Paul receives Timothy and Silas in Corinth. From the context of 1 Thessalonians, we can infer that Timothy went to Thessalonica to check on the church while it seems that Silas may have stayed behind in Berea.
Paul writes a letter of encouragement to the church of Thessalonica.
A quick note on style, Paul is generally a literalist. He writes plainly because he is giving advice and explanation to various churches. In contrast, Jesus spoke in parables so what people would ask him what on earth he was talking about. We pray to Jesus to explain the parables, we do not pray to Paul to explain the letters.
Although Paul's letters are generally straightforward, they still can be confusing. It probably does not hurt to pray to Jesus to explain Paul's letters, both for understanding and application.
The first three chapters (of five, total) are filled with gratitude and praise for the church in Thessalonica. After Paul and his companions were driven out, the Thessalonians continued growing in their faith.
Overall, Paul mentions a few things that he wants them to do be more righteous, but the context in which these statements appear are to "continue" doing these things, as opposed to calls for repentance.
The most theologically unique portion of this book is undoubtedly chapter 4:13-18. In context, Paul is encouraging the church and does not want them to grieve for the dead like those who do not believe in a resurrection.
Rather, Paul states that Jesus will return. When Jesus returns, Jesus will shout as will the archangel, and a trumpet will blast. Then, the dead in Christ will rise to meet Jesus. Afterwards, the faithful church will also then rise to meet him in a big cloud (of people?). They will all then be with Jesus forever. Throughout this description, the dead are described as being "asleep".
What does this mean? Short answer - I have no idea.
This portion has led to various interpretations, which are not necessarily inconsistent. These include the Rapture and "soul sleep".
On the cross, Jesus had mentioned to the repentant criminal that he will be in paradise that day. If we interpret that to mean that his soul went to heaven with Jesus, then this makes an interesting combination with the dead rising first. The way that makes some sense to me is that this rising of the dead means a resurrection of their physical bodies. Whereas currently in heaven, only their souls are with Jesus.
When will this happen? Paul does not provide specifics, but that it will come like a "thief in the night".
Obviously, Paul and everyone he wrote to died a long time ago. Further, countless generations have lived and died since then, but Christ has not returned yet. But Paul warns each generation, including our own, that Christ might return like a thief in the night.
Paul concludes the letter with advice on general living. He provides a laundry list of things to do, but does not specify any as a particular problem for the church. Just like how every generation read and applied the "thief of the night" comment, his concluding advice has application today:
Encourage one another
Pray continually
Be joyful always
give thanks in all circumstances
Do not put out the fire of the Spirit
Do not treat prophecies with contempt (this goes hand in hand with encouragement, as we find out in 1 Cor. the purpose of prophecy is encouragement)
Test everything (this goes hand in hand with prophecy)
Avoid evil
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