Service and Missions

We were in Israel, and had just wrapped up a week of intense work.

Two bottles of water

One from the dead sea

one from the jordan river.

One supports life, and the other cannot.

The Dead Sea actually has too many minerals, resources, etc, to support life. It’s thick. It feels like baby oil.

Also, the entire time you’re in it, it’s DRAWING water from you.

It’s KILLING you…..because of everything thats in it.

It’s a good metaphor. One that we discussed while we were there. What we came up with is that

Service is necessary for spiritual growth

So if we’re saying it’s so necessary, what do we say that service is?

Service is the act of using our available resources and spiritual gifts to meet the needs of the local church and our immediate communities, for the purposes of building up the body, encouraging the saints, evangelizing the lost, and redeeming the world around us.

Now, there is a level of spiritual growth you can attain by learning, by discussing. But there’s a point in which we have to put our faith into action.

James 2:26 says that faith apart from works is dead.

And if ALL you do…..is just show up, listen, sing songs, go to classes, and you walk out of here, and you never put these things to practice, and you NEVER get involved in SERVING in the local church, you will stall out in your growth as a believer.

If you sit and soak you’ll sour.

So, three things about service.

It reframes our focus

Phil 2: 1-11 speaks on the importance of us serving other, considering their needs ahead of ours. I can’t think of a better way to do that than to serve them.

It defuses criticism

You know what I’ve noticed? The people who are rowing the boats don’t have time to rock it. But in all honesty, actually serving and working on something makes you less critical, because it reminds you that this isn’t for ME! It’s for Jesus.

It makes us more like Jesus

Matthew 20:28

And one thing that Jesus did was that He came and SERVED others. And if we’re going to say we’re following Him, then, eventually, do you know what we’re going to have to do?

We’re going to have to serve others.

But, Jesus serves as our example too in that He CAME to us, He took the initiative, He took the first step.

So how do we mimic that? Well…through Missions.

Missions is the strategic and collaborative work of spreading the Gospel through both evangelism and service, carried out across local, regional, domestic, and international contexts to transform lives and communities.

Missions is when we take the Great Commission on the road.

And I’ve spent so much, SO much time on service, and not very much on missions, and that’s not because I don’t think missions is important, in fact missions is vital to the health of the Church. I just tend to think that missions is when we flesh out the service that we’re ALREADY involved in, out there.

Some thoughts about missions.

You don’t have to go far.

We’re taking a mission trip in October to help a church that we’re sponsoring. It’s literally just down the road. If you’re interested….details will be coming soon!

We did a mission trip two summers back here in town. There are CONSTANTLY areas in our community in which you can serve and be a witness for Christ.

All you need is your yes

And that’s true of service as well as missions.

Story of little Mary.

It is our goal to ensure that each of you identify and engage with service opportunities here in the church.

It is our goal to give each of you an opportunity to do missions, domestic, or abroad, while you’re in student ministry here.

So let me ask you. Where is your yes? Where are you serving? Where are you pouring in?