Objective
God empowers us to do things that we cannot believe we can do, as we act on the love that He has put in our hearts by serving others.
God’s Word
If you speak, you should do it like one speaking God’s very words. If you serve, you should do it with the strength God provides. Then in all things God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Give him the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:11 NIRV
Memory Verse:
Carry each other’s heavy loads. If you do, you will give the law of Christ its full meaning.
Galatians 6:2 NIRV
Teaching
Last week we learned all about being empowered to grow. We learned that we have to 1) get to know of Him before we 2) get to grow in Him. And that He is the one who is giving is the power to grow more in Him. He is the one who will give us the enormous love in our hearts that will overflow into every aspect of our lives, and into everyone whom we will meet.
This week, we are going to learn about what to do with all that overflow of love.
But before that, a video (that we didn’t get to see last week).
(Show the video on low volume, and talk over it.) Lobsters are fascinating. They are the only animals with a shell whose bodies grow faster than their shells. That means they get too big for their shells, and when happens, they have to do something, sometimes bashing their bodies against the rocks and corals because it has to choice but to burst out because it is just growing too much.
What do they have to do with serving? I showed this to you because the fast growing lobster body is like the way that God is making our hearts and spirits grow, all the way until it gets to the point where we have no choice but let out that love, let it out in a grand overflow.
Until you have no choice but to do something. And where do you think that love will go?
But we’re not lobsters. We’re not volcanoes either. (Look at your seatmate to make sure though.) When we have so much love in our hearts, as much as the Lord can give, and you know that He can give quite a lot, it comes out of us when we serve others.
Carry each other’s heavy loads. If you do, you will give the law of Christ its full meaning.
Galatians 6:2 NIRV
There are lots of places where it says in the Bible that we should be helping one another. Jesus Himself came and showed us how we should be with each other, telling us to love one another as we love ourselves.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Mark 12:31a NIRV
You see, you can’t say that you are grown in Jesus if you don’t love like He does. And you can’t say that you love like Jesus if you don’t serve like He does.
It’s the natural progression. We love, therefore we grow, therefore we serve. There’s no other way out for that love that is inside us. Because the love that comes from God is an active, dynamic kind of love. It is the kind of love that yearns to be let out, yearns to be used, yearns to be moved.
To yearn means to crave, or to want very very much.
And so that love comes out in the way that we serve others. How else can it be expressed?
It comes out in our kindness, in the way we speak to others. It comes out in the way we help others. It comes out in our gentleness, in our self-control. It comes out in our humility, in our general desire to be good.
Now these things, I know that they’re very easy to remember, here in church, where it’s bright and happy, and there’s games and singing. But I know that it’s not always easy to choose to be good. It might be that you’re tired. Or busy. It might be that you just have too many things to do. Or that you’re just plain lazy.
But God knows your heart. He knows when the reason is valid, when the intention to serve is still there, but that you just need to rest.
And when your heart intention is right, God will anoint you, He will give you the strength and resources, He will equip you with what you need. He will fill in what is needed. He will empower you to serve.
That’s the challenge for us today: to say yes to Jesus once again and promise to be a servant for Him. And then choosing to receive the empowerment that comes from Him to carry out this servanthood.
(The worship team begins the worship with the chorus.)
Worship
Heart of a Servant – City Harvest
Build My Life – Bethel Music
Lifegroup Discussion
Read 1 Peter 4:11.
- What are your top 3 favorite chores to do around the house?
- What are your top 3 least favorite chores to do around the house?
- Have you ever done something for someone else that was difficult to do? How did you feel about it afterwards?
- In your notebooks, write down your family’s names, and think of something you would like to do for them within the day.
- If you can choose, what ministry would you like to serve in in our church?
Teaching Slides here.