1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 - Paul's Approach To Ministry In Thessalonica

¹ For you yourselves, brethren, know that our visit to you did not fail of its purpose. ² But, as you will remember, after we had already met with suffering and outrage at Philippi, we summoned up boldness, by the help of our God, to tell you God's Good News amid much opposition. ³ For our preaching was not grounded on a delusion, nor prompted by mingled motives, nor was there fraud in it. ⁴ But as God tested and approved us before entrusting us with His Good News, so in what we say we are seeking not to please men but to please God, who tests and approves our motives. ⁵ For, as you are well aware, we have never used the language of flattery nor have we found pretexts for enriching ourselves--God is our witness; ⁶ nor did we seek glory either from you or from any other mere men, although we might have stood on our dignity as Christ's Apostles. ⁷ On the contrary, in our relations to you we showed ourselves as gentle as a mother is when she tenderly nurses her own children. ⁸ Seeing that we were thus drawn affectionately towards you, it would have been a joy to us to have imparted to you not only God's Good News, but to have given our very lives also, because you had become very dear to us. ⁹ For you remember, brethren, our labour and toil: how, working night and day so as not to become a burden to any one of you, we came and proclaimed among you God's Good News. ¹⁰ You yourselves are witnesses--and God is witness--how holy and upright and blameless our dealings with you believers were. ¹¹ For you know that we acted towards every one of you as a father does towards his own children, encouraging and cheering you, ¹² and imploring you to live lives worthy of fellowship with God who is inviting you to share His own Kingship and glory.