OPEN: - Living Sacrifice

God saved you…now what? SERVE

Serving is a key way to worship God

God gives - we worship, we know Him, we serve

Jesus gave - Creator - and Jesus SERVED, He serves us still, and we’ll serve with Him and serve Him forever (believers)

WE ASKED: Why come to church? (glorify, worship, yes…)

Most come to church as consumers, paying customers, rather than servants

Do you show up looking to serve? Finding, making opportunities?

If we’re not careful, we see people who should be getting IT done, but aren’t

The Healthy Church SERVES

1) The Basics - a mindset, what to look for in servant

- the men teaching and leading prayer were also taking care of widows, ladies, they were servants, but spread thin

The church was asked to identify men to serve

Spiritual men (should be easy, right?)

It was clear to the church who was qualified

(Who is that here?)

- esteem others better than selves

FIRST KEY - Servants humble selves, for the benefit of others

2) The Example in Jesus

- washed feet, a humble act, cultural

What is our equivalent? (We could do it, but not needed for same reason)

Disciples are told to “do this”, so are we. So what do we do?

“Dirty jobs” - humble self, serve others, make others feel amazingly special - because God says they are!

- Jesus came to serve, not BE served (perfect high priest)

His example is ours to follow - serve, not be served

believers are saints (“set apart”) - set apart for service

3) The Purpose and Practice

- to equip, and be equipped - GROW

Growth and maturity is shown in service

ILLUST: Door from PA

Measured growth, kids love to grow, check the marks

Disappointed when not grown since last time

- Believers are children of God (His kids) - and disciples love to grow!

Growing disciples serve, and love doing it! We never stop being God’s kids, never stop growing, serving

Growing disciples look back and praise God for growth!

QUESTION: What has God gifted you with? How does He want to equip you?

Don’t think you have gifts?

God thinks you do, ALL of you, extremely gifted

To think otherwise is to discount His Creation, to discount how He designed you (special, to worship, to serve, specifically!)

PLUS: He gave believers the Holy Spirit, with the power to follow and serve

What will you do with that?

- God gifted the church

He has gifted THIS church, but people need to:

1 - recognize that

2 - step up, and be willing to serve

(AND HONESTLY, IT STARTS WITH THE MEN) - When men lead...

Basically, this: Saved? Then what; Come to church? Then what?

How about:

(Teach, youth, give, prayer, children’s church, meals, transportation, VBS, AWANA, singing, sound board, etc.)

SUNDAY BULLETIN - the extent of much of our service

“Am I serving today?” No? OK, I get to relax

Service, a mindset, comes down to OWNERSHIP

YOUR ownership

- Who owns you? (slaves, doulos, servant)

Sin? - then you obey that

Christ, Righteousness? - then you obey Him

(slaves, doulos, servant)

NO IN-BETWEEN!

(Bulletin challenge questions)

CLOSING/CHALLENGES:

What could we do to make this church more than Sunday, 10-11?

(We do announcements, 15 or so minutes of singing, someone preaching 30-ish minutes) and then go home

What ELSE can we do related to service?

- If we ALL served

then all would also be served, both parties blessed! CLEAR, EASY

SOMEONE HAS TO STEP UP

Who could you bless by serving?

Come to give, serve - being served will take care of itself

Come to contribute, not just to consume

Amazing results come from expecting every member to serve

and then each serving alongside each other

THAT’S A GROUP OF DISCIPLES!

THAT’S A HEALTHY CHURCH!

Ephesians 4:12 NASB95

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Romans 6 NASB95

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:16–18 NASB95

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Romans 6

John 13:3–15 NASB95

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

John 13:3–13 NASB95

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.

John 3:3–15 NASB95

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

John 13:

John 3:3-15

acts 6:2

Acts 6:2–4 NASB95

So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”