Serving Jesus Sermon

Service in the Church is Like Going Into Partnership With God

THIS WEEKEND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SERVING

This is the weekend we are finishing up our series on being a commited Christian call Commitment.

As we wrap up the series we are looking at how important it is for us to see ourselves as a body.

That we PARTNER with God in his great mission to save people for eternal life. That we serve in the Church.

Today we are talking about volunteering to serve in church. Why would you volunteer to serve in the church?

Befroe we start let me say:

THIS NOT IT IS NOT ABOUT TRYING TO RECRUIT MORE PEOPLE FOR OUR MINISTRY TEAMS IT IS INVITING PEOPLE TO PARTNER WITH GOD IN THE LOCAL CHUCH

It is not about guilting you in to helping. I dont want anyone to serve that way.

These days community organisations like church or sporting clubs or scouts and schools are finding it harder and hard to find volunteers.

Churches are places where more and more of the ministry is outsourced to people we pay. Churches pay pastors and admin staff and even pay people to clean their buildings. This is because it is hard to find the time to help. we are all busy. It is no wonder that There is a common saying that in churches in Sydney 20% of the people do 80% of the work.

BUT I DON’T CARE ABOUT TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO SERVE HERE.

No I don’t want you to miss out on al the joy of serving

Yes we are going to ask everyone to think about serving this weekend but I don’t want you to serve at church if it is just something you should do, or because you feel guilty, or because noone else is doing it.

I only want you to serve if you are excited abouit serving.

I want to go as far as to say this weekend that if you are already serving in church and it is getting you down and you are grumbling more than you are excited about serving maybe don’t serve. You have permission to stop serving

I want you to love the life you live as a Christian

Because after all God loves a generous giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 NIV

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Sure that is about giving your money but it applys to your acts of service too doesn’t it?

Generosity and Thankfulness, a core value of our Church is one of the most important motivations in serving. And that pleases God.

I want to ask the question today why would you serve in the church?

Well I have 2 reasons for us today:

God Calls You To Partnership With Him

God Calls You To Partnership With Others

Because we are wrapping up our series this weekend we are going to go back over some of our key verses at Church.

The verse that started Soulies in the first place was Matt 22:37-40 summerises the teaching of Jesus in this plain way

Matthew 22:37–40 NIV

37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I realised many years ago that I was leading youth group when I had time. This verse says love God and love others. Here is the motivation for service. Love.

You do not begrudgingly serve someone you love. You delight in it.

SECOND BY LOVING HIM YOU PARTNER WITH HIM.

Thirdly love is expressed in service: cross

God Calls You to Partnership With Him

God Calls people to serve Him right through the Bible

Moses in Ex3:1-12 at the burning bush. terrified by the Holiness of God he is called to take off his shoes on holy ground called to serve God

We read in verse 9

Exodus 3:9–12 NIV

9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

Here he called Moses to serve Him. God is rasing up his servant Moses to serve him by sending him to confront Pharo and ask for the people of Israel to be released from their slavery.

He is asking him topartner with him as he is going to save the Israelites. Partner rwith God as He released the captives free.

You see this same pattern when God calls Isiah the prophet to serve him.

Isiah 6:1-10 Isiah is terrified at the Vision Of the LORD ON THE THRONE. he says I am a man of unclean lips because he recognses he is a sinner

Then

Fast forward to the new testament

Matthew 4:18–20 NIV

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

Jesu calls the disicples to stop what they are doing and come follow him. Not come and watch him

What does that look like:

Matthew 20:25–28 NIV

25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

servant. Jesus came to serve not be served

summerised as mission and disicpleship

God Calls You to Partnership with Others

What we have seen is that to Partner with

Gal 5:13 freedom serve one another in love

Galatians 5:13 NIV

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

not just serve, serve in love. Could be read through love, prepersition. through the channel of love. When you are so in love with someone

Beczuse you are so in love with them. not because you feel like you should help, I should help with the kids.Dont take care of them, love the kids. burden, care about their future, hard it is at school. positive teaching. I want to serve them.

Paul takes this up a notch in Romans 12

Romans 12:3–8 NIV

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

We are actually part of the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:15–16 NIV

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

WE are a body we need each other.

Serving is living

Serving in relationship

this is fun serving is partnering with eachother

serving builds friendships

Man I had such a hard time as a teenager, I wonder how I can help. Can I guide and love and care about them

Steve Van Wart

Jenny and Dan Rigga

We started something Called Kids Chill

Kids Chill Church of Today

THINGS THAT GET IN THE WAY OF SERVING

Individualism, consumerism and relational transcience

Team, service and relational stability

I read a book by Helen Cameron on Practical Theology. She said not everyone in the church believes what the church they go to teaches. Even thiugh we teach about Jesus and that we are seeking to be a Jesus Shaped Community where we can all be involved.

some people see their church as a post office. A utility.

YOUCAN SERVE ELSWHERE BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBOURS HERE WHO IS LOOKING AFTER THEM?

What stops us thinking like this? Well this is counter cultural:

Our Culture: Individualism, Consumerism, Relational Transicience

Jesus’ Culture: Partnership, Service, Relational Stability

This is how we partner with Jesus.

Ways to Serve at Soulies

We have 19 Community Groups

We have 10 service teams

welcoming and world

lifesupport and hospitality

kids and youth and youngadults

communications and Arts

Berea and Community Groups

Commitments Disicpleship and Evangelism Weekend

for all the commited christians at church even those not in a formal ministry or bible study

weekend next term. There will be a week of activities to help young and old and people from different services to get to know each other.

Inviting adult bible studies to invite a youth bible study to dinner.

Village picnics. to meet people from different gatherings eg west ryde and Sunday Morning

Or Staurday Night and Woolooware

Or Friday Night and Yarrawarrah

With the restrictions we might have a few smaller picnics of 20 people.

That week we will also have a why not become a Christian night....

We will have prayer after each service for our non Christian friends.