Servanthood
Scripture Base:
Matthew 20:26-28; 22:39b; john 15: 12-13; Philippians 2: 1-11
The Point:
In Christ, as opposed to the world, the servant is greatest of all.
Stuff You’ll Need:
TV and VCR, the movie Sister Act (Touchstone Pictures), nails, tape
Preparation:
Before the session, write the Commitment Cores questions on a chalkboard or a sheet of newsprint.
Introduction:
Have students pair up using the colored dots. They will remain paired up throughout the whole lesson.
ASK:
In our world, to most people, what makes someone truly great?
Who is the greatest person now living (aside from Jesus)?
Have pairs discuss these questions for three minutes.
When time is up, have students share some of their responses.
What makes someone great to God?
Have pairs discuss this for about two minutes.
Jesus called the disciples together and said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-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” (Matthew 20:26-28).
Jesus said this, so it’s true, but it’s so difficult to see how being a servant will lead to greatness of any kind, isn’t it?
In our world being proud, loud, ambitious, goal-driven, self-made, self-centered, highly motivated, powerful, and wealthy are the ways to greatness.
Good news-God knows all about this struggle and will help us meet the challenge. Let’s look at servanthood today and what it takes to be a servant from the heart.
The Message
Key Point # I: The servant’s heart
Let’s take a little quiz to see how we rank as servants.
Servant ’Tude?
After hearing each of the following statements, either extend a hand, which means, “That’s me!” or fold your arms across your chest, which means, “Nope! That’s not me!”
Others compliment me on my servant attitudes or actions.
I use my gifts and skills to serve my church.
I use my gifts and skills to serve my family.
Other people feel they can count on me when they need help.
I make it a habit to help those in distress.
When I see needy people or the homeless, it gets to me.
The needs of others are at least as important as my own.
I sometimes feel sad and ask, "God, why do you allow people to suffer?"
Others compliment me on my sensitivity and love.
I typically help people, even when it costs me time, cancels my plans, risks embarrassment, costs money, or even when their appearance repulses me.
Friends say I am someone they can talk to about anything and that I’m always there when they need me.
Have students turn to a partner and discuss the following questions. After a minute or two, have volunteers share their responses.
What did this test tell you about yourself?
How will you respond to what you learned?
Read Philippians 2: 1-2
In this passage God shows us two ways to live the life of the servant, as opposed to living a selfish life. First, we must consider others better than ourselves (verse 3). Second, we must look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others (verse 4). We must stay alert to the needs of others and how to meet their needs.
Seeing Christ in the Poorest of the Poor
Check out this cool story of a journalist’s encounter with Mother Teresa, which completely revolutionized his perspective on service and charity:
She told a story of how one of the sisters had spent an entire day bathing the wounds of a dying beggar who was brought to them from the streets of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa’s voice dropped to a whisper as she told the hushed auditorium that, in reality, the nun had been bathing the wounds of Jesus.
She insisted that Christ tests the love of his followers by hiding in grotesque disguises to see if we can still see him.
A few nights later...a drunk accosted me. He was dirty and ragged and smelled bad.
’Did the bus leave yet?’ he asked ...
’You’ve missed it,’ I told him. Then I thought about Mother Teresa... ’C’mon, I’ll drive you,’ I said, hoping that he wouldn’t throw up in the car.
He looked surprised, delighted and a little stunned .. .’Say,’ he said, ’you must know me.’ "
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The heart of the servant recognizes that when we serve and love others, we serve and love Christ.
There are as many ministries and ways to serve as there are stars in the sky.
There are nursing homes to visit, children who need sidewalk Sunday schools in their neighborhoods, elderly people who have homes in need of yard care, Sunday school classes that need to be taught, AIDS babies who need to be held and cuddled, camps that need to be run for special needs children, and so much more.
The heart of the servant actively seeks to discover the needs of others and to meet those needs.
Key Point #2: The servant’s choice
Read Philippians 2:6-7.
Jesus could have come to us as a conquering king, but he chose to come as a suffering servant.
And he turned the world upside down by doing so. He made a daily choice to be a servant. He came to us in human flesh.
He was fully God, but he was also fully human. Like us, he probably had to choose daily between dying to himself to serve others and being selfish and self-centered.
He chose every time to be a servant. As we daily choose to die to ourselves to serve others, we find a whole new life-and we are forever changed.
He came to us in human flesh. He was fully God, but he was also fully human.
Like us, he probably had to choose daily between dying to himself to serve others and being selfish and self-centered.
He chose every time to be a servant. As we daily choose to die to ourselves to serve others, we find a whole new life -- and we are forever changed.
DVD Teaching Segment Option: Sister Act
To illustrate how living the life of a servant can bring us back to the heart of Christianity and refresh our faith, show a clip from Sister Act
Before playing this clip, let students know that the nuns in this movie have kept to themselves and haven’t reached out to the community.
They’re locked in their routines, merely praying for those outside the walls.
Begin the clip at 58 minutes, 18 seconds, which shows the nuns standing outside a door as Sister Mary Clarence is being disciplined by the Reverend Mother for leading upbeat songs in worship.
End the clip at 1 hour, 3 minutes, 50 seconds with Sister Mary Clarence trying to hide her face on television by holding up a child.
ASK: What did the nuns’ servanthood trigger in their church? their community? themselves? Why?
Those who want to be servants must choose servanthood over selfishness, selfish ambition, and self-centeredness.
Right emotions follow right actions. As we continually make the choice to be servants, we’ll steadily acquire the heart of the servant.
Servanthood will become our nature and our passion; serving Christ will be our motivation.
Key Point #3: The servant’s sacrifice
Read Philippians 2:7-8.
Serving is never convenient and always costs us something.
Servanthood requires that we lay our lives down for others.
We lay down our time, our money, our possessions, and our plans for others.
This will kill our selfishness, our insensitivity toward people, and our spiritual coldness.
Nail Prints
Distribute nails to students. Have students press the sharp end of the nails against the palms of their hands or their wrists-just enough to feel some pain but not enough to risk penetrating the skin.
Have them do this while you read Matthew 22:39b and John 15: 12-13 and lead a short discussion.
What sacrifices are you making right now by holding the nail?
Jesus literally laid down his life for all of mankind. So what does he mean by asking us to lay down our lives for others?
Why does he ask this?
Just as Christ’s life was poured out to redeem mankind, he pours his life out through us when we serve, show kindness, and love others.
Servanthood will kill what’s in us that isn’t like Jesus and will let his life, his nature, and his identity flow through us.
Key Point #4: The servant’s glory
Read Philippians 2:8-11.
Jesus was glorified as a servant He was exalted to the highest place.
We, too, are exalted by God as we serve and bring glory to God by living our lives as servants.
Let’s look at a story of how one man learned from what he suffered that the glory of the servant exceeds the glory of worldly success.
Jim Bakker, Ex-Con
Read the following true story to the group.
In the seventies and eighties, Jim Bakker was a well-known evangelist who experienced earthly glory.
He preached a message of prosperity, insisting that God’s people were to be rich.
Through his PTL television show, he raised millions of dollars-promising people many blessings from God if they gave to his ministry.
With some of the hundreds of millions of dollars he raised, he built Heritage USA, designed to be a showpiece Christian community.
His personal fortune was mind-boggling. He had the finest of everything and why not? All God’s children deserved to live in high style, according to his gospel.
In the late eighties, Jim Bakker’s world came crashing down as his adulterous relationship with a church secretary was revealed.
He lost PTL and Heritage USA in 1989 when he was tried and convicted for mail and wire fraud for fundraising efforts at PTL.
He served five years in prison.
By the time he was released, Jim Bakker had become an entirely different person.
During his prison time, Jim Bakker, as a broken and humble man, spent his time studying the Bible and ministering to the broken men around him.
Gone were the pride, the flashy persona, the slick talk, and the finery.
Gone was the preaching of Christlikeness and wealth being one and the same.
Jim has apologized profusely for the false gospel he preached for so many years.
The key, he believes now, is simply to fall in love with Jesus.
After he got out of jail, Jim Bakker lived in the inner city of Los Angeles in a simple room at the Dream Center-a large outreach ministry.
There he fed the hungry and ministered to drug addicts, prostitutes, the homeless, teenage runaways, and the other broken and needy people.
In his current ministry of speaking in churches and ministering in the inner city, Jim Bakker feels more love and is happier than ever before.
Jim Bakker now experiences the glory of the servant-the deep soul satisfaction of serving others and being the heart and hands of Jesus extended to others.
He’s never been happier or more fulfilled. We, too, can know the glory of the servant as we serve.
Closing Challenge
The Christian life is one of loving, giving, and serving. He who is least is the greatest. The poorest is the richest. God is calling us to lay down our lives so we can live our lives out in service to others.
A Son to a Dying Man
A nurse escorted a tired, anxious young man to the bed side of an elderly man.
"Your son is here," she whispered to the patient. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.
He was heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack and he dimly saw the young man standing outside the oxygen tent.
He reached out his hand and the young man tightly wrapped his fingers around it, squeezing a message of encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair next to the bedside.
All through the night the young man sat holding the old mans hand, and offering gentle words of hope.
The dying man said nothing as he held tightly to his son.
As dawn approached, the patient died.
The young man placed on the bed the lifeless hand he had been holding, and then he went to notify the nurse.
While the nurse did what was necessary, the young man waited. When she had finished her task, the nurse began to say words of sympathy to the young man.
But he interrupted her. "Who was that man?" He asked.
The startled nurse replied, "I thought he was your father."
"No, he was not my father," he answered. "I never saw him before in my life."
"Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?" asked the nurse.
He replied, "I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew how much he needed me..."
True Servanthood is putting behind what you want to do and serving another in the love of Christ.
Closing Prayer:
Have group members pray for one another in their groups according to what was shared. Pray that students will die to themselves daily so the life, love, and joy of Jesus can flow through them even more powerfully.
