Read: Galatians 5:13-14
Recently I drove into a service station to get some fuel and received just that: service. An older man came out to me and asked me, how much? It’s a long time since I’ve been able to say: “Fill it up!” Can I just say it has been a real breath of fresh air to come to Toowoomba and experience the country hospitality and acceptance.
Service to one another should be the mark of a Christian. Paul wrote: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love.”
There were those in Paul’s day who taught that you could not be a true Christian unless you performed certain ceremonies and became a Jew like them. But Paul is contending that no, we are Christians through believing in Jesus. We are released from the way of the Law because the Law could not make us right with God. It condemns us as sinners. It shows us how we lack righteousness with God. It cannot make us right with God. And therefore, to bind yourself to the Law through undergoing circumcision made you a slave to the Law to keep it.
God’s grace accepts us through faith in Jesus-our righteousness. And by trusting in Jesus we have forgiveness of all our sins, for all time. We are not tied to sin any more, but are made free to live in obedience.
Therefore we do not live to indulge the sinful nature any more. We have turned away from sin in turning to Jesus. Our eyes are fixed on living to Jesus every day. We live to serve one another in love.
In Ephesians 4:12-13, Paul speaks of how God’s Spirit provided people within the church “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Therefore we give our attention to the teaching of God’s Word and encourage one another in serving one another. And as we serve we want to see the whole church growing in maturity of life and faith in Christ. No one in the church can do without another member of the church. As men and women wanting to let the Spirit of Christ be seen in us, we put ourselves out for one another and help each other be what Jesus wants us to be.
That might be as simple as getting someone a drink of water, or as complex as working with someone to help them change old habits and live for Christ. But whatever ways God’s wants us to serve each other, we do it depending upon Him and seeking His wisdom and love in every situation. True love causes us to guard our hearts against giving into unrighteousness and strengthening us to hold firmly to what is right.
One man I knew some years ago now, made it his mission to put a smile on people’s faces. He made that, among many other things, his way of serving the church. And many people used to talk with him because he went out of his way to serve them with a smile. He showed he loved them by going and talking with them and sharing their burdens with wisdom and compassion.
Let us learn how to serve from Jesus, who said: “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)” We are not called to give our life as a ransom for many, but we can, indeed must, have the same attitude of service to one another.
Prayer:
Using today’s passage and the reading notes spend time in prayer.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
· Pray that the Lord will help you serve.
· Pray for your cell group as you sharpen each other’s knowledge of the Word and grow in your serving your church in the name of the Lord.
· Pray for an opportunity to serve someone today that you wouldn’t ordinarily serve.
1. How easy do you find it to serve your family?
2. Is there someone you could do something for to let them know you love Jesus?
One on One
Personal Questions
1. How’s your prayer life?
2. Describe your current thought life?
3. How’s your relationship with your spouse or your parents?
4. Discuss how and if you’ve struggled with sin/ temptation this week.
5. How are you worshipping God through work, family and social networks?
The Salvation Army's beginnings date back to July 2, 1865 when a Methodist minister commenced a work in East London that would encircle the world before the end of the 19th century. It began as the Christian Revival Society and soon after was called the East London Christian Mission. William Booth, the organisation's Founder, preached the Gospel to the poor and underprivileged; by 1867 it had developed into a ministry offering basic schooling, reading rooms, penny banks, soup kitchens, and relief aid to the destitute. The ministry spread to places outside of London. The
organisation grew rapidly and became known simply as the Christian Mission, with William Booth as its General-Superintendent.
The Salvation Army is Born In 1878 came another name change. William Booth was perusing a printer's proof which referred to the Christian Mission as a ' volunteer army'. Booth swept his pen through the word ' volunteer' and changed it to read Salvation Army. The name was adopted.
See more at: http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/en/Who-We- Are/History-and-heritage/Origins-of-The-Salvation-Army/#sthash.6eCXtDuI.dpuf
William Booth’s story is an example of the love of Christ being demonstrated in the community through salvation in Christ. It made a difference.
Jesus said that by loving each other the world “will know that you are my disciples.” This means that love will differentiate us from people around us. Love will change the motivations of our heart to impact the whole of our being and our interactions with one another. Love is living with integrity, serving with gladness, upholding
Personal reflection
Read John 13:34-35
Pray
Spend time praising God for His promises to save and forgive sins.
Pray for the Lord to fill you with hope even when things look bleak.
Pray that the Lord will give you an opportunity to share the hope you have in Christ during this week.
Reflection:
1. How would you describe love as the world understands it?
2. How does that differ from the love Jesus lived.
3. How would your life be different if you loved like Jesus loved?
4. What can you do to encourage other people in the church to live with love.
5. What can your church do for people in your community to know the love of Christ in their daily lives?
truth, and seeking unity in Christ—living in harmony.
When it is written like this, it is plain to see that many Christians do not love as Christ has loved them. Jesus used to humiliate some people in their pride. In Luke 9:46-48 some disciples were having a spirited discussion about who was the greatest. Then Jesus took a little child and had him stand beside him. He then told them: “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”
Whereas the world looks for the powerful and charismatic to lead them, Jesus shows us that they are not true leaders for us to follow. Was Jesus a powerful leader? He certainly had great crowds following Him. When did you last see a crowd of 5,000 people standing around all day to hear someone teach them about the Kingdom of God? And then He sat them down and fed them with just five loaves of bread and two small fish, because He felt compassion for them.
Love in its absolute fullness, is what motivated Jesus to become a man, to do all that He did in bringing us back into relationship with God, filling us with life, giving us a hope and a future, and to die on the cross to make us free. He gave in love and we are enriched in the fullness of life.
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