On Paul's Letters

In Acts 13 and 14 we see the first missionary journey of Paul, traveling to Galatia (southern Turkey) and speaking to both Jews and Gentiles.  The results of that journey lead to the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 and an endorsement of ministry to the non-Jews.  Paul then returns to Turkey before moving on into Greece.

When Paul entered a new community, he usually went to the local synagogue to begin his preaching about the Jewish Messiah.  The small assemblies (ekklesia) that developed in those communities grew out of the local synagogue and were, in many aspects, similar to the Jewish synagogues.

After Paul left a region, he stayed in contact with these assemblies, sometimes returning to visit, often writing letters to them about both administrative and theological matters.

In modern English terminology, we say "church" instead of "assembly" and Paul's letters to these churches are often called "epistles", a term which somehow sounds more formal to me.

One of Paul's earliest letters is his Epistle to the Galatians, a letter sent to numerous churches throughout southern Turkey.  We also have two of his letters to the church in Corinth, a letter to the church in Rome, letters to churches in Colossae, Philippi, Ephesus and Thessalonia.  Additional letters preserved in the New Testament went to friends and fellow-ministers such as Titus and Timothy.  (There is, of course, a good Wikipedia article on the letters of Paul.)

We will look at several of those letters after we conclude our study in Acts.