WHERE DO WE GROW FROM HERE? PART 3
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a sermon group discussion. CLICK HERE to find a discussion group. Enjoy!
Sermon Title: We Serve Faithfully and We Give Joyfully
Main Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28; Ephesians 4:11-16; 2 Corinthians 8:7; 9:6-11; Matthew 6:19-21
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
In this message, we learned that God’s people are called to serve faithfully and give joyfully. Pastor Ryan shared how serving God, serving others and giving to the work of God not only helps us grow but the church as a whole grow. As we learned the first week in this series, the health of church determines the impact of its reach. We are the church and as we grow in Christ we all go forward in God’s will.
Pastor Ryan showed us how serving God is to be the greatest in the Kingdom, it’s a result of our salvation and it’s how the church grows into becoming more like Jesus. Giving joyfully and generously is a reflection of God’s generous nature and grace poured out to us. Ministry and missions is completed through the believer’s hand of serving and the hand of giving. Serving is not a waste of our time and giving is not a waste of our money and investment. God uses both of these practices in the kingdom of God to make an eternal impact! People are eternal so serving and giving to help them follow Jesus is worth every second and every penny.
Notes:
The Thesis of this series: How you define church determines the way you live and engage in your church. The health of the church determines the impact of its reach.
WE SERVE FAITHFULLY
Matthew 20:20-28 NLT Jesus came not to be served, but to serve…
What does it mean to serve?
The English words “minister” or “ministry” appear as a translation of the Hebrew word sharat which literally means “to wait on” or “serve”. In the NT, three principal Greek words translated as “minister” all carry a connotation of service rather than domination.
Serving is putting your own needs on pause to minister to others in need. Serving grows a heart of humility, care, and love for others.
Over the years, I would ask Christians how they are doing in their relationship with God. I usually get an answer pertaining to their church attendance, reading the Bible, and prayer. All important practices and disciplines that we’ve covered. But for some reason, serving God and others is often left out of the conversation. Meanwhile, when Jesus called His few to follow Him, he called them to a life of service. Serving isn't something we do, it's part of who we are, it's a way of life. And serving is highly valued in God's kingdom, those who wish to be the greatest should humble themselves to serve.
Serving God and others is a result of salvation
1 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We’ve been made new in Christ to do good works, which God has prepared for us. God works His will and accomplishes good works through us.
Serving God and others is not out of obligation but out of appreciation. Serving is an overflow of all the love you’ve received from God and the gratitude you feel towards Him. Serving others is like an expression of joy that cannot be contained and must be poured out. Serving others is a powerful testimony of what God can do with someone who was once lost and broken, but is now found and useful. I wonder sometimes if God is like, “look what I can do!” And then He radically transforms your life. Glory to God!
When God wants the church to grow, He calls us to serve one another.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT
The implications of this scripture are powerful:
The growth and maturity of the church are empowered by Jesus but also walked out through our cooperation and efforts.
We approach our coming together with the intention of being fed and equipped, for a purpose. We attend church, small groups, training, and ministries to learn and be equipped to serve effectively in the work God has prepared in advance for us. Not just fed, but equipped. We read the Bible throughout the week to be educated, edified, and equipped to use our gifts and our growth to build up and strengthen one another.
Serving helps us mature in our knowledge and in our walk…we become more like Christ.
A ministry of iron sharpens iron takes place. When we serve we grow, when we grow, we serve. Like a muscle, as we use our time and gifts, we grow, and it grows others too.
Serving requires the whole church and benefits the whole church.
The implications if we don’t serve and grow are:
We will be weak and immature in knowledge and our lives will not reflect Christ.
We will be easily swayed by new teaching filled with lies, making us confused and unstable in our faith, and not trusted to equip others.
Overall, we stunt the growth of the church body (us), starting in our own homes.
Practical Application:
The church that is getting things done in the community is open and active because it has people who serve faithfully. When it comes down to it, a church cannot accomplish its purpose without the help of everyone working together. Those who serve, discover, and experience the tangible work, power, and presence of God. God’s grace ministers through us as we love, care and serve others (1 Peter 4:10). Those who do not serve…those missing in action, miss God in action.
Ways we can serve:
We have plenty of openings to grow in your serving.
Every ministry has open spots.
New believers or those young in the faith need someone to disciple and guide them in the faith.
Our next-generation needs us. Nursery, kids, youth, GTeam, and Rangers
WE GIVE JOYFULLY
God calls the church to be joyful and generous givers.
2 Corinthians 8:7 “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 NIV Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Giving to the Lord is, first and foremost, an act of worship. We honor and reflect God’s generous nature when we are generous. We give joyfully and generously to the work of the Church out of gratitude for the grace that God has shown to us. We give willingly and cheerfully not out of compulsion.
Giving is an opportunity to grow in faith, trust, and obedience to God. Someone once said, “Giving is not God’s way of raising money, it is God’s way of raising people into the likeness of His Son.”
Giving also gives us the opportunity to see the faithfulness, generosity, and blessings of God be poured right back into our lives (2 Corinthians 9:10-11).
When you give, keep in mind the bigger picture. When we give to the church we are giving to God and His mission through this church, locally and globally. (PICTURES OF HONDURAS BIBLE SCHOOL, GTEAM, Youth One Night, Youth and Young Adult Water Baptisms)
PRIORITIZE SERVING AND GIVING
SERVING AND GIVING TO THE KINGDOM IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. IT’S A WISE USE!
Serving is not a waste of time: 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Serving in the kingdom of God is work that lasts for eternity.
Giving to God's work is not a waste of money:
Matthew 6:19-21; 24 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
By proactively spending your time serving and giving money to kingdom work, it helps you say no to wasteful investments of time and money. “You don’t see a U-Haul following a hearse.”
What do we lose if we use our time and money for God? Nothing.
What do we gain when we serve and give in the kingdom of God? We’ll be in heaven to enjoy all the family, friends, and souls we helped trust in Jesus on earth. We’ll get to enjoy rewards and treasures for eternity.
If you want to grow, serve others. If you want to grow, give. When we serve and give we all grow and so does the impact of this church in our community and world.
If for some reason you’ve never started serving, never started giving, or stopped serving or stopped giving I want to encourage you to be obedient to God and grow in these areas. There is a joy from obeying God but there’s an overflowing joy when your time of service and investment of giving is going to something that matters for eternity!
A warning and word of encouragement: You may feel overwhelmed by these growth points, as more on your plate...
We’re not supposed to add what God wants us to do on top of what we want to do. Followers of Christ are supposed to be living for God and everything else should be second. Everything else should have to fight and contend for your time and investment as you courageously and joyfully say no because it's a joy to keep God at the center.
This journey of growth takes sacrifice and trimming things out so you can be obedient. Most of the time, being obedient and saying yes to what God wants you to do becomes a catalyst for reviewing your time and money and seeing where you spend it. We’re not supposed to be so busy that we can’t serve. We’re not supposed to be in so much debt that it makes giving hard or impossible. Serving and Giving to God helps you prioritize your life, your budget, and finances, so that your time, your saving, spending, and giving…will honor God.
Serving and giving is a blessing not a burden in your faith journey. They don't drain, they bless. You'll be tempted to do these things out of obligation rather than love and that's not healthy. We do these things from a place of gratitude and joy from our love relationship with God.
We are here because of the sacrifice, faithful service, and joyful giving of those who came before us.
Let’s not just enjoy what God is doing here and through our church, let’s pay it forward through our serving and our giving to the next generation!
Ground Breaking of Calvary’s Sanctuary
Discussion
What is the basic messages on serving in Matthew 20:20-28?
How important is serving according to Ephesians 4:11-16?
What lessons can we learn on giving from 1 Corinthians 9:6-11?
How do we grow when we serve and give?
Why is serving and giving not a waste of time?
What stuck out to you from this message?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed we encourage you to say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!