1 Thessalonians 5

5:1-3   Echoes Christ's own teachings in Matt. 24-25, Mark 13 and Luke 21. The suddenness of Christ's coming is what is emphasized here.
5:4-6   Two-thousand years of waiting seems to have dulled our senses in this regard. We give lip service to the idea of the imminence of Christ's coming but live our lives as though it's not actually going to be anytime soon. "He could come today...but probably won't" best describes our attitudes. If we lived and thought and spoke and worked as though our King could return at any moment I dare say things would look a bit differently.
5:8   A brief version of the armor of God; Eph. 6:10-18  The hope (in other words, the full assurance and conviction) of our coming salvation figuratively protects our heads. We are liable to forget this piece of the armor and let all sorts of things get into our heads. What if our thoughts were continually drawn back to the fact that our Prince is coming to rescue us and take us away to be with Him forever?
5:11   Paul repeats his admonition from 4:18
5:12-13   Respect for pastors and teachers is urged
5:14-22   A nine-verse list of simple instructions that Paul fleshes out in more depth in other letters. It's amazing how simple the things on the list are.
5:16-18   Upcoming memory verses
5:23-24   One of my all-time favorite passages in Scripture. "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." I wish I could remember that every moment of the day.