sorry guys if your expecting something on prayer, due to a few words that have come at church/CU/other stuff I've desided to do the guide to serving.- so why would we give up our free time to serve people?
1. Jesus did it.Matthew 20:28-
"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Luke 22:27
"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."
John 13:1-17
1 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.2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”7 Jesus 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!”10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.12 When 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. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
so its biblical to serve-points on serving
1. I've not got a title- I don't need to serve/I'm not allowed to serve/I've not got a position, there is no need serve.
Every title you need to serve has already been given to you- you don't need an additional title- titles given by men are not worth any where near as much as a single percentage as the title of 'son of God' - As much as the titles, your expected to serve - it is better to serve regardless of titles given by men.
As much as titles can be an encouragement to serve- they they can also put limits on what you can and can't do in some ways- for example a someone said to me once- that my role as a small group leader, is just to lead a bible study, and an someways they were both right and wrong. At minimum my role as small group leader means I lead bible studies- but in addition to that I 'serve' as an encouragement, as inspiration, as a 'counselor' and other pastoral jobs that I do. (note this is not me trying to be an big headed, but as an example)
takeing the CU as an example, as I know it the best- you could see it as people who do stuff are just committee/small group leaders- but there are other jobs that are outside committee/small groups that needs doing- from international work to evangelism to media, to doing words on a monday night to just looking after people with in the CU
2- motivated grace not anything else
as was the talk last week (motivated by grace- if you missed it or want speak to mike pounce he might have a recording) our reason for serving shouldn't be motivated by the fact we are wanting to please someone, or to get reward- but for the fact that your saved by grace and should be motivated that fact. The main point of the talk is that if your serving for reward, if you don't get a reward for when you serve, then your going to stop serving- which is why we should be motivated by things above, not things in the earth. yes getting someone rewarding you for your efforts, is nice, but shouldn't be expected, instead take your reward from the fact your doing something for either God's people (if there saved) or your witnessing to a potential christian
3- Serving is an act of worship
Something that was said at community on serving I've also found quite useful to hear, serving is both an act of witness and of worship- if worship is how God sees our actions, and witness is how the world sees our actions. therefore our outward actions of serving are a sign to non-Christians that we are in the world but not off the world. The people of the world generally only do things that they can get something out of, however if we do acts that mean we don't get something people will generally ask the question 'why is that person doing something that their not getting paid for or, not getting anything for, especially if the task your doing is something to blessing someone else and if the act is unexpected then there probably even more interested, and then gives the idea opportunity when they ask to explain that your showing love to them, as Jesus showed us
4- find out what your Gifts are
The best way to find out what your gifted in, is to just jump in and do it, yes don't expect it to be perfect the first time you do it, but there will be some area that you would be gifted in that you might not expect for expample- I've recently discovered a gift I have for un-jamming laminators, and yes it seems like a strange gift to have, but if I'd not had offered to try and fix it, then I would of never found out (to the point where the community laminater now has a sticky label on it with the instructions- if jammed ring my number!) . but weather or not it sounds silly or not the principle is the same, if you go round thinking "I've never done this before, then I'll be no good at it" then your never going to do anything, so go in with the attitude of "I've never done this before, but I'll give it a go, and the worst thing that will happen is I'm unable to help, the best thing is I'll develop a new skill. Don't also just get stuck in to a mind set of I'm only good at what my course makes me good at (me not braging again just using me as an example) yes I do food as a degree, and I actually don't get much chance to use my food knollage to much use at CU- but what I do get to use, is my pastoral skills, and other skills that I've picked up, from using the mac when doing words at CU (something I've never done before ever, but I'm glad I was able to, and hopefully I didn't do to bad a job and I'll get to do it again!) so don't worry about getting something wrong- be of the mind set that if you do it right you have not only helped someone out but your are aware of a new skill you have!
so in short serve someone to day, develop a new skill and get someone to ask the question off you "why are you doing something for nothing unlike the rest of the world?
and on that bomb show keep on rocking
