Service Takes Everyone

Good Morning. I am glad that we can be gathered here together. It is always such a blessing to be here. This morning I want us to continue to talk about the future and vision that we have shared with you as a church.

It has been shared now for the last two weeks but just in case you missed it.

United by God to Serve, worship, and build a loving community.

This statement is intended to unify us and to bring us together under a banner to recognize that we have the same mission and goal in the ministry of our church.

United in Service was a big part of what we talked about last week. We talked about the idea that hands that are busy washing feet have no time to throw stones. That we are to work to serve each other and to serve our community around us.

I want to share with you a story that is a powerful one. It is a story that influenced my life in a lot of ways.

Acts 6:1–8 NIV

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. 8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.

Stephen’s Story is a powerful one. It is a story of an everyday person being identified by the Apostles to do the work of caring for others. To in essence serve the people so that the Apostles could do the work that they were called to. It is this story that inspired and informed another person’s life and her story that I now share with you.

A Lay Person’s Story

A Mother of four living her life day in and day out caring for her family and helping them to grow. Through the years she at times had to work but was blessed that she was able to stay home and make sure that her kids were taken care of. As they got older though life starts to change. They need her less and she also begins to notice needs within her local church.

She sees that there are people in her church need care. Particularly the elderly and those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. Her caring heart begins to break and she goes to her Pastor figure out what the church can do.

Now in typical fashion, I love you lay people but all too often when Lay people come to the Pastor with an idea they want us to solve it. The truth is that like the story of Stephen in Acts the solution for the problem when it is presented might be right in front of you.

She presented the need to the Pastor and he looks at her and says he knows the perfect person for the job. Surprised he looks at her and encourages her to take on this role.

Uncertianity, confusion, and so many other emotions but ultimately she decides to pursue it. God was calling her. She goes and gets training in a Ministry called interestingly enough. Stephen’s Ministries.

Stephen’s Ministries is an organization that equips lay people and pastors to equip the saints for the building up the body. They live out the verse.

Ephesians 4:12–13 NIV

12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

A Mother’s Journey

She takes the journey and she begins her training she come back to her home church and she begins doing home visit to shut ins. Making regular hospital visits helping people and caring for them. All this as a lay person she served her community with love and grace.

She was willing to step in and commit to her act of service to the community of believers and beyond the doors of the church as well. Striving to help people see the importance of caring for each other and those around us.

This inspired lay person working hard to just live out what in the moment she though God called her to.

Like Stephen in the times of the early church working hard to live out the act of service in the community.

Stephen is a just an ordinary person who had a calling in his life to serve and he was doing all that he could to live that out.

It was the minsitry of Stephen that helped spread the good news of the Gospel to the people in the community.

Not just the Apostles

Stephen was committed to serving and honoring God in who he was by serving. He did this and the Holy Spirit filled him. This is why you can see in verse 8 that he is described as a man full of God’s grace and power.

Stephen was not only committed to serving his fellow Christians but in his acts of healing and service he was also bold in sharing the good news of who Jesus is and what he came to do. He called people to see that to share the good news. HE was instrumental in helping the Apsotles spread the Gospel.

I always find this interesting. The challenge that we have in our culture today we have a approach to life that has created an attitude that is very contrary to what Stephen was doing.

Hire the Professionals

We want to hire the professionals. For better or worse we like to hire out the work that many of us are supposed to do. I don’t want to teach my kids. Let me get them a teacher. I don’t have time to teach them how to play baseball, let’s find them a coach. Music, private lessons. Cooking, no one wants to do that lets just order some food. Job after job we farm them out to someone else. This unfortunately also happens in the church.

I know of churches that regularly have issues getting help in the children’s areas of ministry because of multiple reasons.

Parents don’t want to spend the time teaching their kids I mean they have been with them all week long. well for at least a couple hours each day and all day on Saturday. Don’t forget we often send them off to be taught by professionals.

Or the people who don’t have children complain because the people who have children won’t take responsibility for their children and just don’t wan to help.

Now there are lots of other reasons of course like calling and gifting but the truth is that people want to avoid it so what does a church try to do.

Let’s Hire a Children’s Pastor they can do it.

I have to admit as a former children’s pastor I always loved talking to lay people about helping.

“Can you help one time a month” I mean if I get you to do this just one time it will help so other people can do it less.”

“Sure I can help.”

Walking away all excited.

AFter their first week of participating. I don’t know if it is good right now for my relationship with God I need to be in worship service.

Back to the drawing board.

Truth is that service in the church isn’t the job of just one or two people. It is everyone’s job.

That’s why our Mother from earlier was called to do her minsitry.

A Mother’s Journey

This mother continued to grow in her ministry and she eventually even felt God calling her to grow deeper in her training and faith. She started studying and taking classes to become an ordained elder. She worked hard and eventually fullfilled a calling that had been on her life since she was a child and was now Pastor Cindy.