JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
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In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
30Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.
32“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.
33“I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. 34You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Have you ever worked really hard on a task, did it the best you could, made sure it was done exactly as it should be, and then not received any recognition for it? Maybe you cleaned your room—made it totally spotless—but your parents didn’t notice. Maybe you did most of the work on a school group project, but your classmates didn’t say thank you or recognize your hard work. Sometimes, we complete unknown tasks that won’t get any recognition, but please the Lord anyway. Look at what Paul taught the Ephesian church about this.
Read Acts 20:32-35.
In Paul’s instructions to the Ephesian church, he taught about living a selfless life that is more concerned about others than yourself. He gives examples of how he lived this way: he wasn’t jealous of other people’s things, he gave his own things away to others if they needed it more, and he taught people about Jesus.
Why Paul acted and lived this way is important to notice. He didn’t do it for recognition, or so that he could be better than other people. He did it because that’s how Jesus commands us to live. Paul quotes Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Think about the people in your family, school, or neighborhood. What is one selfless, act of service you can do for one of those people today or later this week?
Ideas for you to consider:
Here’s the catch! You can’t let them know you’re doing it. The point is for you to love others like Jesus without the hope of recognition or praise.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind selfless acts of service you can do for someone in your life.