Faithful In Service Series

SERIES SELFLESS

week 2 - Faithful In Service

Pastor Timothy Porter

Text: Acts 9:36-43

INTRODUCTION:

Hey, it's great to have all of you with us today. All of our Bridge Church peeps guest and our Church Online family!

Thank you for choosing to gather with us today!

I want to introduce this week's message on faithfulness and service.

Last week, we talked about being Bold In Spirit. Today we're gonna talk about being Faithful In Service.

I'll introduce it with a story:

Regin come to live with us - Her first day at our home I must have been a little romantic with Abby. Maybe a little kiss, maybe a little huggy-huggy, I'm not sure what it was, but she said, "Oh my gosh, Pastor Tim, really loves Ms. Abby — Our girls said to her you might as well get use to it because Daddy is “Always Loving on Mommy”

And that was the introduction to this new girl living at our house, "Daddy is always loving Mommy."

That raises the question I wanna pose to you today, and that is this: If somebody were to describe you with the word "always," what would they say?

"He's always doing such and such" or "She's always doing this."

The question is this: What would others say that you are always doing? What would others say that you are always doing?

? Encouraging—Griping, Finding Faults—Finding good. Working, Video games, Working out, Business, Sharing X, Instagram/Facebook/TikTok -- Hunting, Fishing

READ / PRAY

Our series is Selfless, and I think you would probably agree that we live in an incredibly selfish, selfcentered, self-gratifying, self-promoting culture.

? In fact, I just looked up the word "self-promotion" on Google just to see what came up and on the first page, there was article after article teaching you how to promote yourself, to get ahead with self-promotion.

? I listed in my notes three of the different articles of all the many ones, there was one called

"The Art of Self-Promotion:

"6 Ways to Get Your Work Discovered.

" Forbes wrote one called, "Self-promotion is a Skill."

In other words, if you want to be good in this society, you better learn how to promote yourself.

Then this is one that maybe somebody needs to read: "40 Ways to Self-Promote Without Being a Jerk." How about that?

Self-promotion is a skill and we need to get really good at it is what the world is telling us!!

? In fact, if I ask you what do you think is the most common career that a teenager wants?

This is the aspiration of the common teenager today. What do you think it would be?

Well 54% of teenagers, for a career, want to be a celebrity. I want to be a YouTube star.

We have to learn to self-promote, to help others see just how great we are!

As a career, 54% of teenagers today want to be a celebrity.

What do we wanna be as adults ? When I come up all I wanted to be was The G.O.A.T

?What does the GOAT stand for, G-O-A-T, help everybody else understand what is the GOAT?

The GOAT is the, greatest of all time.

I just want to be the GOAT! I want to be the greatest of all time.

Even in my day it's self-promoting, selfcentered, selfish-oriented culture!

Here is the problem with all of the above. if you want to follow Jesus, Jesus' teaching is diametrically- opposed to a self-centered, selfish, self-promoting culture.

?This is what Jesus said: If you want to follow me, you don't promote yourself.

He said, first you must deny yourself and then you pick up your cross, in other words, you are dying to your own selfish natures and then, you follow me.

Jesus said, if you wanna be great, you don't self-promote. But Jesus said, the greatest among you, {let's say it aloud, will be what, the whole church}, "The greatest among you will be your servant."

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, we are not called to self promote or to live selfish, self-centered lives, but instead, he calls us, invites us, to be selfless, denying self and taking on the very nature of a servant.

? When I serve others. - I'm serving Christ. Serving isn't just what we do, a servant is who we are.

What are you always doing? If someone were to answer that question, what would they say that you're always doing?

CONTEXT OF ACTS 9:36-43

Tabitha she was actually the first Greek female mentioned in the New Testament. Her name means "gazelle," so some scholars think she might've been a tall beautiful woman.

What we do know, is what she was always doing, what does the text say? The text said she was always doing good and helping the poor.