Scripture

1 Thessalonians 2:2-9 (English Standard Version)

2But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

9For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

Devotion

Start out by giving your volunteers each half of this paper. Provide them with 2-3 minutes to fill it out. You do not necessarily have to get them to call out the answers, but ask them what criteria they used to select certain people. Ask them how they would want those people to make decisions in some of the areas.

The point is that God entrusts us to be a part of His ministry, not because we have some inherent goodness (unlike the way they may have selected people for tasks above), but because He is good, loving, and gracious. It is a joy to be a part of His Kingdom building work with kids. Just like you would expect your caretakers above to elicit decision making with a certain type of wisdom, God desires for us to carry out His work with characteristics which honor him. Let’s take a look at some of those characteristics that Paul and his associates exemplified toward the Thessalonian church.

  1. Perseverance (v. 2)–Paul ministered in spite of strong opposition. He did not let the dark spiritual acts of Satan get in his way of what God called him to do. Satan can use all kinds of instruments in the church to distract us and his impact on volunteer attrition rates is insane. We need to push ahead and minister to these sweet children no matter what comes in our way.
  2. Be on mission (vv. 3-4)–Do you see your work with children as a mission from God. Every second of your life, God has a purpose for you to impact His Kingdom in some way. God has entrusted you, like Paul, with a sacred task–the task of placing the gospel into people’s lives. In that, your duty is not to please your co-teacher, your pastor, or the children, but to please God with the way you fulfill His mission.
  3. Have a humble character (vv 5-7)–Humble people do not seek their own glory, but seek to be praised by God for their faithfulness. Humble volunteers have children and their spiritual nurture as their number one priority.
  4. Dedicated (vv. 8-9)–Paul understood that the Christian life was not lived in a vacuum and the act of evangelism was not isolated from relationship. Are Sunday mornings all you commit to or are you actively seeking to pour your life into these kids and families as part of your calling for ministry?

Related posts:

  1. Fire Them Up–Psalm 78:1-8
  2. Fire Them Up–II Corinthians 5:18-20
  3. Fire Them Up–I Timothy 4:16