The Thessalonians' Good Example

2 We always give thanks to God for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, your labor of love, and your endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers beloved by God, that you have been chosen, 5 because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction. You know what sort of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit. 7 As a result you have become [fn]examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but reports of your faith in God have gone out everywhere, so that we have no need to say anything about it. 9 For the people themselves report what kind of reception we [fn]had among you, and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 as you wait for his Son Jesus to return from heaven, whom God raised from the dead, and who rescues us from the coming wrath.