Worship Service - part 1

We may all be familiar with John 3:16, which says for God so loved the world. That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but would have everlasting life because God sent his only son Jesus Christ, but you may not be as familiar with 1st John 3:16, which I think is equally worthy of holding in our heart. 1st John 3:16 Says This Is How We Know What Love Is Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. It's a pretty straightforward verse we're finishing up a sermon series this summer that's been all about serving and servanthood and here in this verse 1st John explains. This is what love looks like. I think some some rock stars during the 80s were asking that question, right? I want to know what love is I want you to show me hear the scripture this secret mystery not hidden but revealed in 1st John 3:16 is the answer to that question. What does love look like? What is love? And John says this is how we know what love is Christ laid down his life. He he gave himself sacrificially for us and we ought to lay down our lives for one another and when you read The Wider context of this verse he's not talking about death for everyone who reads this first that I would simply die for the sake of a brother or sister in Christ or for a lost person in the world. For whom Jesus gave his life John 3:16. So it's not just one another as inside the church, but it's every other person and there might be a rare circumstance where someone gives their life literally for another but what he's talkin about is laying down your life and daily service for others scripture ties, love and service together. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 20:28 for even the son of man came not to be served but to serve others and what and to give his life as a ransom for many. So those are interchangeable when scripture talks about God giving his life up for us or loving us on the cross. He's talking about service at the same time and Jesus switches that back and forth his cuz I didn't come to be served. I came to serve. And to give my life as a ransom for many.

John 13:15 after Jesus got up at the table in his last night with the disciples and he washed their feet and they were astonished that the Son of God In the Flesh God Divine in the flash was down on his hands and knees with dirty water washing their feet after he did that for them. This is what he said for I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done for you. It is a clear statement throughout scripture that God's love is expressed through the suffering servant Jesus Christ and that he came not to be served but to serve and that his example in serving is for us that to follow God to follow Christ is to imitate him and to be a server. I don't think I've said anyting radical or her radical have I that's a pretty clear teaching in scripture, but it's a radical teaching when you think about it that God is revealing servanthood is as the way he works in our lives and the way he's going to work in this world serving is our identity. Not a task to accomplish. Do you understand the difference if we're not careful we can make serving this list of two dues and its really separate from the power of God. It's really separate from the way God intended it to In our lives because we will go and serve and check that off as I got some serving done and that's a good thing and it needs that God wants us to serve and I did a little serving and that's good. But that's really not what scripture teaches about serving scripture teaches that serving being servants is our identity. Do you see the important distinction between serving being something I do as a task accomplished, but the rest of my life is just me being me and that's that sure I put on some you know, what a print every now and then and then go build a home or maybe I'll go help out downtown of that sort of stuff. That's not what I do 24/7. That's not how I act when I'm at a restaurant or on vacation at a nice hotel. I'm not a servant. I don't pay good money for a nice hotel in order to clean my own room. And if they don't get my bags up quick enough, I don't say that's okay. I'll get them. I said Hey, where's the guy that brings the bank's up? I'm unless I follow Christ. And then he says serving is not this task that you do. It's not something to accomplish, but it's your very identity.

If it's his identity, don't you want it to be your identity? It's nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to be ashamed of to be like Christ. Amen. Now the culture around us and our own Hearts constantly whisper to us that the best place to be is on top. The best place to be is to be the guy who somebody is running to get my bags and take them to my room. That's the place to be right the person who's getting excellent service at your dining table and your glass is refute feels good feels good to make enough money to do that kind of thing feels good to take a vacation and have people wait on you hand and foot feels good to not have to even acknowledge with I contact somebody that comes in your room and takes your dirty towels away or someone you get something from across the counter at the store because that's just the way of the world. Nobody would fault you for that. No one in this culture would say how come you didn't even recognize the person that cleans your room. Do you know their names? I don't know their name. I don't talk to what about the person you buy gas from every week or you pick up your dry cleaning from no one expects that it's not the way you're supposed to behave unless you're like Christ. If Christ had stayed in a hotel room, do you think he would know the name of the person cleaning his room? If you went to a restaurant and somebody was kind enough to serve him and wait on him. Do you think he would know their name? If he always took his dry cleaning to the same place every month. Do you think he would know that person's name? If somebody was wanting to get his bag, but something went wrong and they said no we can't do it when it to give us another minute. We'll get another bellhop ride over here. Do you think you would say Well it. Better schedule here. What you think suddenly he'd be carrying bags talking to that person carrying bags. My life except in that what he tended to do in the gospels. He was always hanging out with the people who were at the bottom of the wrong and the people to top of the Run didn't like that one bit. What are you doing eating to say? What are you doing hanging out with them? How are we going to feel prestigious? If the Son of God is constantly hanging out with those that we've labeled not prestigious. So it is not just an interesting topic to talk about servanthood. It is not just a task that we do in order to be good citizen it is that the heart it is at the DNA of following God it is it is exactly what it means to be christ-like is to understand. Our identity is to be serviced. Now look at the second truth of God's love touches a life when his followers imitate Christ in being servants to others think about it. Look at what you see in the Life of Christ. Look at what you see in the gospels. That is the path the way that God uses to touch others. And then what Christ did throughout the gospels constantly walking in the situation serving others caring for them providing for their needs healing them talking to them listen and showing them respect. That was the way God used Christ to touch the lives of others if we're asking ourselves. How do we touch the lives of those who do not know the Lord with his love scripture gives us an answer. We don't necessarily have to come up with some astoundingly creative unique novel solution to say. Haha. This is the way we can extend the gospel into our culture. We found the one trick way to do. It scripture makes it clear that serving others in a christ-like spirit and that's an essential part of that sentence serving others as representatives of Christ. Serving others in that manner is the way God extends his love to others and he's designated servanthood as the path of the power of his love. I think about that the power of his love and we're going to show a video here in just a moment and Erin's going to fiddle and get that ready cuz he's Blessing Me by working out a chal.