The Bottom-Line Of Christian Service

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the intercom asking for a carry out at checkout register 4.

Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card,

BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road.

Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn’t possible. He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn’t afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday.

That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, lets take the kids with us." She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed.

Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children. She had a older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with down syndrome. Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don’t understand why the kids can’t come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities. Just like her first husband and father of her children did. That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the

kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the rest room, he picked him up out of his chair, took him, brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and

spend the rest of her life with. A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children. Since then they have added two more kids.

So what happened to the stock boy and check out girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs Kurt Warner, now live in St. Louis, where he is employed by the St.Louis Rams and plays quarterback.

1

This story is good way to open up this sermon because in a real sense it describes how Jesus stepped in and did for us what we could not do for ourselves. What motivated God the Father and Jesus the Son to act the way they acted for us? It is summed in one word “Love”.

Our current society has messed the meaning of this the word up so bad that nowadays when we discuss love we discuss it in a manner of feelings, emotions, butterflies in the stomach, or sexual intercourse.

But the text of our study today takes love to a new level that many of us are not used to. The text declares love to be more than feelings, emotions, butterflies in the stomach, or sexual intercourse (making love). The text teaches us that love is an action word. Just as John 3:16 teaches us the sacrifice of love, John 13:34-35 teaches us the service in love.

The Greek word for love is agapao or agape which is an unconditional love. A better way to define agape love is that agape love seeks the highest good of the one loved. Now this takes on a whole new concept of love because when compare the love of scripture with the love practiced in our modern day Christianity you will notice that much of what we do is not love.

Context: John 13 - (read verse 1)

Verse 1 shows us the magnitude of Christ’s love – “…having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

Verses 34-35 shows us the manifestation of Christian love

The Command – “So now I give you new command, to love one another…”

The Condition – “…as I have loved you, that you also love one another”

The Confirmation – “ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another.”