Sermon Summary
What does it truly mean to worship God? We might instinctively think of Sunday mornings, music, and gathered prayer -- but this message challenges us to expand that definition in a profound way. Drawing from Romans 12:1-2, we are reminded that offering our bodies as living sacrifices, pouring ourselves out in service to others, is described as our 'true and proper worship.' Service is not a side activity of the Christian life -- it is central to it. From the example of Jesus in Matthew 20:28, who came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many, we see that a life lived entirely for others is the very heartbeat of the gospel. The message also draws on Ephesians 2:10, which tells us that God prepared good works for us in advance -- meaning that every act of service we step into is not accidental but divinely appointed. We are walking in a specific assignment that God designed for us before we ever took our first breath. That truth alone should stir something deep within us. If we have been wondering what God's will is for our lives, this message offers a clear and compelling answer: we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to a world desperately in need of his love.
Key Takeaways
- Jesus modeled servant leadership throughout his earthly ministry, healing, feeding, teaching, and ultimately giving his life as a ransom, establishing the standard every believer is called to follow
- Service is not optional or peripheral to the Christian life; it is identified as true and proper worship, as described in Romans 12:1-2, where offering oneself for others is the living sacrifice God desires
- Believers are called to love and serve even their enemies, going beyond loving those who love them back, as commanded in Matthew 5:44
- God has prepared specific acts of service for each believer in advance, meaning every opportunity to serve is a divine assignment, not a coincidence
- Serving others produces transformation in the one who serves, breaking the chains of selfishness, lifting the weight of worry, and shifting one's perspective toward the eyes of God
- The Holy Spirit empowers believers in moments of service and witness, supplying boldness and effectiveness that head knowledge alone cannot produce
- It is more blessed to give than to receive, and this principle reflects the economy of heaven, where pouring out leads to being filled up with purpose, joy, and deep satisfaction
- The faith journey is a marathon, not a sprint, requiring steady faithfulness and endurance rather than short bursts of effort followed by burnout
- The congregation is specifically called to find a place of active service within the local church, whether in facilities maintenance, women's ministry, children's ministry, or men's outreach
Scripture
- Matthew 13:3-9 (the Parable of the Sower, referenced in the closing illustration about seed falling on rock, being eaten by birds, and taking root)
- John 3:16 (referenced indirectly through the "Mission 316" illustration)
- Hebrews 12:1 (the imagery of running the race with endurance to the finish line)
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 (the call to do all things with excellence as unto the Lord)
- Galatians 5:22-23 (the fruits of the Spirit, mentioned in the opening prayer)
- James 2:14-17 (faith without works, alluded to in the call to love through actions rather than words)
- Luke 10:2 (praying for God to send workers into the harvest, alluded to in the call for believers to be the ones who do the work)
Reflection Questions
- Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, as stated in Matthew 5:44 -- who in your life is most difficult to pray for, and what might be holding you back from doing so?
- The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 shows that genuine service crosses social and cultural boundaries -- are there people or groups in your community that you tend to overlook or avoid, and how might God be calling you to serve them?
- The pastor emphasized that Ephesians 2:10 teaches God prepared specific works of service for each of us before we were born -- how does the idea of a 'divine assignment' change the way you view ordinary, everyday opportunities to help others?
- The sermon warns that if we see someone in need and have the means to help but do nothing, we are walking in disobedience -- how do you personally discern when you are genuinely unable to help versus when you are simply choosing comfort over service?
5-Day Bible Reading Plan
Day 1: The Servant King
Reading: Matthew 20:28
Devotional: Jesus did not come to be waited on. He came to pour himself out completely, offering his life as a ransom to free those held captive by sin. This is the standard he set for every believer who follows him. Service is not optional for the Christian life. It is the very pattern of Christ himself. Before you consider what you deserve today, consider what Jesus gave. He surrendered everything so that you could have everything. Ask yourself honestly: am I living to be served, or am I living to serve? Let the example of the Servant King reshape your daily posture.
Personal Reflection: In what areas of your life are you still waiting to be served rather than looking for ways to serve others?
Practical Application: Identify one person in your life today who has a need you can meet without being asked. Do it quietly and without expectation of recognition.
Day 2: Love That Goes the Distance
Reading: John 13:1
Devotional: The verse tells us that Jesus loved his own to the very end. Not just when it was convenient. Not just when they understood him. Not just when they were grateful. He loved them completely, all the way through. That kind of love is not manufactured by human effort. It is the love of God working through a surrendered heart. The people around you will sometimes be ungrateful, difficult, and undeserving of your kindness. Serve them anyway. Love them to the end. That is the heart of God on display through ordinary people who have decided that love is not a feeling but a commitment carried out in action.
Personal Reflection: Is there someone in your life you have stopped loving well because they disappointed you or hurt you?
Practical Application: Write a note, make a call, or take a practical step toward someone you have pulled back from. Let love go the distance today.
Day 3: Your Neighbor Is Closer Than You Think
Reading: Luke 10:25-37
Devotional: The religious men in the parable of the Good Samaritan had every reason, by their own reasoning, to keep walking. But the Samaritan stopped. He crossed every cultural and social barrier to bandage wounds, carry a stranger, and pay for his recovery. Jesus ended the parable with a direct command: go and do likewise. Your neighbor is not only the person next door. Your neighbor is whoever is in front of you with a need. God is not asking you to solve every problem in the world. He is asking you to stop when you see someone hurting and do what you can with what you have.
Personal Reflection: Have you ever walked past someone's need because it felt inconvenient, uncomfortable, or outside your circle?
Practical Application: Look for one practical opportunity this week to cross a barrier, whether social, cultural, or personal, to meet someone else's need.
Day 4: Living Worship
Reading: Romans 12:1-2
Devotional: Most people think worship happens only on Sunday mornings with music playing and hands raised. But Romans 12 redefines worship entirely. Offering your body as a living sacrifice, your time, your energy, your hands and feet, that is described as true and proper worship. Every act of service done in the name of Jesus is an act of worship offered to God. Bringing a meal to a grieving family is worship. Serving in children's ministry on a Sunday morning is worship. Helping a neighbor is worship. When you stop conforming to the self-centered patterns of this world and begin living for others, you begin to understand what God's will actually looks like for your life.
Personal Reflection: How has your understanding of worship been limited to a Sunday morning experience rather than a daily lifestyle?
Practical Application: Choose one act of service this week and approach it intentionally as an act of worship, offering it to God before you begin.
Day 5: Created for This
Reading: Ephesians 2:10 and Acts 20:35
Devotional: Before you were born, God had already prepared specific works for you to walk in. You are not an accident wandering through life hoping to stumble onto purpose. You are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus, placed in specific moments, in specific places, to meet specific needs. And the economy of heaven operates on a principle that defies human logic: it is more blessed to give than to receive. The more you pour out in service to others, the more God fills you with purpose, joy, and the deep satisfaction of living the life you were actually designed for. Step into your divine assignment. It has been waiting for you.
Personal Reflection: Do you believe that God has already prepared meaningful works specifically for you? What is holding you back from walking in them?
Practical Application: Prayerfully ask God to show you one specific area of service, in your church, your neighborhood, or your workplace, where he is calling you to step in and commit faithfully over the long term.uces. Commit to living that out this week and ask God each morning to make your life a visible testimony of his presence.
Transcript
Welcome this morning thank you so much for being here so far in this series we have covered prayer scripture and confession today we're going to be looking at service or better said another way serving others specifically trading our time and treasure so that others may experience the love of Jesus Christ how many know that's important
how many remember the phrase WWJD before using our when it was being used in the world probably about 20 years ago 25 years ago WWJD what would Jesus do yes Matthew chapter 20 verse 28 that's where we're going to start this morning so in your bibles Matthew chapter 20 and verse 28. here the word of god says
And of course, this is Jesus speaking, just as a son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Would you join me as we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you this day, thanking you, God, as we do
we should do often for your word we thank you for your word god and we pray that father in these next few moments of time that you would speak to our hearts that our hearts would be opened our ears would be opened to receive your word god to receive good seed and that god the soil
our heart would be prepared to receive that seed and that god you would rain upon that seed and produce a vast harvest of the fruits of the spirit within our life that god we would not keep it to ourselves but that we would share it with others showing them the love of christ be with us now god i pray in jesus name amen amen praise god now that word ransom
tells us something about the cost of this kind of service.
A ransom is a price paid to free someone who is captive.
Jesus didn't just serve people by being nice or doing a few good deeds on his way to the cross.
Jesus gave his life as a payment for our sins.
Before Jesus went to the cross, he spent three years pouring himself out
healing the sick, feeding the hungry, teaching the confused, touching the untouchable.
He washed feet.
He ate with sinners.
The cross was the culmination of a life lived entirely for others.
And Jesus didn't serve out of obligation.
He served out of love for you and for me.
and for those he served in his time here on earth.
John chapter 13 verse one tells us, it was just before the Passover festival, Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
He loved them to the end.
Now that's the heart of God.
And it's calling us to carry into every interaction, every relationship, every moment where we have the chance to put someone else's need ahead of our own comfort.
He is calling us to do so.
What about people we don't like?
In Matthew 5, 44, Jesus commands us, but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
So Jesus takes it a step farther.
He doesn't just say, hey, love those who love you.
He says, love those who hate you and wanna take you out.
That's not a suggestion this morning, folks.
That is a command.
Love your enemies.
Pray for the people who rub you the wrong way.
Pray for the person at work who gets under your skin.
Pray for the neighbor whose dog keeps getting into your trash or comes into your yard every day.
That's kingdom-minded service.
That's kingdom-minded service.
What about my neighbors and people that I don't even know?
What about them?
Well, look at Luke chapter 10, verse 25 through 37, because it gives the parable of the Good Samaritan where Jesus speaks of a man that was beaten and robbed and left on the side of the road.
A couple of religious people, they walked by and they stubbed their nose at the man because they're religious in their acts and they're religious in their attitude.
But then a Samaritan comes along, an enemy of this man, a person that they don't get along.
And he's the one that stops.
He's the one that bandages the man's wounds, puts him on his donkey and takes him to an inn and pays for his care.
Jesus then finishes that parable by saying,
go and do likewise.
It doesn't matter if you know the person or whether they're your kind of people.
If someone has a need and you can meet it, go and do likewise.
Now I want you to notice something in Romans chapter 12, one and two.
Because right here it says, therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
This is your true and proper worship.
Get that this morning.
This is what's true.
This is true worship.
is when we put others before ourself, when we lay our life aside to help others and to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It goes on and it says, do not conform to the pattern of this world.
Don't be like them.
Don't be like the people of this world that walk on the backs of those who are downtrodden, that look down on those that are different.
We're not to be like them.
We're to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is.
His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
If you're not doing this, you cannot test and know what God's will is for your life.
You'll just go around through life being all confused because you don't know what His will is for your life.
And you'll even ask people, what do you think God's will is for my life?
Well, are you doing this?
Are you doing this?
Because if you're not, you won't know.
And no one else will know what God's will is for your life.
How many know that God's will for all of our lives...
Come on, it's simple.
You know what his will is for your life?
His will is that you would be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world.
You are the hope of the world.
While you're praying for God to send something or someone else to do the work, God's saying, I want you to do the work.
I want you to be the one to step out and have faith.
Did you catch that this morning?
Service is worship.
Offering your body, your time, your energy, your hands and feet, that is your true and proper worship unto God.
Worship is not only what happens on a Sunday morning while the music's playing.
Worship happens on a Tuesday afternoon when you stop to help someone, when you go out of your way, when you go out of your comfort zone.
Worship happens on a Sunday morning when you serve in the kids' ministry.
Worship happens when you bring a meal to a family that's going through a hard season of their life.
What would Jesus do?
He would, and he did, offer himself for others, and we are called to follow his example.
Ephesians 2.10, for we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
He's already prepared the way.
I love that old, that song we used to say, prepare the way.
It's real easy.
I mean, it's basically the same words over and over and over, but it's true.
We need to prepare the way of the Lord.
And how do we do that?
By serving others.
That's how we do it.
In this verse, it states that God prepared these works in advance.
Before you were even born, before you took your first breath, God had already set aside specific moments of service, specific acts of love, specific people for you to bless.
Even before Walmart was a thing, God already had a plan for you to be in aisle 11 on a certain day at a certain time to meet somebody's need.
Come on.
I don't know about you this morning, but that overjoys me to think that God cares about my life enough that he's already prepared a way for me to live it out.
that God would care that much and that he would care that much for total strangers I haven't even met yet.
That means when you step out to serve, you're not just doing a nice thing, you're stepping into something God designed specifically for you.
You are walking in your divine assignment.
How many wanna walk in their divine assignment?
You've heard of Mission Impossible.
Anybody seen the Mission Impossible movies?
Watch the Mission Impossible series that was on TV?
Yes, many years ago.
We are on Mission 316.
And it's not impossible, it is possible to carry out this mission.
You just have to be faithful.
You just have to be the mouthpiece of God and just open your mouth and let the Holy Spirit begin to speak through you.
You're like, I don't know, man, I get nervous around people.
Just test the Holy Spirit because when you're in that moment and the Holy Spirit comes on you and begins to speak through you, you have a boldness like you never had before.
Because you're not relying on yourself.
Now, if you rely on yourself, it's okay to say, we should study.
I would encourage you to study, okay?
To be studied up.
But at the end of the day, man, we can have all the head knowledge that we can have and it not be enough.
We can talk till we're blue in the face with all kinds of knowledge and the person we're talking to won't get it.
It's not until the Holy Spirit comes on the scene and we allow the Holy Spirit to take that knowledge that we have and then get into the heart of the person we're talking to.
That's when things begin to happen when the Holy Spirit gets involved.
So let the Holy Spirit speak through you.
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Look at Acts chapter 20, verse 35.
In everything I did, I showed you by this kind of hard work, we must help the weak.
Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, and here it is, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
That's not just a nice quote for a coffee mug.
That is the economy of heaven.
to give, to give away my time, my energy, money, whatever it is, it is up to me.
If I see someone in need and I have a way and I have a means to help them and I don't, I'm disobeying the Lord.
I'm walking in disobedience.
That's at least what I get out of what's being said this morning.
At least what I read in scripture, that's what I get out of it.
The more you pour out, the more God fills you up.
The more you give away, the richer you become.
Not in stuff, but in purpose, in joy, in the kind of deep satisfaction that only comes from living the life that God has designed for you.
You were made for more than mediocrity.
You don't need to be mediocre in Jesus.
In fact, we should not be mediocre in anything of our life.
Everything we should do, we should do with excellence as unto the Lord.
Amen, even your job you hate, you still do the best you can do in serving others because that's what God expects from you.
And that's a good representation of Jesus Christ.
When you serve, you don't just change someone's life, you change your own.
While you're serving, their life is being changed, but your life is being changed as well.
Something happens in your heart when you put someone else first.
Number one, the chains of selfishness start to fall off.
Number two, the weight of worry starts to lift.
And number three, you start to see the world through God's eyes instead of your own.
And that's where we need to get to.
We need to get to a place where we see the world through the eyes of God and not through ours.
Because through our eyes, we're cynical.
Come on.
Through our eyes, we're jaded.
But through the eyes of God, we don't see what they did against us.
We don't see or hear what they said against us or said to us.
We see the heart that they need Jesus.
They don't need to be corrected necessarily.
They don't need my two cents.
They need Jesus.
a lot of ground has been covered these past few weeks as we've gone through this series my desire was to create a springboard for you to find regular time to pray and read the word to help you feel confident and empowered in confessing your sins and praying with other believers and find a meaningful place to serve others now there's there's things at this church that need
Servanthood.
Serving others.
Men, I will tell you, there's plenty of work around this building.
Since I'm not here every day and haven't been here every day for the last six years, there's a lot of things that have gotten backed up and need fixed.
And some of you guys have some talents that I don't have.
I can YouTube it, but it's gonna take a little longer and it won't be as nice.
You have those skills.
If you're interested at all, there's a man sitting right over there, his name is Don Miller.
And I have an entire list of things that need to be done around this church.
Just like his wife.
And I invite you to help us serve, or help serve this church by helping us in that effort as we serve others.
Because it's gonna get done.
It will get done.
I'll see to it that it will get done.
However, the help is very much appreciated.
Ladies, there are things.
in the women's ministry that they need help with.
They have a yard sale that's coming up, and that's gonna be exciting.
They're raising funds so they can do more outreaches with the women's ministry.
And so if you're interested in helping with the women's ministry and things that they need done, you need to see these two ladies right here, one in the front row, or second row, and one in the third row, Ms.
Sharon and Crystal, and they can get you set up.
We have a very effective kids ministry.
well we got one excited one she's the director if you are interested at all in helping and and some of the help is prayer yes that's behind the scenes and we need all that that we can get but we need some hands-on help and so you see miss sarah and she'll get you set up with that men's ministry brother don
There's some exciting things that he has as far as outreaches and things within the community.
But it takes us men gathering together as one.
And I know that it can be inconvenient on a Saturday in the middle of the day when you've got lawns to mow, which we're going into a season here pretty soon.
You're not going to have to worry about mowing the lawn.
Somebody's excited about it.
And it ain't a man.
It's a woman.
Praise God.
but we're gonna go into that season.
We need men to sacrifice, and that's what I'm talking about today.
When you serve others, you are doing the will of God, and God will bless you.
1 John 3, 16 through 18 says it plain.
This is how we know what love is.
Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need and has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Whoa, talk about hitting you between the eyes or in the chest.
That one really does it right there.
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth.
Man, enough of the talk.
Man, some of us can talk a really big talk, but we can't walk a walk.
It's time for us to talk and walk.
Be the hands and feet of Jesus and help those in need.
My prayer this morning and desire is that this message has challenged you.
May it move you from comfortable to committed.
The world doesn't need more people who talk about love
The world needs people who live it out.
People who lay down their lives, lay down their schedules, lay down their preferences, their comfort, so that someone else can experience the love of Christ.
The love of faith is a marathon, it's not a sprint.
Okay?
Some people, you know, they get into the game and they run hard for a moment, for a time, but they get wore out real quick.
Their endurance isn't built up and they quit.
I can't make it to the finish line.
I got to quit.
Listen, folks, steady.
We need to run this race steadily, faithfully.
Come on.
praying to God for the endurance to get to the end, to get to that finish line, we're all working towards that finish line.
Some of us are closer than others and it's not even by age.
Any one of us today could go into eternity this afternoon.
Any one of us, our heart could stop beating or something could happen to us, a freak accident, whatever it may be, could happen to any one of us and we would go out into eternity.
So time is not on our side.
Are you doing all that you can do to serve God?
Or are you just kind of getting through life by the seat of your pants and you're gonna get to heaven by the skin of your teeth?
You're gonna get to heaven.
Man, I don't know about you, but I don't wanna get to heaven by the skin.
I don't wanna fly through life just by the seat of my pants.
I wanna make sure that I'm doing all that God has given me the capability of doing, the gifts and the talents that he has given me to be faithful in the work that he's placed before me.
I've had people within our congregation make comments to me about, man, pastor, you'll preach just as hard if there's 10 people as if there's 100 people.
And you know why I do that?
Because it's not about numbers, it's about the message.
Because we never know those that will impact.
There's been people that have watched us online that have come to this church and they've said, I've watched you online and you've touched my heart and I've come.
And they've only come one or two times and that's it and they're gone.
Maybe that's what it was meant for.
It ain't for me to figure out.
I'm just to be faithful with what God has given me.
It's not based on you or me, it's based on Christ and His faithfulness in my life.
The life of faith is something that we need to do every day.
We need to live out every day.
And we don't have to do everything all at once.
We don't have to do it all at once, try to fit it all in.
You ever have those days when you have so much on your list and you're trying to get everything done?
and it runs to the end and you're just wore out.
Yeah, that's what that marathon thing's about.
There's a lot on our list.
There's a lot of people that need to be born again, but we do it one person at a time.
And if all of us are faithful in doing one person at a time, we're doing many people at one time.
Start out small and build.
Just make sure, here's the key, make sure that you start somewhere today.
Don't take this message and say, oh, that was a pretty message, that was good, that was good, and then do nothing with it.
That's like the seed that was thrown upon the rock, and when the sun came out and started to heat it up, it scorched it and it did nothing.
Or it got thrown out there and the birds come along and they ate it.
Don't let the seed this morning that has been planted in you just sit there.
Let it take root.
Let it grow.
And you move in it and move into the things of God and begin to serve others.