Jewish Christian church and the First Gentile Christian church? Were there people who would miss one meeting because of sickness, travel, or other reasons that might make them not hear Paul’s letter? Or it may have been that Thessalonica had several house churches. These churches would be working together at the leadership level. Paul might have wanted them to make sure every small group read the letters.

Why? Because his teaching would also promote unity. This is the rationale behind the morning service. Everyone hears the same message from the same passage. Our ability to learn together builds unity. Eph. 4 marks this as one of the steps in unity in the church, having pastor/teachers that teach the whole church. Eph. 4 uses the plural, pastors and teachers, which is why I am not the only teacher in the church.

We get an interesting picture in 1 Corinthians 14:29-31 “29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.”

It appears that several men were on the stage in the church service. If one was speaking, another one could interrupt and the person speaking had to let him speak.

So Paul wanted his letter read to all the brothers. We have his letter and we have read it in this church. We have not intentionally left anyone out and so have fulfilled the intent of his command.

Finally, Paul closes with an area that is important in his heart: The grace of Jesus Christ.

In Paul’s thinking, the church should be a place where people get grace. Grace is when we get what we don’t deserve. It’s giving people slack. It’s allowing people to fail and then help picking them up. It’s giving others the benefit of the doubt when doubt comes into our minds about their words, their motives or their actions.

This grace was shown us in Jesus. He sees everything we do. He knows what we think. He was there when you sinned against him. He saw what you did, heard what you said, and saw what was hidden in your heart. So what did Jesus do? He died on the cross so that those sins he knew would be coming would also be forgiven. He offers forgiveness to any who are willing to trust Him.

When we trust him, we show grace to others. We welcome the repentant prodigal home. We say to the immoral person, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” We give grace.

May God’s grace be with you.

Next week the Sermon Based Small groups will start. They are going to last through the middle of November. Sign up for those or one of our leader-based groups. Get connected.