Serving this Summer

This summer has been a great service summer for the youth (and congregation as a whole) of Cedar Run. The Youth went to Coatesville, PA, helped a team to Nicaragua and helped out at Vacation Bible School. Each service opportunity was a great success as many people got to hear about God's love and see it in action.

Why do we serve? What purpose does it meet?

There are many reasons to serve, but I believe a chief reason is to emulate the example of Christ himself.

Read Mark 10:43-45

1. What does Christ say here?
2. How does Christ model servanthood?

Application:

Christ could have simply said, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" and that would have been a great saying. But, as everyone knows, talk is cheap. So, while James and John were asking Jesus to help them hold such a high position in the kingdom of heaven, Christ called them and us to a higher standard. Not only did Christ call us to a higher standard, he modeled it and showed everyone what that meant.

So, again, why do you serve? Do you serve out of the goodness of your heart? Do you serve because you will feel better about yourself or because you want to get recognized?

OR, do you serve because of the example Christ gave to us? Do you serve because the King of Kings viewed service so importantly that he came down from heaven, in obedience to his father (Philippians 2:7-8), to die for our sins?

Remember, Christ didn't have to die. He choose to serve us and die. He gave us his royal throne and all the perks that he had in heaven to die for us. That is sacrificing. That is serving.

Based on Christ's example, how can you serve others this week?

Pray that God opens up opportunities for you to serve others this week.