The Lord's Day is a wonderful day.  At the same time, it can a busy, tiring day.  Serving others can be draining.  I've experienced that.  Other times it filles me with joy.  Love it!  Why is it that?  Sometimes drained, other times revitalized and filled?  In part, it's a mindset:

Why we're serving others - Who we're ultimately serving - Why do we do "small" things like:  Take care of little ones in our church nursery.  Cook and deliver meals to families that are struggling.  Teach children's Sunday School.  Wipe tables, sweep floors. Prepare meals.  Personally I, like some others, have said if you need me somewhere on Sunday - just ask.

Sometimes we feel as though serving in these small ways is insignificant and a distraction from something more spiritual.  One part of us knows the truth that serving others in small ways is a good thing and evidence of God's grace at work in us. But there's another part telling us that this kind of work and service is ordinary, boring, and unspiritual.  Sometimes it’s just that were selfish.  Sometimes we’ve said "yes" to too many requests, and need to spend more time being still instead of serving.  But not always.  Much of the time it's just that we've allowed a wrong division of sacred and ordinary.

Worship is when we're teaching a toddler how to pray; worship is when we're playing pat-a-cake in the nursery; worship is when we're measuring out coffee grinds in the church kitchen; worship is when we're passing out crayons in Sunday School.  Worship is all of life!  What is ordinary becomes sacred when we do it as unto the Lord. Serving in the nursery isn't a distraction from worshiping, it's a way of worshiping God!

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 4:10–11)

I’d simply say listen to the voice of our Savior: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)  When we measure out coffee grinds or sweep up after fellowship meals or pass out Cheerios to the little ones in the nursery, we're serving the body of Christ, which means we're serving our King Himself.  We have been given the privilege to serve His church.  Here am I.    Tom