I Thessalonians 1:1-3 ~ The Characteristics of the Thessalonians

Excerpt:

"The main characteristic of the church at Thessalonica is that they are brand new believers. And this is the first time that persecution has actually risen up against the church outside of Jerusalem. So these brand new believers had to suffer persecution right off the bat. They had no grace period, no growth period. They either had to walk with the Lord and be persecuted for it. Or leave the things of the Lord because of the hardship and difficultly."