Servant Evangelism
Opening Illustration: A 12 Dollar Lesson
A cab driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Motivational speakers charge thousands of dollars to impart his kind of training to corporate executives and staff. It cost me a $12 taxi ride.
I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on a client. Time was of the essence and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up.
The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.
Well! I looked around for a "Candid Camera!" Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, "Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell."
"You bet," he replied, "I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be.
I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well. I evaluate my personal assets and... wham! I became a cab driver.
One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply just meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXCEED the customer’s expectations! I like both the sound and the return of being ’great’ better than just getting by on ’average’"
Did I tip him big time? You bet! Corporate America’s loss is the traveling folk’s friend!
Lessons: Go an Extra Mile when providing any Service to others. Good service always brings good return.
Thesis: We as the Body of Christ need to follow Jesus example to serve others so as to make an eternal difference in a person’s life. We need to go the extra mile like Jesus did!
Opening Scripture Text: John 13:1-17:
Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
1It 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.
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”
11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean.
12When 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.
14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Opening Question: “Servant Evangelist” - Who do you think of when this term is spoken, who crosses your mind first? Second?
Examples of this type of ministry that crossed my mind:
1. Mother Teresa : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa
Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhix, was a Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity’s expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.
On 10 September 1946, Teresa experienced what she later described as "the call within the call" while traveling by train to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling from Calcutta for her annual retreat. "I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith."
Video clip #1 from wingclips.com “Mother Teresa her call within the call”
She began her missionary work with the poor in 1948…Initially she started a school in (Calcutta); soon she started tending to the needs of the destitute and starving. In the beginning of 1949 she was joined in her effort by a group of young women and laid the foundations to create a new religious community helping the "poorest among the poor".
Her efforts quickly caught the attention of Indian officials, including the prime minister, who expressed his appreciation.
Teresa wrote in her diary that her first year was fraught with difficulties. She had no income and had to resort to begging for food and supplies. Teresa experienced doubt, loneliness and the temptation to return to the comfort of convent life during these early months. She wrote in her diary:
Our Lord wants me to be a free nun covered with the poverty of the cross. Today I learned a good lesson. The poverty of the poor must be so hard for them. While looking for a home I walked and walked till my arms and legs ached. I thought how much they must ache in body and soul, looking for a home, food and health. Then the comfort of Loreto [her former order] came to tempt me. ’You have only to say the word and all that will be yours again,’ the Tempter kept on saying ... Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard. I did not let a single tear come.
Teresa received permission on 7 October 1950 to start the Missionaries of Charity. Its mission was to care for, in her own words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."
It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta; running orphanages, AIDS hospices and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine.
In 1952 Mother Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying in space made available by the city of Calcutta. …"A beautiful death," she said, "is for people who lived like animals to die like angels—loved and wanted."
Mother Teresa soon opened a home for those suffering from Hansen’s disease, commonly known as leprosy, and called the hospice (City of Peace) The Missionaries of Charity also established several leprosy outreach clinics throughout Calcutta, providing medication, bandages and food.
As the Missionaries of Charity took in increasing numbers of lost children, Mother Teresa felt the need to create a home for them. In 1955 she opened the Children’s Home of the Immaculate Heart, as a haven for orphans and homeless youth.
By 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered approximately 450 brothers and 5,000 nuns worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries.
Video clip #2 from wingclips.com “Mother Teresa God’s love”
Quotes from her:
• People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
• If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
• If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
• If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
• What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
• If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
• The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
• Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
• In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
• "Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child, and be loved by the child.
• “I belong to Jesus. He must have the right to use me without consulting me."
John 13:12 “…Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
2. The Booth’s – Salvation Army http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Booth
William Booth (10 April 1829 – 20 August 1912) was a British Methodist preacher who founded the Salvation Army and became its first General (1878–1912). The Christian movement, with a quasi-military structure and government - but with no physical weaponry - founded in 1865, has spread from London, England, to many parts of the world and is known for being one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid. William was born in Sneinton, Nottingham, England, the only son of four surviving children born to Samuel Booth and Mary Moss. His father was wealthy by the standards of the time, but during Booth’s childhood, as a result of his father’s bad investments, the family descended into poverty and William’s father became an alcoholic.
In 1842, Samuel Booth, who by then was bankrupt, could no longer afford his son’s school fees, and 13-year-old William Booth was apprenticed to a pawnbroker. Samuel Booth died later that same year.
Two years into his apprenticeship Booth was converted to ’salvation’ and Methodism. He then read extensively and trained himself in writing and in speech, becoming a Methodist lay preacher. Booth was encouraged to be an evangelist primarily through his best friend, Will Sansom. Sansom and Booth both began in the 1840s to preach to the poor and the "sinners" of Nottingham, and Booth would probably have remained as Sansom’s partner in his new "Mission" ministry, as Sansom titled it, had Sansom not died of tuberculosis, in 1848.
In 1849, Booth reluctantly left his family and moved to London, where he found work and lodging in a pawnbroker’s shop. Booth tried to continue lay preaching in London, but the small amount of preaching work that came his way frustrated him, and so he resigned as a lay preacher and took to open-air evangelising in the streets and on Kennington Common.
In 1851, Booth joined the ’Reformers’ (Methodist Reform Church), and on 10 April 1852, his 23rd birthday, he left pawnbroking and became a full-time preacher at their headquarters at Binfield Chapel in Clapham. William styled his preaching after the revivalist American James Caughey, who had made frequent visits to England and preached at Booth’s favourite church, Broad Street Chapel. Just over a month after he started full-time preaching, on 15 May 1852, William Booth became formally engaged to Catherine Mumford. In November 1853, Booth was invited to become the Reformers’ minister at Spalding, in Lincolnshire. Booth married Catherine Mumford on 16 June 1855 at Stockwell Green Congregational Church in London. Their wedding was very simple, as they wanted to use their time and money for his ministry. Even on their honeymoon Booth was asked to speak at meetings.
Though Booth became a prominent Methodist evangelist, he was unhappy that the annual conference of the denomination kept assigning him to a pastorate, the duties of which he had to neglect to respond to the frequent requests that he do evangelistic campaigns. At the Liverpool conference in 1861, after having spent three years at Gateshead, his request to be freed for evangelism full-time was refused yet again, and Booth resigned from the ministry of the Methodist New Connexion.
Soon he was barred from campaigning in Methodist congregations, so he became an independent evangelist. His doctrine remained much the same, though; he preached that eternal punishment was the fate of those who do not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the necessity of repentance from sin, and the promise of holiness. He taught that this belief would manifest itself in a life of love for God and mankind. Eventually, the Booths’ children became involved in the ministry.
In 1865 Booth was in the East End of London, preaching to crowds of people in the streets. Outside The Blind Beggar public house some missioners heard him speaking and were so impressed by his preaching that they invited him to lead a series of meetings they were holding in a large tent.
The tent was set up on an old Quaker burial ground on Mile End Waste in Whitechapel. The first of these meetings was held on 2 July 1865. To the poor and destitute of London’s East End Booth brought the good news of Jesus Christ and his love for all men.[6]
Booth soon realized he had found his destiny, and later in 1865 he and his wife Catherine opened ’The Christian Revival Society’ in the East End of London, where they held meetings every evening and on Sundays, to offer repentance, salvation and Christian ethics to the poorest and most needy, including alcoholics, criminals and prostitutes. The Christian Revival Society was later renamed The Christian Mission.
Slowly The Christian Mission began to grow but the work was difficult and Booth would "stumble home night after night haggard with fatigue, often his clothes were torn and bloody bandages swathed his head where a stone had struck", wrote his wife. Evening meetings were held in an old warehouse where urchins threw stones and fireworks through the window. Outposts were eventually established and in time attracted converts, yet the results were discouraging. The Christian Mission was just one of about 500 charitable and religious groups trying to help the poor and needy in London’s East End.
Booth and his followers practiced what they preached and performed self-sacrificing Christian and social work, such as opening “Food for the Million” shops (soup kitchens), not caring if they were scoffed at or derided for their work.
The name The Salvation Army developed from an incident in May 1878. William Booth was dictating a letter to his secretary George Scott Railton and said, "We are a volunteer army." Bramwell Booth heard his father and said, "Volunteer, I’m no volunteer, I’m a regular!" Railton was instructed to cross out the word "volunteer" and substitute the word "salvation". The Salvation Army was modeled after the military, with its own flag (or colors) and its own music, often with Christian words to popular and folkloric tunes sung in the pubs. Booth and the other soldiers in "God’s Army" would wear the Army’s own uniform, ’putting on the armor,’ for meetings and ministry work. He became the "General" and his other ministers were given appropriate ranks as "officers". Other members became "soldiers".
Though the early years were lean ones, with the need of money to help the needy an ever growing issue, Booth and The Salvation Army persevered. In the early 1880s, operations were extended to other countries, notably the United States, France, Switzerland, Sweden and others, including to most of the countries of the British Empire: Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Jamaica, etc.
During his lifetime, William Booth established Army work in 58 countries and colonies, travelling extensively and holding, "salvation meetings."
Quotes from William Booth:
“In answer to your inquiry, I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”
“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”
“While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight, I’ll fight to the very end!”
“We must wake ourselves up! Or somebody else will take our place, and bear our cross, and thereby rob us of our crown.”
“To get a man soundly saved it is not enough to put on him a pair of new breeches, to give him regular work, or even to give him a University education. These things are all outside a man, and if the inside remains unchanged you have wasted your labor. You must in some way or other graft upon the man’s nature a new nature, which has in it the element of the Divine.”
“A man’s labor is not only his capital but his life. When it passes it returns never more. To utilize it, to prevent its wasteful squandering, to enable the poor man to bank it up for use hereafter, this surely is one of the most urgent tasks before civilization.”
John 13:12 “…Do you understand what I have done for you?” he (Jesus) asked them.
I. We need to have servant’s hearts like Jesus!
i. This is the message of John 13from Jesus to us – he role modeled it for us.
ii. We can do this most effectively through Servant evangelism projects.
1. These projects are designed to "show God’s love in practical ways with no strings attached."
2. Steve Sjögren calls them a "Conspiracy of Kindness" (see Conspiracy of Kindness published by Vine Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1993).
3. Essentially, servant evangelism is accomplished by any activity:
Done in the name of Jesus
Providing a beneficial service to people
For which no financial consideration is expected or accepted (not even donations)
iii. Servant evangelism softens the hearts of persons who are not yet Christians—people who often think the church exists only for itself or that it only wants people’s time and money.
1. By doing a "low-risk" activity that shows "high grace," those resistant to the faith may (now or in the future) become more open to the saving message of Jesus Christ.
a. These are activities in which almost anyone can participate regardless of age (children and youth love to participate) or spiritual maturity. They may be done individually or in small groups. If done in groups, it is helpful not to overwhelm a location with too many participants.
i. Phil 2:1-4 (Phi) Now if you have known anything of Christ’s encouragement and of his reassuring love; if you have known something of the fellowship of his Spirit, and of compassion and deep sympathy, do make my joy complete--live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and spirit between you. Never act from motives of rivalry or personal vanity, but in humility think more of each other than you do of yourselves. None of you should think only of his own affairs, but consider other people’s interests also.
iv. John 12:25-26 (NIV) "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
1. Richard Foster: "In some ways we would prefer to hear Jesus’ call to deny father and mother, houses and land for the sake of the gospel than his word to wash feet. Radical self-denial gives the feel of adventure. If we forsake all, we even have the chance at glorious martyrdom. But in service we must experience the many little deaths of going beyond ourselves. Service banishes us to the mundane, the ordinary, the trivial.
a. Being a servant to others is a tough job, just ask a waitress. People will take their attitudes out on you, mock you, think they are above you, and even decide whether you deserve a tip or not based on their selfish wants being fulfilled or not.
b. The Story of Pauletta who was my waitress.
2. 1 Pet 2:16 (NIV) Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
a. We should live as servants of God – not selfish Christians.
3. Gal 5:13 (Jer) My brothers, you were called, as you know, to liberty; but be careful, or this liberty will provide an opening for self-indulgence. Serve one another, rather, in works of love.
a. Serve one another as a slave of love!
v. The dilemma for many – or the excuse of not serving:
1. Richard Foster: "A natural and understandable hesitancy accompanies any serious discussion of service. The hesitancy is prudent since it is wise to count the cost before plunging headlong into any Discipline. We experience a fear that comes out something like this: "If I do that, people will take advantage of me; they will walk all over me." "Right here we must see the difference between choosing to serve and choosing to be a servant. When we chose to serve, we are still in charge. We decide whom we will serve and when we will serve. And if we are in charge, we will worry a great deal about anyone stepping on us, that is, taking charge over us. But when we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. There is great freedom in this. If we voluntarily choose to be taken advantage of, then we cannot be manipulated. When we choose to be a servant, we surrender the right to decide when we will serve. We become available and vulnerable. "Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve. Sometimes the low and defenseless are served because that will ensure a humble image. True service is indiscriminate in its ministry. It has heard the command of Jesus...”
a. Mark 9:35 (NIV) ..."If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
b. Remember Mother Teresa’s quote: “I belong to Jesus. He must have the right to use me without consulting me."
T.S. – We all as Christians must have a servant’s heart. Our hearts need to be like Jesus and we need to understand that we should be investing our time into things that make an eternal difference rather than in things that have no eternal value.
II. We need to invest our time into eternal things not temporal things.
i. Psalms 31:14,15:
1. 14But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”15My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.
a. Psalm 31:14, 15 David illuminates our mind with a thought I would like each of you to ponder today, “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands…”
i. Are your times – your minutes, your days placed into the hands of God to use.
ii. Share your story from Caribou doing the act of servant evangelism.
1. The women asking for prayer for her mother!
b. Oswald Chambers: "Obstinacy and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit... Every time we stand on our rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we... vex and grieve His Spirit."
i. We need to be on God’s agenda for our daily lives not on our agenda’s.
1. Who can you serve today? Tomorrow? Ask God to open your eyes to who you can serve!
ii. Psalm 90:12 (NLT) “Teach us to make the most of our time…and make our efforts successful. Yes, our efforts successful!”
2. We need to understand that our life-time matters to God and how we use it matters to God! And one day you and I will be held accountable for what we did with it!
a. So do you understand the lesson of Jesus from John 13 yet?
iii. Psalm 37:18, “The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever” (NIV).
1. The TLB version reads like this “Day by Day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men, and gives them eternal rewards.”
a. The Bible tells us not to grow weary in doing good because the Lord sees the good that you do and one day you will be rewarded for it.
2. So we need to make sure that we use our time wisely and for eternal purposes. One of these eternal purposes is servant evangelism.
iv. Is your time placed in God’s hands?
1. It’s time for a self-evaluation – Where is your time going?
a. How much of your time in one week is devoted to your relationship with the Lord?
b. How much of your time in one week is devoted to serving in the kingdom of God?
c. What do you spend most of your week doing?
i. If you don’t know I challenge you to track your time this week.
1. Evaluate what you do with your time.
2. Who gets the benefits?
3. What attitude dominates your time?
4. When do you serve-and who do you serve?
5. Where do you spend the bulk of your time?
6. How does your week line up with what Scripture says- about what should dominate your time?
v. Christians must give their time it’s imperative. There is a common belief among most people that you cannot build a home without work and the truth is you cannot build a church without work and people willing to serve.
1. Quote- “You cannot make footprints in the sands of time sitting down.”
a. Here is a challenge for you –tithe 10% of your time this week to developing your relationship with the Lord.
b. Here is another challenge to you-tithe 10% of your time to serving in the Kingdom of God.
c. Then do what you want with the other 80% but remember it’s the 20% of your time that will make a difference for all eternity.
i. This is the best investment of your time.
ii. Share about the lesson from the movie Secret Santa.
1. “The greatest feeling in the world is when I give to someone else! There is nothing like it!”
T.S. – We need to make sure that we use our time wisely and not waste it because it is a precious commodity and the most sensible way to do this is by being living sacrifices for the Lord.
III. We need to be living sacrifices as the Bible challenges us to be.
i. Rom 12:1 (KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
1. Here is another version and take on Romans:
a. 1Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. Romans 12:1 (CEV)
b. I love the phrase: “The most sensible way to serve God!”
i. The most sensible way to serve God is by giving Him your life, your days, your weeks, your heart and your mind.
ii. It makes sense to serve others, to do random acts of kindness to people who least expect it! God will use these times to create Holy Spirit encounters with the people you serve. It’s not about you it’s really about showing the Love of God that you received freely!
2. We need to be "Love Slaves" according to Richard Foster: "Consider the perspective of a slave. A slave sees all of life from the viewpoint of slavery. He does not see himself as possessing the same rights as free men and women. Please understand me, when this slavery is involuntary it is cruel and dehumanizing. When the slavery is freely chosen, however, everything is changed. Voluntary servitude is a great joy.
a. Phil 2:17 (NIV) But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
b. Foster: "The image of slavery may be difficult for us, but it was not hard for the apostle Paul. He frequently boasted of his slavery to Christ, making lavish use of the first-century concept of the "love slave" (that is, the slave who, out of love, has freely chosen to remain a slave). We do our best to soften Paul’s language by translating the word "slave" as "servant." But whatever word we decide to use, let us be certain that we understand that Paul meant he had freely given up his rights."
i. Acts 20:24 (NIV) ...I consider my life worth nothing to me...
ii. James 1:27 (Phi) Religion that is pure and genuine in the sight of God the Father will show itself by such things as visiting orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.
1. Do you want to serve? How about visiting –serving some of our shut-ins?
ii. It’s time for a genuine “Flesh Test!” How Hard Is It To Serve Others?
1. Richard Foster: "Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honor and recognition. It will devise subtle, religiously acceptable means to call attention to the service rendered. If we stoutly refuse to give in to this lust of the flesh, we crucify it. Every time we crucify the flesh, we crucify pride and arrogance."
a. We have to choose to die to selfish desires and choose to serve God!
2. Luke 22:27 (NIV) "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves."
a. Those who serve are greater than those who want to be served by others.
3. Here si the lesson that Jesus is asking us today if we understand:
a. Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV) 25Jesus 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.
26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
i. Service will always lead us to promotion in leadership.
1. When I first became a Christian my desire was to use my carpenter skills to remodel the church that I was attending for free.
2. I wanted to do this because I was so thankful to the Lord for saving my soul and delivering me from my sins.
3. No one made me do it – I wanted to do it! Love for Jesus and thankfulness for being given a second chance in life is what motivated me to do it.
Conclusion:
We need to dive in- decide to serve because it could change as person’s life. The first person to be changed will be us then second person changed will be the one we serve!
Rom 12:9-13 (TEB) Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly as brothers in Christ, and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard, and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your needy brothers, and open your homes to strangers.
Gal 6:9-10 (Phi) Let us not grow tired of doing good, for, unless we throw in our hand, the ultimate harvest is assured. Let us then do good to all men as opportunity offers, especially to those who belong to the Christian household.
Serving is to be an intricate part of being a Christian. It should be part of our faith journey. It‘s who we are. We are all called to be servants of God and of one another. We all are instructed to minister and serve. Don’t boo me yet in your hearts – think about this – pray about this!
Maybe you don’t have the time – find the time! Maybe you can help someone by financially giving – our benevolence is over budget and out of money – can you give to it at the very least?
Bill Hybel’s adds, “The theme of sacrifice runs through the entire Bible like a crimson thread. “
Servant evangelism softens the hearts of persons who are not yet Christians—people who often think the church exists only for itself or that it only wants people’s time and money. By doing a "low-risk" activity that shows "high grace," those resistant to the faith may (now or in the future) become more open to the saving message of Jesus Christ.
Focused Outreaches these next two weeks:
$250 card give away for free coffee: Dunkin, Starbucks and Caribou
Boxes of popcorn are here to be give away.
Hot chocolate to give away
Cases of Bottled Water to give away
Buy a Case of M&M Candy canes to give to workers at stores and fast food places
Buy a Case of the energy efficient light bulbs to give away.
Volunteer to bake for the choir who will give away baskets this Christmas season.
Pick up an Ice scrappers and clean windows in parking lots of cars – make sure you leave a card in the door of the car you clean.
Handout with other ideas:
Statement to say: “Merry Christmas from Christian Hills, is there anything we can pray for you about?”
Have tablet to write down prayer requests to put on your personal prayer list and give it to the Christian Hills Church prayer chain.
Give them the card with Church services on it. Invite them out from service.
Other Ideas:
• Offer to do free Christmas Gift Wrapping
• Volunteer at a Mission
• Volunteer at a Food Shelf
• Offer to take someone shopping who cannot get out.
• Pay for someone at a restaurant or for someone behind you in line. Do the pay it forward challenge to them!
• Put Quarters in Coin Returns or in meters
• Drop or place rolled up 5 dollar bills in the mall / store with a Card in them.
• Give out Ice Cream Cone Coupons
• Offer Childcare during Christmas Shopping for neighbors
• Give away Coffee/Hot Chocolate Coupons from McDonalds
• Give gifts to the people who have served you all year at restaurants’, store clerks (Like Dunkin, Starbucks) mailmen, and others.
• Go to a nearby college and give away Raman noodles or bags of groceries.
• Buy donuts for your office
• Buy stamps and give them away in front of the Post Office or to others
• Do random acts of kindness
Come to the stage and grab a tool to help you serve somebody this week or next! Make sure you grab some cards so we can invite people out to Christian Hills for the holiday services.
So the question is: “To serve or not to serve? What is your choice?”
Jesus is still asking us the question today, “John 13:12 “…Do you understand what I have done for you?”
Open the altars for prayer
