(This sermon was given during our 2015 commissioning service as we thanked those who served in official positions last year and charged those serving this year to serve Jesus obediently.)
What follows applies to all Christians, but is aimed specifically at those serving in official roles among Dulin’s Grove Church in 2015. It comes from the first two verses of Paul’s first letter to a pastor named Timothy. We are reminded of something very important in this greeting.
We serve Jesus.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus… (1 Timothy 1:1)
Paul identified himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus. His apostleship was not his own, nor the church’s. It was Christ’s. In the same way your office does not belong to you or Dulin’s Grove Church. You are a moderator of Christ, a head deacon of Christ and a head deaconess of Christ. You, your service and your office are his.
Do not look to yourself or Dulin’s Grove Church for the power to serve, but serve “by the strength that God supplies” (1 Peter 4:11). Sink your roots into Christ, “like a tree planted by streams of water” (Psalm 1:3). The most important element of your service is your unbroken connection with Jesus Christ. As Jesus teaches in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” If you roll up your sleeves and work with all your might, but are not receiving the grace and wisdom of Jesus Christ every day, your work will be fruitless. Christless, Spiritless, Bible-less, prayerless work will yield only human results. But rooted in Christ, our work can lead to salvation, sanctification, transformation and worship.
Look beyond yourself and Dulin’s Grove Church for your purpose. God tells us to serve by the strength he supplies “in order that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). It is not important that Dulin’s Grove Church look good, it’s important that Dulin’s Grove Church makes God look good. Our purpose is higher than ourselves and our church, it stretches all the way into the heavens and rests in God himself.
In Christ Jesus you will find power and purpose to serve well as Sunday School Superintendent. You are Jesus’ head trustee, he will direct you and your work doesn’t just make Dulin’s Grove Church facilities look good, it makes God himself look good. Your careful service as treasurer not only benefits the church but honors God himself.
We serve as servants.
Paul, and apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope. (1 Timothy 1:1)
We must exchange the world’s language of volunteerism for the Bible’s language of servitude. Paul’s apostleship was “by command,” not by choice. He was not a volunteer, but an obedient servant. Volunteerism originates in the will of the volunteer. Obedient service originates in the will of God. Volunteers decide, servants obey. Remember, we are appointed “by God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.”
You may say, “But this is is the apostle Paul writing. Surely my service as a teacher or helper or administrator is less significant and therefore more like volunteering.” But remember 1 Corinthians 12:28:
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
God appoints teachers in the same way he appoints apostles and prophets. Helping is commanded in the same way as miracles and healing. Administration is as God-ordained as speaking in tongues. The fact that you aren’t the apostle Paul does not mean that you are any less important to the body of Christ.
Therefore assume the mindset of obedient service this year. You are more than an autonomous volunteer. You are a clerk by command of God our Savior. You did not choose to be members-at-large; Christ Jesus our hope appointed you.
We serve as family.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
To Timothy, my true child in the faith… (1 Timothy 1:1-2)
Paul did not view Timothy as an associate or colleague, but as a son. We will not let corporate organizational thinking cheapen our relationships. We are not just another non-profit; we are a family. One does not enter the church through an application, but through adoption. “God sent forth his Son… so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
Therefore don’t just work together, “love one another with brotherly affection” (Romans 12:10). You are not committee members, you are siblings. You are not board members, you are brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers.
Grace, Mercy and Peace
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (1 Timothy 1:1-2)
Observe the blessing, forgiveness and wholeness we receive from God as Christians:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-10)
As you enter this new year of service, remember that in Christ you are full and whole. Assistants, God has blessed you in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Board of Christian Education, God chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world, that you should be holy and blameless before him. Deacons, in love God predestined you for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. Deaconesses, you have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of your trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon you.
Let’s service Jesus this year, as servants and as family.
Discussion Starters
- Read 1 Timothy 1:1-2 together.
- Paul viewed himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus.” Do you typically view your service so immediately connected to Jesus? Or do you sometimes view your service as connected primarily to the church instead?
- Paul served “by command of God.” Do you believe there is a difference between a servant and a volunteer? How should this effect the way we serve as part of the church?
- Paul viewed Timothy as his “true child in the faith.” Do you believe there is a difference between a Christian non-profit organisation and a church family? How should this effect the way we serve as part of the church?
- Based on all of this, how will you serve Jesus this year? (A specific role you will fulfill, a spiritual gift you hope to make better use of, etc.)
- Read the end of verse two again. How has God been gracious and merciful to you lately? In what areas of your life do you long for peace (wholeness)?
- Take some time to pray together.
