Sermon Tone Analysis

/It was just before the Passover Feast.

Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Having loved his own who were in the world, *he now showed them the full extent of his love*.a

John 13:1 (NIV)*[1]*/

 

I am writing this as I sit in my office on Saturday evening, August 14th, 2004.

The sun is shining brightly and the church is empty in one aspect and gloriously full in another.

I have just returned from the Leadership Summit, a simulcast from the Willow Creek Association, hosted on the campus of Atlantic Baptist College.

What a wonderful privilege to hear some of North America’s greatest pastors and spiritual leaders.

Our interns, Travis and Matt were there and Matt Doige our homespun volunteer.

Travis and Matt Palmer are completing educational requirements at BBC with a 6 month internship.

The church is paying them nothing.

They are wonderful young men being groomed by God’s Spirit to fill a place to which God in His Wisdom has called them.

They are inexperienced and gaining some.

They are idealistic and learning to balance it with reality.

Matt Doige is giving two years of his life without pay to serve his local church.

He is also preparing for full time ministry in the local church at some point.

You can encourage them with your prayers and expressions of appreciation.

They are servants!

Praise the Lord for people who find ways to give themselves away for God.

DVBS begins tomorrow.

In case you might not have noticed the church is decorated to welcome the Jr. Saints in the morning.

Jennifer LeBlanc leads our VBS team.

She has recruited a group of people who have poured out a collective expression of their love and passion for children’s ministry.

The more faint of heart saw paper and “change” and wondered perhaps if this is appropriate in a church.

I was reminded this week that my Bible tells me that heaven is “kid friendly”.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of */heaven belongs to such as these/*.”[2]

I saw love and passion to impact children for Christ when I looked at the walls.

I saw Pastor Mike and his puppet team laboring for long days this past week to help put things together.

I saw my son dragging himself out of bed before 7:00 am so that he could go to the church and work to this end.

I think this is discipleship when our pre teens and Jr. Teens learn to serve.

Thanks Jennifer and all those who helped this past week and all those who will be helping this coming week.

You are truly servants of the Most High God.

We are going to pray for you today and for all of those who will give their time that God will anoint you richly and give you great effectiveness as you become minister of the gospel to these young lives.

The scripture portion today is one of the most striking representations of the heart of God that we ever encounter in scripture.

It contains a word picture vivified by the person of Christ, God incarnate giving attention to the most menial of tasks.

He leaves the honored place at the table, his last meal with his disciples to do what no one else wants to do.

He assumes the responsibility normally delegated to a household slave, to wash road filth off the rough feet of those that he had chosen.

The picture hangs there in the gallery of the Masters Pieces alongside of the Rev. 3:20 depiction of Christ knocking at the door which represents the human heart.

It’s there with the picture of Christ extending a hand to lift a fallen woman who was nearly stoned by the self-righteous as a pawn to trap Christ.

There’s the picture of Christ listening to the litany of works from the rich young man who has everything and none of it satisfies.

You can see the words on his desperate lips, “AlI these have I done since I was a boy.”.

And then that look in Jesus eye captured in the scripture, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

I see another picture of a weary and gaunt Christ leaning alone against a rock in a desert, looking wistfully at some stones that lay there at his feet.

It is clearly the temptation of Christ and as he looks, he realizes that he could immediately satisfy his hunger and the stone could become fresh warm bread.

But the image of Christ washing the feet of his disciples on the eve of his betrayal is burned into my spiritual consciousness.

Despite the protests of Peter, he washes his feet.

With full knowledge of Judas’ plans and his intentions, his history of embezzlement as the treasurer of the 12, he bends to wash those treacherous feet and lowers himself to look up into the eyes of one who only pretends to love him.

As we look at this portion of scripture today let me give you the outline that we will follow:

 

 

q     The Towel (vs.

1-11)

q     The Teaching (vs.

12-20)

q     The Traitor (vs.

21-31)

q     The Test (vs.

31-38)

 

 

*1.

**The Towel *– vs. 1-11

 

Servanthood is:

 

ü      A posture – the way that we present ourselves

 

ü      An attitude – not obligatory

 

ü      A practice – a lifestyle, a paradigm

 

It is the intention of Christ, according to my understanding of scripture that the church is most powerful when we are on our knees bending low in prayer to God or service to man.

This is not our preferred method.

Service is never convenient.

Gary and Joan Page live 25-30 minutes out of town and are among the most active servants in this church.

It is not convenient for them to serve this church.

It is never dignifying to take the role of a servant.

Wayne Cliff “towels” this facility with love.

Yes he is paid but he is not a mercenary.

He has the heart of a servant that a person could never hire.

I wince from time to time when he comes into my office planning to clean my bathroom.

I feel in those moments, incredibly selfish and totally unworthy to be served by someone like this.

It is never without personal cost to “serve” someone else.

I have a couple of anonymous mechanical angels who are determined to keep my Neon running.

They have sacrificed time and resource for this purpose and I have been the beneficiary of their huge hearts.

Once more I am convicted and blessed and inspired to see the love of God at work in this way.

People who serve are people who impact others greatly.

It represents one of the primary values that I hold and one that I believe we need to fully embrace as a church.

I think that every pastor, every LBA member, every SS Teacher, youth leader, every individual in this church who chooses to call themselves a follower of Christ needs to learn to serve – to take the towel in hand and love others in this manner

 

*2.

**The Teaching* – vs. 12-20

 

/12 //When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.

13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.

14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

*15 **I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.*

16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them./

[3]

 

God's love by design is meant to reach to us and through us.

We are always happy to be recipients of God’s love and blessing but His design is that we should be channels through which His love flows to others.

This is the */full extent/* of God’s love, His love reaching */to us /*and reaching */through us/*.

There are times when we cannot find the supportive emotions and feelings that make us think that we are loving.

Obedience is the practical expression of love for God.

Service is the practical expression of love for men.

It is carnal and fleshly to want to rule over men by power and legislation - to remove the God-given ability to choose.

It is "God's way" to serve.

How does the world at large see the church?

They see us sufficiently motivated to attend rallies when our freedoms are in jeopardy.

They see our names on petitions in protest of this or that.

Rarely however do they see us scrambling to serve in everyday practical living.

Because of this, our message is powerless and impotent.

We are just another group looking for a position of power and privilege.

And people run away from our self-serving agendas.

*What does the heart of a servant look like?*

Jesus said,