Something about this time of year that sets our thinking on what's ahead. Behind the smiles and the looking forward, some of us may be running on a supply of hope that's a little bit depleted. The future might feel uncertain because of loss or tragedy that has hit hard in your life, or maybe, some of life has come tumbling in around you. For whatever the reason, hope can be short supply. Even as we look to the future, even at the start of a new term, even for Christians.

As we read between the lines in 1st Thessalonians, this group of Christians appear to have suffered loss of some people very close to them and that has left them running low on hope, worried about the future. So Paul writes this letter to the Thessalonians to encourage in the midst of all of that. It's to teach them, to restore them, to assure hope.