The Anglican bishop N.T. Wright is reputed to have said, “Wherever St. Paul went, there was a riot. Wherever I go, they serve tea.” Over the next several months, we are going to look at two books by one of the most important writers in the Bible: the Apostle Paul.

The Jew named Saul had risen quickly in the ranks of the Pharisees when Jesus Christ completely upended the life of this “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). He was on his way to continue to persecute the Church (Acts 9:5), but for the rest of his life, Paul — a new name for a new man — would use the same zeal to build the Church he once tried to destroy. God graciously inspired and preserved 12 of Paul’s letters to churches. In this column, we will look at two of his earliest letters: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Since Paul wrote these letters to guide this young church in Thessalonica, we will look this month at Luke’s record of the church’s founding in Acts 17:1-9.