The Love Language Of Acts Of Service Series

5 Love Languages - Acts of Service

May 22, 2022

We’re in our final week of the series on the 5 love languages, which is based on the book by Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages and is really predicated on the passage from Jesus in John 13, which tells us - - -

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35

That should be the basis for everything we do. We’re called to love. It’s to follow this new way of thinking, not just to love others who you like and are similar to, it’s to even love your enemies. It’s to love others in the same manner in which Christ loves us. It’s sacrificial. And if we were to be really honest, sacrificial love is not easy and it’s usually not very convenient, either.

And sometimes it’s not always convenient to fully love the one you’re married to, or even your kids. It’s not always easy to give sacrificial love to those you love the most. That’s what this entire series has been based on.

If you have not taken the love language quiz to better understand your love language, then please do it. If you’re not sure of your kids or spouses love language, then have them take the quiz too. It’s a great 15 minutes of investing in your life and the lives of the people you love.

We’ve looked at the love languages of - - -

Words of Affirmation

Quality Time

Giving / Receiving Gifts

Physical Touch

And today we’re looking at our last love language . . . ACTS OF SERVICE

Again, none of these are super hard to put into motion, but they all take thoughtfulness and some time, so that we can be very intentional as we demonstrate the love of Christ to others.

So, what are Acts of service?

The greatest way to say it is through the word SERVANTHOOD. For some people that’s not the most fun word to hear. But that’s what it’s all about. How can I serve you? How can I fulfill your wants and needs in a manner which brings honor and glory to Christ?

Many churches have Deacons, as we do, which comes from the Greek word which means - to serve or be a servant, to minister to another.

We see that in Acts 6 when there was a need for more people to serve. Luke wrote -

2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you 7 men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering - Acts 6:2-5

That’s where we see the deacons called. They were the ones who were going to be serving the people while others would be doing the preaching and teaching.

But we see this word for serving earlier in the gospels. We may not realize it, but Jesus used this same Greek word, diakaneos - - -

In Mark 10, Jesus said - - -

45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” - Mark 10:45

That’s the same Greek word at use. It’s a call for us to serve. Now some people find love when people do something for them. We see it repeatedly in the Bible. The greatest example, again comes in Jesus.

Let me set the scene for you. It’s the final night of His life, and Jesus is with the disciples at the Passover meal. As they walked into that upper room, there would have been a basin, a pitcher of water and towels. There would be a servant to wash the feet of the guests. This was one of the more demeaning tasks for a servant. Kind of like being the lowest of the lowest servants.

There weren’t paved roads, they walked with sandals through the dust, sand, and dirt and their feet would be filthy. It was common courtesy to have a servant wash the guests feet.

But there’s nobody there to wash their feet. So, the disciples walk past the water and towel and sat down. They may have felt it was beneath them. They seemed to be more interested in being served.