They're free, sir. The brown ones are in English. The blue ones are in Spanish. There you go, sir. That's Spanish. God bless you. Good morning, friends. My name is Tony Miano. I'm from Faith Community Church in the Santa Clarita Valley. I'm here with my friend Stephen Masters from Granada Hills Community Church. And we're here with the prayerful support of our pastors and elders. We're here to bring to you the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the good news is this, that 2,000 years ago, God the Father sent His Son to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man and without sin. Unlike you and me, He never once violated the law of God. He was and He is the sinless Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He lived a perfect life that we have already failed to live. And about 33 years into that perfect earthly existence, he voluntarily went to the cross. He suffered and died a horrible, bloody death he did not deserve to take upon himself the punishment we rightly deserve for our sins against God. And then three days later, he forever defeated sin and death when he rose from the grave. Unlike every other false god created in the imaginations of men, Jesus Christ is alive today. And he will return at a time of the Father's choosing. And all of us have sinned, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us have violated the law of God in thought, word, or deed. Yes, sir, please help yourself. God bless you. Thank you. All of us have sinned, all... Yes. I have not, I'm sorry. Sorry about that. Okay. Because all of us have sinned against God, because all of us have violated His law and thought, word, or deed, when we stand before God, He will judge us according to that sin. If we've ever lied or stolen, taken His name in vain, looked with lust, He will find us guilty of breaking His law. And because He is good, He must punish that sin. And the punishment God has ascribed for sin is eternity in hell. My friend Stephen and I are not out here because we want that for anybody. We want the exact opposite. And that's why we're here to bring to you the truth and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is salvation in no one else. There is no other name given among men under heaven by which we must be saved, and that is Jesus Christ. And what God commands of you this day is that you turn from your sin and by faith, and by faith alone, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Savior. It's not by your good works. It's not by your religious practices. You can go to church, or mass, or synagogue, or kingdom hall, or temple, or the mosque, every day of your life, and that will not bring you any closer to God. You can go up the street here to In-N-Out Burger on Lancashire. You can eat a Double-Double every day of your life, and you'll never become a hamburger. As long as you live, you will never become a hamburger. Salvation isn't by what you do. Salvation is by who knows you. Salvation is by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, apart from any and all good works. The Word of God says it is by grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is a gift from God, not as a result of works, so that no man may boast. So by faith, turn from your sin, and by faith, and by faith alone, receive Jesus Christ, as your Lord and your Savior, while God has given you time. This morning I'm going to be reading two letters that Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica. I'll be beginning in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. God's Word tells us this. And my friends, we have three Bibles this morning. The blue ones are in Spanish, the brown ones are in English. Please come up at your leisure. Take one. It's our gift to you. No salesman will come to your door. We just want to offer you the free gift of God's Word. Do not claim to be open-minded if you're afraid to open the book. That is hypocrisy. So please, take one and read the Word of God for yourself. God's Word tells us this, again, beginning in 1 Thessalonians 1. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy To the Church of the Thessalonians in God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you is not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much affliction. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity, or any attempt to deceive. But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God, who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed. God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and our toil, We work night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you while we proclaim to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses in God also. How holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct towards you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the Word of men, but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God and Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews. who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displeased God and opposed all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has come upon them at last. But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person, not in heart, We endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you. I Paul again and again, but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy." 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone. Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone. And we sent Timothy, our brother, and God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in the faith that no one may be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see you, for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you? For all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do for you so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Again, my friends, we have free Bibles. The brown ones are in English. The blue ones are in Spanish. Please help yourself. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Finally then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one transgresses in wrong his brother in this matter, Because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man, but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you. Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do, that others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. So the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of the light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with Him. Therefore encourage one another, and build one another up, just as you are doing. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies, but test everything, hold fast what is good, abstain from evil, from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. May God bless the reading of his word. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. To the Church of the Thessalonians in God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His might. The Bibles are free, sir. Gratis. The blue ones are in Spanish. There you go. Help yourself, sir. Thank you. You're welcome. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His might. You're welcome. God bless you. When He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling, and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 3 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith, but the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, But with toil and labor we work night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command, if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hands. This is a sign of the genuineness in every letter of mine. It is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. And may God bless the reading of his word.