1 Thessalonians 1:4-9

For we know, brothers, beloved of God, of your election. For our Gospel has not been among you in word alone, but also in virtue, and in the Holy Spirit, and with a great fullness, in the same manner as you know we have acted among you for your sake. And so, you became imitators of us and of the Lord, accepting the Word in the midst of great tribulation, but with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So have you become a pattern for all who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you, the Word of the Lord was spread, not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith, which is toward God, has advanced so much so that we do not need to speak to you about anything. For others are reporting among us of the kind of acceptance we had among you, and how you were converted from idols to God, to the service of the living and true God