Motives to Serve get_app

We have seen that we are all expected to serve. Of course, as is true with all of the spiritual disciplines, motives are important. We are offering our service to God (even when we are bouncing babies or picking up the trash left on the floor), and thus, there are right and wrong motives for our serving. There are at least six proper motivations for serving mentioned in the Bible. Let’s discuss two of them today – obedience and gratitude.

We should serve God because we want to obey God.

Read Luke 11:27-28.

• Who is blessed according to this verse?
  (those who obey the Word of God)

Read Psalm 119:33-35.

• Why does David want understanding?
  (he desires to keep and observe God’s commands; to obey!)

We know that we are expected to serve! We should desire to obey the command to serve.

We should also serve God because we are grateful to God.

Read 1 Samuel 12:24.

• What are some great things God had done for Israel?
  (the exodus is the big one)

Read Isaiah 53:4-5 and 1 Peter 2:21-25.

• What has God done for us in Christ?
  (Jesus was pierced, crushed, and killed for our sins so that we could be healed and have life!)

God has done the greatest thing possible for us by reconciling us to himself through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Ask yourselves, “If we cannot be grateful servants of Him who is everything and in whom we have everything, what will make us grateful?” (Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines). We should gratefully serve the God with everything we are because of what he has done for us.

Close by listening to or singing “To God Be the Glory” together and praying that we would serve the Lord in obedience and with gratitude.