![]() In fact, when Paul visited the city of Athens, which is probably near the time he was writing his letters to Thessalonica, he said, “I see you’re a very religious people and you have many gods. Paraphrasing Paul’s words in Acts 17, the Greeks had a god for every season, every star, every scenario and situation. You can travel there-from O’Hare to Thessalonica, Greece-and see many of the places we will be talking about in our text.īut in the first century-and maybe even today-Thessalonica was driven by the idea that there were many gods, as you may know if you’ve studied Greek mythology. One of the leading European travel magazines says that the city of Thessalonica is “the hippest city in all of Greece.” It’s known for its night life, its food and its social gatherings and festivals. So it’s about the size of Aurora and Naperville combined. It has a metropolitan population of about a million people, and about 250,000‒300,000 people in the town proper. Nestled as a harbor city on the Aegean Sea is Thessalonica. On this modern-day map, you can see Italy on the left, along with Kosovo, Macedonia, and Albania. Thessalonica was a first century city, but it is also still alive and well today in northern Greece. These were real people who lived in real places during a real time, and Paul was giving them-and us-real instructions on how to follow Jesus Christ. Who were the Thessalonians? What were their lives like? It’s important that we realize that what we read is not mythological. To begin, I want to remind you of who these people to whom we are devoting a large portion of our teaching ministry this year are. We’re now going to spend the next five weeks in 2 Thessalonians, and again my desire is that we would not only learn more about this church and the impact they had in their community, but also draw from their example, imitating their model ourselves in the weeks to come. While knowledge is important and God-given, my prayer is that we would take the truths we’ve learned during the first three months of this year and begin to do what we’ve been taught. That we would not perhaps just memorize some of Paul’s instructions. My hope is that we would take what we hear seriously and not simply become “experts” with head knowledge about the life and times of the people in Thessalonica. James says we must not simply be hearers of the Word, but we must be doers as well (James 1:22). But as James warns, we might be tempted to hear God’s Word as it is shared with us and then walk away with no change in our lives. We’re now done with his first letter, having been trained by it in some very practical ways. Brothers Dale and Gene Howg, sisters Sheryl Pogue and Sheila Deutsch, and granddaughter Tara Geving.įuneral service to be held at the Deer River Bible Church at 2:00pm on January 2nd 2024 with visitation one hour prior.Since the beginning of this year we have focused our time and attention on Paul’s letters to the Thessalonian church. Preceded in death by parents George and Vearl (Randall) Howg. Sister Val (Eugene) Carpenter, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Grandchildren Brianna (Billy) Wood, Brady Geving, Tony Smith, Bert (Cynthia) Smith, Ashley (Travis) Deegan, Shelby (Cody) Geving, Taylor (Keith) Geving, Jace (Danica) Geving, Payton Medrano, and 15 great grandchildren. ![]() Marilyn is survived by her husband Ron of 59 years, daughter Gayle Morris, sons Steven (Sharon) Geving, Robby (Dayna) Geving, Brian (Vicki) Geving. Marilyn truly was one of a kind and will be greatly missed. ![]() Above all else she enjoyed spending time with family, going above and beyond to ensure they all knew how much she loved them. It was also noted she’d never miss an episode of All My Children. The highlight of her travels was a once in a lifetime trip to Sweden with her mother, sisters Val and Sheila, and nephew Zach. She enjoyed reading, scrapbooking, listening to country gospel, family reunions, playing word games, and would never miss an opportunity to travel. Her love of children also led to becoming a foster parent. Her true calling in life was a career as a paraprofessional at the Deer River King School. Marilyn worked various jobs throughout her life which included Howg’s River Side Meats, a dental assistant at Deer River Dental, owner and operator of The Pizza House, and spent a short amount of time at Blueberry Bowl. Together they raised four beautiful children and built a life they loved in Deer River. She was married to her loving husband, Ron, on June 27th 1964. Marilyn grew up in Cohasset and attended school in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She was born October 12th 1946 in Roseau, Minnesota to George and Vearl (Randall) Howg. Surrounded by family, Marilyn, passed away peacefully at her home on December 27th 2023 at the age of 77. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |