Introduction
Video Ill.: Meet the Sanders - Serving Heathens — The Skit Guys
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling || their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And || the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2, NIV1984)
While the word serve is no where in Acts 2:42-47, the idea is written all over the actions of the early church.
Jesus taught us that service is the best expression of His love. Remember when He was facing His betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus demonstrated tangible service to His disciples. In John 13, we read the story:
1 It was almost time for the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end.
2 Jesus and his followers were at the evening || meal. The devil had already persuaded Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to turn against Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him power over everything and that he had come from God and was going back to God. 4 So during the meal Jesus stood up and took off his outer || clothing. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
|| 7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”
8 Peter said, “No, you will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, you are not one of my people.”
|| 9 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but wash my hands and my head, too!”
10 Jesus said, “After a person has had a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you men are clean, but not all of you.” || 11 Jesus knew who would turn against him, and that is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and sat down again. He asked, “Do you understand what I have just done for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ || and you are right, because that is what I am. 14 If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 I did this as an example so that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, a servant is not greater than his master. A messenger is not || greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13, NCV)
Serving others was central to Jesus’ mission. Serving others was central to the early church.
This morning, we are continuing our study Devoted Together, where we are discovering why church is more than a building—it's a family, a support system, and a vital part of our spiritual journey.
We began by seeing how corporate worship prepares us to live lives of daily worship. Worship has an impact not only on us, but on those around us when we gather together to worship together.
Then, we saw the importance of gathering together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and the witness that we share when we partake each Sunday. We are proclaiming a message of hope and love when we come together to remember Jesus’ death in our place.
Next, we found that we find encouragement when we gather together. We all have a need for encouragement.
Last week, we studied that the early church’s devotion to fellowship brought them together. They were a true community together. Fellowship was a vital part of that thriving Christian community.
This morning, service was an important part of the devotion that the early church had to each other. They were devoted together to serving one another within the church and within their community.
Let’s look at how we can serve each other, and learn that service is not just a duty, but a manifestation of God’s love and a source of unity.
#### **1. Serve Each Other by Using Our Talents and Gifts**
In 1 Peter 4 we read:
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4, NIV1984)
** Key Thought **: Peter is saying that every believer is uniquely gifted by God. These gifts are not meant to be hidden, like a lamp under a basket, stuffed away in the closet, or shoved under our bed.
These gifts are not for us to use for our own personal gain. God didn’t give us our talents and special gifts to pad our wallets, fatten our bank accounts, or enhance our portfolios.
Our gifts and talents are on loan from God to be used to serve His body, the Bride, the church.
Attitude Not Aptitude
By Sermon Central
(From a sermon by Michael Luke, The Demonstration Factor, 5/5/2011)
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Anyone can serve. Dave Stone says that "service is the language of grace."
One day a couple of church members were out distributing loaves of bread in a low-income housing complex. They came to an apartment where they heard arguing through the door, but they decided to knock anyway. A man opened the door and asked what they wanted. One of the visitors said, "We don't want anything. We just wondered if you know anyone who could use some loaves of bread?"
"Why are you doing that?" the man asked.
"Just to let people know that God loves them."
"What did you just say?" the man asked, rather anxiously.
"We're just handing out loaves of bread to let people know that God loves them."
The man stared and said, "I can't believe this. We just buried our three-week-old son yesterday, and now here you are at our door."
The visitors offered to pray with them, and the couple accepted their offer. As they were leaving, and the door was being closed, they heard the husband say to his wife, "See, honey? I told you God cares. We thought he wasn't paying attention to us, but he sent those people here to make sure we knew."
Too many people make excuses as to why they can't serve. Can you bake a cake? Can you cook some food item? Can you cut someone's grass? Can you call people and give them an encouraging word? Can you do housework? Can you do handy work? Can you donate anything of value? Can you stop along your way and give a smile? Can you take an interest in someone else's life?
The big thing is that we have to be ready to serve. We have to open our eyes and our ears to the needs of others.
We’ve been given gifts to help other people in some way, in some fashion. Someone gifted in teaching can lead Bible studies, while someone with musical talents can serve in worship. Those with the gift of hospitality can help to create welcoming environments.
There is no bounds to the ways we can serve when we allow ourselves to be used by God.
This morning, we each need to look at our lives, identify our gifts, and begin to actively serve using those gifts.
It may be a formal role like teaching or leading worship. It may be in informal ways like hospitality or mentoring.
The point here is that no gift is too small to make a difference.
#### **2. Serve Each Other Through Good Works—Helping Those in Need Through Tangible Acts of Service**
Paul wrote in Galatians 6:
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6, NIV1984)
Let us do good, he said. Especially to those who are part of the family.
** Key Thought **: Doing good for each other — serving others — is a tangible expression of our own personal faith.
You see, the early church lived this out every day. Remember what it said in Acts 2? The members of the early church shared everything, including their possessions. They gave and cared for those who were in need. They provided. They assisted. They gave. They helped. They shared God’s love throughout the community.
Tangible acts of service show God’s love. We are living out God’s love in our lives when we give of ourselves to help others.
There are all kinds of things we can do, using our talents and gifts, to help others. There is no shortage of needs.
Does your neighbor need help with errands? Maybe you are retired and have lots of free time on your hands. Offer to take them to the grocery store, run to the bank, grab lunch while you are out, and knock out the errands that they are unable to do on their own.
Is there a widow who does not have much family around? Without many visitors, it can get lonely. And for someone who may have grown up in a large family, fixing a meal for one can be a challenge. So, fix a few meals that she can reheat that are perfect sized for one. Better yet, take a meal and take time to eat with her. She will enjoy the company. You can learn much from her wisdom.
Do you know a young family that is struggling? Maybe they have two very young kids and are worn out — simply exhausted. Offer to babysit the children so that mom and dad can have some alone time to themselves.
Is there someone who is financially struggling? Give them a gift card for gas. Take them a load of groceries. Pay their electric bill in the winter.
The point here is that if we keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open, we will see opportunities all around us to serve.
When we serve, we are not only meeting the physical needs of the body of Christ, but we are strengthening the bonds within the community.
This morning, we need to be “on call” for God’s service.
#### **3. Serve Each Other Through Prayer—Praying for One Another**
There probably is no greater service that we can do for each other than to pray for each other.
James writes in James 5:
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5, NIV1984)
**Key Thought:** Prayer is one of the most powerful ways we can serve each other. We may not have the finances to share. We may not have much strength to help with our neighbor’s yard work. We may not even be comfortable sitting and having a conversation with someone who is hurting. But we can pray. Prayer is something that everyone can do.
Former Abortion Doctor Converted to Christ
Source: Patti Giebink, Unexpected Choice: An Abortion Doctor’s Journey to Pro-Life (Focus on the Family, 2021), page 96ff.
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2024/january/former-abortion-doctor-converted-to-christ.html
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Former abortion doctor Patti Giebenk tells the following story about the woman who prayed her into a lifechanging encounter with Jesus:
During my lengthy conversion from pro-choice to pro-life, there was a person who prayed for me repeatedly. She was a prayer warrior I’d never met, but God heard her special prayer for me. It was the prayer of Sister Josita. Throughout her life, Sister Josita advocated for the poor, the refugee, and the vulnerable.
After Sister Josita heard that Dr. Giebink did abortions, she started praying for her—for over ten years. Then Dr. Giebink met Christ and stopped doing abortions. She joined a local church in South Dakota, and started treating poor women around the globe, but no longer doing abortions. After returning from one of her many trips oversees, she received the following letter:
Dear Doctor Giebink,
May your Christmas be blessed and the New Year filled with joy.
You don’t know me ... I want to thank you for your courage to speak out for life, and ... to bring an end to abortion. When I saw you on television, I was so proud of you to publicly state that you used to perform abortions for Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls and now you support life instead. When I first heard that you were performing abortions, I began lifting you up in prayer. I do not believe abortion is right, or a solution to an unwanted pregnancy. I have prayed for you, by name, that one day your heart would be touched, and you would discontinue performing abortions. I thank God for you, and I continue to pray for you.
Patti Giebink concludes this story with the following words:
Sister Josita still prays for me. We write regularly, and I’ve visited her twice. She turned ninety this year, and she’s still a vibrant and dynamic warrior. Her initial intervention for me—just a name and a face—moved celestial mountains, making way for my future legacy of life. May we all stay on our knees until the answer comes, just as Sister Josita did.
Prayer is powerful. The early church was devoted together to praying for each other.
Prayer connects us to God’s power and aligns us with His will.
When we pray for one another, we are not just speaking words—we are engaging in spiritual warfare, interceding on behalf of our brothers and sisters, and inviting God’s intervention in their lives.
Prayer builds deeper relationships within the church as we share in each other’s burdens.
This morning, I hope that we all are engaged in the spiritual warfare of prayer. Prayer is not just for the “spiritually strong”, but for every believer.
#### **4. Serve Each Other Through Hospitality—Opening Our Homes and Hearts**
Paul writes simply in Romans 12:13:
13 … Practice hospitality. (Romans 12, NIV1984)
Barclay, William. The Letter to the Romans (The New Daily Study Bible) (pp. 196-197). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
William Barclay writes: Christians are to offer hospitality. Over and over again, the New Testament insists on this duty of the open door (Hebrews 13:2; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9). The sixteenth-century Bible translator William Tyndale used a magnificent word when he translated it that the Christian should have a harborous disposition. A home can never be happy when it is selfish. Christianity is the religion of the open hand, the open heart and the open door.
**Key Thought:** Hospitality is more than just opening our homes. Hospitality is about welcoming others into our lives and making them feel valued and that we care about them.
Hospitality fosters deeper connections and builds a sense of belonging within the church.
What Happens When We Practice Hospitality
Source: Rosaria Butterfield, Openness Unhindered (Crown & Covenant Publications, 2015)
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2016/december/6121916.html
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In her books Openness Unhindered, Rosaria Butterfield reminds us that the point of hospitality in the home is fellowship, not entertainment. Butterfield elaborates:
Don't let pride stop you from opening your home. Ignore the cat hair on the couch (or in the mac and cheese). It likely won't kill anyone as decisively as loneliness will. Add as much water to the pot to stretch the soup. If you run out of food, make pancakes, and put the kids in charge of making that meal. See how much fun that is.
And know that someone is spared from another humiliating fall into internet pornography because he is instead walking with you and your kids and dogs, as you share the Lord's Day, one model of how the Lord gives you daily grace and a way of escape. Know that someone is spared the fear and darkness of depression because she is needed at your house, always on the Lord's Day, the day she is never alone, but instead safely in community, where her place at the table is needed and necessary and relied upon. Know that someone is drawn into Christ's love because the Bible reading and psalm singing that come at the close of the meal include everyone, and that it reminds us that no one is scapegoated in this Christ-bearing community. Know that host and guest are equally precious and fragile, and that you will play both roles throughout the course of this life. The doors here open wide. They must.
We have the perfect example of open arms, an open door, and an open heart — God has offered us hospitality, providing the way for us to be part of His family. He has welcomed us into His home, into His family, into His life. We must have that same welcoming frame of mind.
I challenge us to serve others by practicing hospitality. Inviting others over for meals. Organizing church gatherings. Be welcoming and inclusive to everyone, especially newcomers.
Hospitality also include acts of kindness, like offering a ride to someone in need or sending a note of encouragement.
Hospitality is all about being devoted to each other.
#### **5. Serve Each Other Through Generosity—Sharing Resources and Supporting the Ministry**
In Acts 2, we read:
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (Acts 2, NIV1984)
**Key Thought:** The early church exemplified a spirit of generosity, sharing their resources so that no one was in need. This generosity supported both the church’s ministry and the needs of the community. By being generous, we reflect God’s generosity toward us and help further His kingdom.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to || make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and || bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9, NIV1984)
There are all kinds of ways and ministries to which we can contribute. It’s not always about the green. Sometimes its about time. Sometimes its about talent. Sometimes its about supplies. Sometimes its about things.
In other words, generosity can be shown in many different forms. The key, though, is joy. Being ready, willing, and cheerful in our giving.
This morning, we must consider how we can be generous in our service to the church and to God.
Generosity is a joyful response to God’s grace, and when we are devoted together to being generous, we strengthen the bonds within the community of believers.
#### Conclusion: A Call to Action
This morning, there are all kinds of ways we can be devoted to service: through the use of our gifts and talents, through tangible acts of support and kindness, through prayer, through hospitality and through generosity.
Never Too Old to Serve
Source: "Ordinary Heroes," Christian Reader.
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/february/1306.html
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As we draw to a close this morning, I’d like to share with you the story of Alvin Cavin: Faithfully doing small acts of kindness.
"I'd estimate Alvin Cavin weighs 90 pounds, but 89 of those pounds make up his big heart. He keeps busy by giving to others," says Connie Moore, activity director at Cedar Crest Manor nursing home in Medicine Lodge, Kansas.
Cavin, 89 [in 1994], is a volunteer with a big heart and a big Stetson hat. Alvin began coming to the nursing facility when his wife, May, an Alzheimer's patient, was admitted in 1985. He rarely missed a meal with May. Though "retired" from operating a dairy farm, Alvin milked almost a dozen cows before arriving for breakfast with his wife. Between lunch and supper, Alvin came to replenish May's ice pitcher.
Before long, he volunteered to fill every other resident's, too. Even after May went to be with the Lord in November 1986, Alvin continued to help out at Cedar Crest Manor. At supper, he set out napkins and coffee cups. If residents needed assistance with their wheelchairs, they got "Mr. Cavin's escort service."
"Life's so much better when you get your priorities straight," Alvin explains. "It begins when you make the Lord your first priority."
This morning, I pray that we have our priorities right — and that begins by being devoted to the Lord first, and then to the body of Christ — by serving each other.
Serving each other was a vital part of the early church, and is a vital part of our spiritual growth today and a very tangible way we can reflect God’s love in our lives to the rest of the world.
May we be devoted together to serving one another in love.
