Salutation
Paul introduces his letters to the churches with a greeting (2 Thessalonians 1:1-2), indicating who is sending the message, and then following with a general statement. In this case, Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus were all collaborating on the letter. They begin by wishing grace and peace to the church.
The church was existing in a perilous time. The statement that Paul wished and prayed for peace for them was very real. Today, living in America, we don't usually think about wishing peace to our neighbors, but we need to realize that there is conflict around the church in many parts of the world. It will come to our doorstep at some point as well, and indeed already has in some parts of the country that have been hit with racism or general hatred against Christianity. Sadly, it isn't only schools that are scenes of mass shootings in America. In some parts of the world, the church is in hiding (or at least attempting to hide) because the government is actively against it or turns a blind eye to other religious groups that persecute the church.
The grace to accept whatever ill will is directed towards you and the desire for peace is something that we should pray for all Christians on a frequent basis. We should expect to be hated for our stands on sin and false religion. If we aren't, we probably aren't doing our jobs.
To stay strong, it is imperative that all churches which call themselves Christian unite around the Bible and what it sets out as standards for living, especially for the Christian. The closer the church as a whole accepts the Biblical standard for how a Christian should live, the closer we will be able to be to God and the more He will want to work through us to lift up Christ. Remove division in the church. Let the Holy Spirit establish and confirm right and wrong. Remove hypocrisy. Join together as one body. Don't be like an octopus with a separate brain controlling each arm. Worry about the church first instead of worrying about the sin around us.
All pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and church leaders should lead the way in being like Christ. From whatever the highest position in a particular denomination is on down, be it pope or something else, strive to be like Christ. Work with other denominations and worry more about uniting the church than geopolitics.
State of the Church
In 2 Thessalonians 1:3-6, Paul tries to encourage the Thessalonica church members to be strong in times of tribulation. He notes that it is a worthy thing in his and God's view to show love toward one another. To show patience and faith through all of the tribulations that they were encountering was to their credit.
It is indeed easy to show love to those who love you back. To show love and care for those who despise you and try to tear you down takes the heart of God in you. To increase your faith in God when Satan is trying to wipe out your church is very commendable, and Paul definitely did so.
The last verse in this passage should be a warning to all. Paul declares that God watches over what is going on in the world and what is being done to His church. God considers it a righteous act to send tribulation to those who are troubling Christians.
I suspect that over time, many Christians, not the least of which were the ones in the generation Paul was writing to have wondered when will you deal with those who are attacking us? Sometimes it seems that God doesn't act nearly as quickly as we would like. Sometimes, entire generations pass with no resolution.
It is hard for us to accept that God has a bigger picture about what is going to happen than our individual lives warrant in our own eyes. Every person has free will (see The Olympics for a discussion of free will). Most of us really might like it if free will wasn't so much a thing and He would just control what was going on a little better (but not too much!). That isn't the world we were given to live in though.
Regardless, God does notice, and those persecuting Christians will have to account for that one day, even if it is in heaven: for the saved when our works are judged, or for the unsaved at the Great White Throne Judgment. But know that sometimes, God does act much sooner. He has sent angels to wipe out armies in the past, and it's reported that during one of the battles in one of the Arab Israeli wars, the opposing force saw mounted horsemen that looked like angels arrayed against them.
Sometimes that judgment is carried out by supernatural means and sometimes God leads some force on earth to intervene. Regardless, if you are suffering tribulation, don't give up on God. He is on your side, and heaven awaits, even if the persecution ends in personal tragedy.
We need to remember that suffering persecution in general that is not related to being a Christian is also noticed. But we need to be sure of our standing in Christ before asking Him to intervene. There is much that happens and has happened in the world throughout history against people who aren't Christian. Sometimes God steps in to keep His plans on course, and sometimes He doesn't. Without Christ, you have no standing in any promise other than salvation.
Preview of Eternity
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 continues with a look to the future. I'm sure that when this was written, Paul didn't have a exact time frame in mind for when Christ would return. It seems that the early church was likewise looking and hoping for the early return of Christ to save them from the tribulation they were suffering. But it didn't come quickly. In fact it was not until May 14, 1948 when Israel was given its modern boundaries as a nation, that the last prophecy standing between the Crucifixion and rapture of the church was fulfilled. The Roman empire lasted a long time. The temple was destroyed. The Jewish religion lost its place to sacrifice - just as Jesus had told in the Olivet prophecy. There would be much suffering both for the Jews and Christians in these two millennia and more to come.
Here, Paul declares that at the second advent, Jesus will be revealed in heaven coming with His mighty angels to take vengeance on all who refused to accept Christ and weren't obeying the gospel. The battle of Armageddon will bring Satan's rebellion to a close. Eventually, eternal destruction, cut off from the Lord and his glory will be the end result of those who have rejected Christ. Here, the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-46) is referred to.
Paul reminds the readers that they have nothing to fear when this occurs because they believed the preaching of the gospel message when they heard it and stayed true to that gospel to the end. Every person today has that same choice. They can heed the Gospel Message or not. They can live in rebellion or they can join the winning team. The choice is always up to the individual - that free will thing again.
Hope for People to Accept Christ
In 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, Paul finishes up the first chapters thoughts saying they are always praying that the readers will help them to always live a life that is worthy of the Christian calling. That is something we still need to pray above for all of our Christian brothers and sisters. We need to pray that God will pour out his blessings and answers to the prayers of faith in all Christian localities and churches, regardless of denomination. The ultimate goal is to have the name of the Lord Jesus Christ bandied about, associated with Christians, and working in power to lift up Christ. The goal is not to lift up a particular individual, church, or denomination, but to lift up a unified body of believers by the name and for the name of Jesus Christ.
I'm not saying that you can't pray for your own denomination. Clearly each Christian is most aware of the problems and strengths of the Christians around them, in their local church and perhaps in their local community. But we need to also pray in a unified manner that the entire church of Christ will come together as one for strength and power. There needs to be a division between the church and the world, but not divisions within the church. After all, the time is coming soon when the church will be gathered together in heaven where we'll all be together anyway. There won't be separate heavens for each group of Christians!
While God might assign housing to group similar people together, I suspect the housing will be assigned to group dis-similar folks together spread throughout time. Just my 25c (adjusted for inflation). It was fun rooming with a Catholic man in college. Don't sweat it. Not getting along won't really be an option.