MC — Servants

We’re continuing on in a 3-week series looking at the identities and rhythms that we live out as disciples of Christ together in the everyday stuff of life. We do this primarily through what we call Missional Communities.

A Missional Community is more than a small group (but not less than one). They aim to be a family of servant missionaries sent by God as disciples who make disciples. Our Missional Communities gather weekly to apply the sermons and seek to live life in Biblical community that challenges and encourages each person to grow in following Jesus. These groups are about more than existing primarily for ourselves and instead seek to engage those who are far from Christ as part of our mission.

This week we looked at our identity as servants. We focused on John 13:1-17 and Philippians 2:3-8:

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had cometo depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in theworld, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into theheart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father hadgiven all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around hiswaist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and towipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, whosaid to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you donot understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shallnever wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share withme.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew whowas to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place,he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher andLord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed yourfeet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that youalso should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greaterthan his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you knowthese things, blessed are you if you do them.

3 Do nothing from selfishambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Leteach of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Havethis mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in theform of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself,by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found inhuman form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even deathon a cross.

We said that Jesus’ people serve people because they are served people. One of the things we really focused on was the reality that we often want to skip straight to the application and action — Jesus went low, so should I — Jesus washed feet, so should I. But before you act for God, you must allow God to act for you. Before you serve God and serve others, we must receive and know that God in Christ, humbled Himself, made Himself low and served us. We must allow Jesus to go low, for our sakes, and receive it, or else we have no part, no portion, no place with Him. Then, and only then, can we begin to understand and live into the reality that our whole lives are designed to take our high position as those who are co-heirs with Christ and go low like to serve anyone/everyone around us like he did.

Give the sermon text a read and a listen and we hope to see you this week at a Family Meal and/or a DNA group to dive even deeper.