Not in Vain

Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, August 30, 2026.
Sermon text: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Our ministry is effective when we focus on the gospel

2 Corinthians 4:2
But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

Our ministry is effective when we seek to please God instead of men

—not flattering but speaking truth

—not greedy but trusting God

—not seeking glory but serving others

Our ministry is effective when we pour ourselves out for others

—gentle

—affectionate

“Paul had come to see the Thessalonians as the objects of God’s love, and therefore as the objects of the love of God’s servants also.”
—Leon Morris, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians

—sacrificial

“No church, however obscure in worldly terms, and no life, however insignificant it may seem in worldly things, will ever be empty if it is offered to God to deliver the good news of Jesus to others with the integrity of message, sincerity of motives, and loving manner that Paul could claim for his own labors.”
—Richard D. Phillips, 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Discipleship Questions:

1. Why is it important for all ministry to be centered on the gospel?
2. How can we ensure that our message is without error, impurity, or any attempt to deceive?
3. Why is it so hard to not seek to please God instead of people?
4. How can we resist the temptation to seek man’s approval instead of God’s?
5. How can the gospel help us to seek to give to others rather than receive from others?
6. What does it look like to be gentle, affectionate, and sacrificial in our relationships with each other?