Ministry Lesson 1 of 12 meeting 1a

Ministry 1a – Thanksgiving and Justice.

Ministry means service, a minister is a servant. There are numerous types of services and servants.

Every disciple of Jesus is a minister.
1 Peter 2:5 “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”

In the Ministry module we’re helping the young disciple grow in the ministry of loving God and loving others. Once again, two wings on a bird both have to be working well in order to fly otherwise its flying in circles.The goal in building “Ministry” is to reach the level of love that Jesus manifested in fulfilling the two great commandments - “Love the Lord your God…Love your neighbor” Matthew 22:37-39


Ministry is an outflow of sincere love that is flowing towards God and towards others as a result of the growth one makes in the other two modules. A formula may be of some help to picture and understand this - the formula is not perfect just a picture:

Knowing God (KG) x Christian Character (CC) = Ministry (M).

The Apostle Paul writes that CC is connected M:
2 Timothy 2:20 “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

The Apostle Peter writes that KG is connected to CC:
2 Peter 1:8 “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

To the extent that the young disciple Knows God and has worked out some of that in his/her own character, then loving God and neighbors is an automatic outflow of that growth.

What does the opposite of such a formula look like?

(a) A ministry of loving God without the sincere love is ritual and tradition, not ministry.
Mark 7:6 “And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:' THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
Mark 7:9 “He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.

(b) A ministry of loving one’s neighbor without sincere love is activity and showmanship, not ministry.
1 Corinthians 13:3 “And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Matthew 23:14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”
Luke 20:46 “"Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets”

I start this Module with the Ministry of Thanksgiving toward God and Justice toward man – a foundation of Ministry.

The Lord was focused on “thanksgiving” in Rom 1:21 & “justice” in Rom 13:8-10.

Loving God: The Ministry of THANKSGIVING
Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.”
Psalm 95:2 “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
Psalm 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving. And His courts with praise Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

Helping the disciple grow in an attitude of perpetual gratitude is key here to develop a Ministry of Thanksgiving which is an outflow of love toward God. (more later)

Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;”

Colossians 2:7 “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

For now help the disciple discover things to thank God for and thus begin the ministry. Have them start a weekly journal to record their ministry of thanksgiving and thank the Lord for every single thing that happened during the week.

Some broad topics we'll consider thanking the Lord about are:
Spiritual life – salvation, new life, knowing God etc.
Soul life – sound mind, the mind of Christ, joy, peace, etc.
Body life – health, strength, sound sleep.
Relationships – family, friends, coworkers, fellow Christians, etc.
Protection – from accidents, from thieves, from etc.
Provision – employment, education, transportaion etc
This is just a start to show how the Ministry of Thanksgiving can grow to incorporate thanking the Lord in all circumstances for all things.

(more on this Ministry in meeting 1b)

Loving Our Neighbors: The Ministry of JUSTICE

The ministry of loving our neighbors begins with The Ministry of Justice where we’re growing in treating others justly - rightly.

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice…..”

Romans 13:8 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

The words justice and righteous are interchangeable in Scripture, to do justice is to do right, to be righteous is to be just, acting justly towards others is acting righteously or rightly towards others. The opposite is unrighteous behavior aka unjust behavior or doing others wrong - ”love does no wrong to a neighbor”.

In this wing of the Ministry module we’re helping the disciple to know right from wrong behavior towards others and equipping them to choose the right. Obviously the disciple needs to know right from wrong first in order to love others justly.

Jeremiah 9:24 “but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.”
Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”
James 4:17 “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

Some broad topics we’ll consider are:
Preventing; repaying evil for evil, dishonor, disrespect.
Promoting ministry of ; respecting others, honoring others, thanking others, blessing those who curse you.
Preventing; neglect, unconcern, bitterness, grudges etc.
Promoting ministry of; helping others, encouraging others, being a blessing to all etc.
Preventing; injustice, favoritism, selfishness etc.
Promoting ministry of; defending the rights of others, equality, sharing with others etc.
Preventing; isolation and stinginess
Promoting ministry of; fellowship and generosity

(More on this Ministry in meeting 1b)

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you as you equip others to serve Him.

Disciple Maker