TODAY’S VERSE:

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

We have learned about the first 2 sections of the New Testament, the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. This month we start the Epistles, specifically the letters written by the Apostle Paul. God the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write these letters because He knew His children would have questions and need help living the spiritual life. The Pauline Epistles tell us how to put the “Good News” into action.

Romans
-Written to the Christians in Rome.
-This book is 16 chapters which both summarizes the Christian walk and describes what is wrong in the world.

1& 2 Corinthians
-Written to the church at Corinth where Paul spent ~1 1/2 years during his second missionary trip.
-There was much evil in this city and it was spreading to the church. So, this letter was written to explain how the followers of Jesus should live.
-Chapter 13 (the love chapter) describes how Christians are to love; not something we feel, but something we do.

Galatians
-Written to the church at Galatia which was made up of both Jews and Gentiles.
-Paul teaches that believers have freedom from the Jewish law because Jesus fulfilled it perfectly.

Ephesians
-This is the longest prison epistle and was written to the church at Ephesus.
-Paul teaches about reconciliation (fixing a broken relationship) and how Jesus fixed our relationship with God that was broken by sin.

Philippians
-Written to the church in Philippi to encourage the believers to keep growing in Jesus and to always be filled with joy.

Colossians
-Written to fix bad teaching in the church of Colossi.
-This letter reminded them what was true about Jesus.

1 & 2 Thessalonians
-Written to church of Thessalonica to clear up their confusion about Christ’s 2nd coming. Paul reminds that all believers will be saved, even those who had passed away.

1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (Pastoral Epistles)
-Written to 2 different Pastors regarding the expectations for them to lead and live righteously.

Philemon
-Written to a friend of Paul in Colossi about his bond servant, Onesimus, who had run away to Rome. He met Paul there and became a fellow believer.
-Paul urged Philemon to reconcile with Onesimus and take him back as a brother in Christ not just a bond servant.

To appreciate how amazing Paul’s letters are, you must read them for yourself! We hope that you do so!