Putting It All Together Series

A. One day a professor, a preacher and a professional golfer went deer hunting together.

1. They were all novices, but wanted to try it.

2. They had been out all day and towards dusk they all spotted a 5 point buck at the same time.

3. They each took aim and all three fired a shot at the moving target.

4. The buck went down, and so they rushed over to where the deer fell to the ground.

5. As they stood over the 5 point buck, they started to discuss who’s shot had actually hit the deer.

6. As they were discussing it, a game warden happened along and asked what the problem was.

7. They explained to him what had happened and he said for them to stand back while he tried to figure it out based on the bullet hole and the rifles they were using.

8. A minute later, the game warden declared that the preacher was the one who shot the deer.

9. They all three inquired how he could have figured it out so quickly and definitively.

10. The warden said, “It was easy to determine, the bullet went in one ear and came out the other.”

B. I certainly hope that isn’t the case with my preaching…I hope it does more than go in one ear and out the other.

1. I hope that is especially true of this series on Serving Like Jesus.

2. We began this series three months ago to motivate us and help us serve like Jesus.

3. As we bring this series to a close, I want us to try to put it all together by reviewing the primary points from each of the sermons in the series.

C. In the first sermon of the series, we learned that Jesus came to serve and to give and that God wants us to become like Jesus.

1. In Romans 8:29, Paul wrote that those who have been called according to His purpose are supposed to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.

2. Jesus has many great characteristics that are worthy of imitation, but one of the most important was His mission to serve and to give.

3. If we want to be just like Jesus, then we will want to commit our lives to serving and giving.

4. When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, He set a wonderful example of the kind of practical ways we should serve each other.

5. Jesus said: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you…now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (Jn. 13:15, 17)

6. Jesus also declared that whoever wants to be great must be a servant. (Mt. 20:26)

D. In the second sermon, we talked about how to be selfless in a selfie world.

1. We learned that we cannot be a servant of Jesus and serve like Jesus unless we develop a selfless attitude.

2. One of the basic requirements of discipleship is self-denial.

3. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt. 16:24)

4. The apostle Paul wrote: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider other better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:3-4)

5. God doesn’t want us to think less of ourselves, rather He wants us to think of ourselves less.

6. We ended the sermon talking about forgetting ourselves into greatness.

7. Here’s the poem I closed the sermon with:

If you are wise, you will forget yourself into greatness.

Forget your rights, but remember your responsibilities.

Forget your inconveniences, but remember your blessings.

Forget your own accomplishments, but remember your debts to others.

Forget your privileges, but remember your obligations.

Forget yourself into greatness.

E. In the third sermon we talked about how to think like a servant.

1. Because thinking leads to actions, if we don’t think like a servant, then we won’t behave like a servant.

2. We borrowed five points from a chapter in Rich Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life,” where Warren says, “Real servants serve God with a mindset of five attitudes.”

a. First, Real servants think more about others than about themselves.

b. Second, Real servants think like stewards, not owners.

1. Everything we are and everything we have ultimately come from God and belong to God, and are given to us to manage on God’s behalf.

c. Third, Real servants think about their own responsibilities, not what other servants are doing.

d. Fourth, Real servants base their identity in Christ.

e. Finally, Real servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation.