I was intrigued on Sunday as I listened to the Word of God being expounded. The teacher was beginning a series on the book of First Thessalonians. However, in order to get a better understanding, it was important to see
 the background of the Apostle Paul's ministry. He turned to Acts, chapter 17.

“Paul and Silas then traveled...and came to Thessalonica,

where there was a Jewish synagogue.

As was Paul's custom,

he went to the synagogue service,

and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures....(vss. 1-2)

The apostle Paul was well-versed in the Old Testament Scriptures, for he had sat under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), being taught the law of the Fathers. So when he was converted, he was able to do an extensive amount of searching in the Old Testament Scriptures in order to explain what was happening at that time. Thus, with his background, he was able to

“...reason with the people.

He explained the prophecies

and proved that the Messiah must suffer

and rise from the dead. He said,

“This Jesus I'm telling you about is the Messiah.” (vss. 2-3)

However, though some of the Jews and Greeks, as well as prominent women, listened carefully and believed, there were troublemakers who turned against Paul & Silas and their message, causing riots. So the believers helped them to escape.
 They then went to Berea where they found that the people

“...were more open-minded

than those in Thessalonica,

and they listened eagerly to Paul's message.

They searched the Scriptures day after day

to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

As a result, many Jews believed,

as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.” (vss.11-12)

What was intriguing to me were the techniques that Paul used in his ministry. He was taught by a “master-teacher (Gamaliel), and had learned well. So he reasoned, explained, and proved from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. I thought,

'I must keep meditating daily on the Scriptures, for they are God's Word.

Then I will be better equipped to follow the example of the Apostle Paul

in order to reason, explain, and prove that Jesus is Who He claimed to be.'