Grow in Service (#3 of Epiphany Series)

Scripture Reading: Acts 20: 35
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Message: Grow in Service (#3 of Epiphany Series)
Show up and grow
Epiphany series on growth - #1 grow in worship, #2 grow in fellowship, today grow in service
This series of growth is meant as a response to an epiphany “yes”
I get it, God so loved this world that He sent his only Son, “yes” God has done that for me, “yes” I belong to God’s family, and “yes” I want to be part of what God is doing in this world… “yes” I want to grow!
This is part of the epiphany discovery we need to make…
There is the potential of growth when we show up and serve
But we need to make the effort… we need to show up
We need to put ourselves in this environment of growth
Serving in God’s kingdom is where we will experience growth
Serving is the environment of growth
Serving is hard work
The words we read this morning is part of Paul’s farewell speech to the Ephesians
In it, he teaches the elders and people of Ephesus what it means to be the church of Christ
He is leaving and urging them to continue the work of serving
And he reminds them of what he has done among them…
He talks about the “hard work” that he did in the time that he was there
We need to hear this - serving in God’s kingdom is hard work
It is not going to happen by itself - we need to step up
We need to make the effort to serve
There will always be challenges when you decide to serve
A conscious choice to serve is to accept the challenge, even though they might be hard
It is about keeping going when things get challenging
In a sense, this serves as reminder - when you decide to serve in God’s kingdom, know that you will experience challenges
Also, it is a reminder not be surprised or resentful when it gets hard to serve…
Example of others
Paul is presenting himself as an example of serving
We need to find inspiration when we are deciding to grow in our service
Seeing others around us serving, inspires us to grow in our own serving
Let us look around to see others serve
Look at the ladies - we saw a great example on Friday with the Scottish luncheon
Look at elders and managers - doing the hard work… budget this past week
Look at volunteers serving on committees
Look at people serving against the odds of age and mobility
Look at others showing up to serve despite the excuses the majority serves up
Look at people serving beyond the bounds of the church
The inspiration for you to serve is all around you, you just need to look!
Serving = Helping
Paul also says that serving is about helping the weak
Just make that mental note here - when you serve it is not about yourself, but about helping others
It is about making a difference
And being part of a movement that is making a difference
It is about serving, knowing that what I do is part of something bigger than just my own needs
It is having the inner motivation of my service being an act of loving my neighbour
Turning God’s law of love into action…
Reward
And when you serve with that motivation, serving is not about what I get but rather about what I can give
Paul is quoting Jesus in his speech to the elders: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Serving is about unselfishly giving of yourself, not expecting something in return
Giving, not receiving!
In this regard, Paul wrote to the Colossians: - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3: 23)
Do it with all your heart
As working for the Lord, not for human masters…
This is not to say that there is no reward in serving
We will grow when we serve, we will find joy when we serve, we will feel a sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves when we serve
But we serve to give - give from ourselves to our Lord
Keep it simple - uncomplicated
Today, we are all invited and challenged to grow in our service
Let’s not overthink it
Let’s keep it simple and show up - whether is in serving in the church or in God’s kingdom in the community
Let’s not be under any illusion - serving is hard work, we will be challenged
Let us look around you for inspiration - and also be aware that you are an inspiration to others when you serve
Let us remind ourselves that when we serve, we are doing it out of love for God and our neighbour - we serve to help
And let us do what we do with all our heart, not for ourselves but for our Lord
May we all grow in our service this year!
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