Just Like Jesus // Verified: Unfollow the False You // Pastor Aaron Chapman // Alive Church

Devotional

Day 1: The Foot-Washing King Who Calls Us Lower

Jesus redefined greatness by kneeling to wash grimy feet, exchanging heavenly authority for a basin and towel. His act shocked disciples expecting a conquering Messiah, yet revealed God’s heart: true power serves. Serving isn’t a spiritual side quest but the core of Christlikeness. It means embracing tasks the world deems beneath us, finding holiness in helping hands rather than spotlights. This upside-down kingdom prioritizes dirty sandals over polished titles. [02:59]

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45, ESV)

Reflection: What “basin and towel” task have you avoided because it felt insignificant? How might serving in hidden places deepen your resemblance to Jesus?

Day 2: Parking Lots, Name Tags, and Countercultural Warfare

Choosing to direct traffic or hand out bulletins declares war on a self-centered world. Every folded chair and cleaned bathroom becomes a rebellion against “me-first” thinking. Serving in God’s house isn’t about earning favor—it’s training to dismantle consumerism in our hearts. The lobby greeter fighting hell’s isolation tactics proves more revolutionary than the critic in the third row. [22:40]

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:10, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you recently complained about church instead of asking, “How can I fix this?” What’s one practical way to shift from spectator to solution-bringer this week?

Day 3: Singles, Schedules, and the Uncluttered Yes

Unmarried seasons aren’t waiting rooms for “real life”—they’re launchpads for undivided service. Paul’s charge to singles isn’t a consolation prize but a commissioning: leverage flexibility before carpools and mortgages fragment your time. The midnight prayer warrior, the event setup crew staying late—these are the church’s secret agents, moving freely in a world that demands their attention elsewhere. [30:20]

“An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided.” (1 Corinthians 7:32-34, ESV)

Reflection: If your current relational status is God’s strategic assignment, how does that change your view of Tuesday nights? What kingdom project could your undivided heart tackle?

Day 4: Calluses and Choirs—Where Gifts Grow Callings

The worship team’s off-key rehearsal births Sunday’s anthems. Ushers mastering crowd flow today will lead movements tomorrow. Serving isn’t the B-team—it’s the gym where spiritual muscles form. That teenager running slides? She’s learning to steward platforms. The man stacking chairs after burnout? He’s rebuilding discipline. No act of service wastes time—it all compounds into eternal weight. [34:23]

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10, ESV)

Reflection: What dormant skill or passion have you sidelined as “not spiritual enough”? How might offering it in obscurity prepare you for greater stewardship?

Day 5: From Buffet Lines to Battle Lines—Choosing Ownership

Church isn’t a spiritual food court but a boot camp. Consumers critique the sermon’s seasoning while servants scrub pots after the feast. Ownership means sweating over vision others will inherit. That couple teaching toddlers today? They’re raising future apostles. The tech volunteer troubleshooting glitches? He’s guarding the gospel’s megaphone. Your seat isn’t a recliner—it’s a drill sergeant’s bench. [20:35]

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15, ESV)

Reflection: When did you last feel “inconvenienced” by church needs? What would it look like to trade comfort for combat readiness in serving God’s mission?

Sermon Summary

Jesus stands before the church as Lord of all and servant of all. Jesus is almighty, all powerful, the name above all names, the one who cast out demons and healed the sick, but Jesus also washed feet. The lowest place became the place where Christ showed his heart. The Son of Man came “not to be served, but to serve,” and that means the identity of Christ cannot be separated from the instinct to serve.

Serving is not extra credit for a few busy Christians. Serving belongs right at the center of being just like Jesus. The world says to build a kingdom, rise to the top, and get people to serve. The kingdom of God is structured differently. The kingdom calls people higher, out of consumer thinking and into servant thinking. The believer wearing the jersey has to get in the game.

Psalm 84 gives serving the language of honor. Better is one day in God’s courts than a thousand elsewhere, and the doorkeeper in God’s house has more than the tents of the wicked could ever offer. First Peter 4 says every gift received from God should be used to serve others as a faithful steward of grace. Gifts are not just for a paycheck, a platform, or personal success. Gifts belong in the house, and the house helps those gifts grow.

The church is not meant to be treated like a favorite restaurant. A consumer asks, “What’s in it for me?” A servant asks, “How can I help?” A favorite restaurant keeps attention only as long as the menu, parking, service, and atmosphere stay pleasing. A church family requires commitment, accountability, attendance, giving, invitation, and involvement. When something is missing, a servant does not just complain. A servant sees the gap and says, “Maybe that is where God is setting a gift.”

First Corinthians 12 says God sets each member in the body as he pleases. The set place is not mainly about comfort, convenience, or preferences. Calling matters more than close parking. The Holy Spirit leads people to a place where God is pleased, and that place comes with vision, service, and sacrifice.

Single people especially are called to see their season as holy flexibility. First Corinthians 7 says an unmarried person can give attention to the Lord’s work with fewer distractions. Singlehood is not a waiting room. Singlehood can become a field for serving.

Serving helps Christ get formed in real life. Love cannot stay as theology. Patience, kindness, compassion, and humility develop when gifts, time, and sweat equity are submitted to God. Serving the house helps accomplish the vision to seek and save the lost, reach into the dark, and pull people into the light by the power of Jesus.

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Key Takeaways

1. Serving is identity in action. Jesus does not leave serving as a side activity for spiritual overachievers. Christ makes serving part of what it means to belong to him, because his own life moved downward in humility instead of upward in self-importance. A heart that has really taken on Jesus’ identity starts looking for places to help without needing to be begged, pushed, or flattered. [04:17]
2. Consumers complain, servants change things. A consumer mindset turns church into a place that must keep pleasing personal taste. A servant mindset sees a missing greeter, a stretched parking team, or a need in the room and recognizes a possible assignment. Complaining keeps distance from responsibility, but service steps into the gap and makes the house better. [22:11]
3. God sets members in place. First Corinthians 12 does not present church placement as random shopping or preference hunting. God arranges members in the body as he pleases, and that means calling matters more than convenience. A church home is not merely the closest option or the most comfortable room, but the place where the Holy Spirit sets a person to serve the vision of God. [23:37]
4. Singlehood carries holy flexibility. First Corinthians 7 treats singleness as a season with unique capacity for undivided devotion. Singlehood does not have to be spent waiting for another person to give life direction. The season can be spent running after God with fire, serving the Lord with fewer distractions, and becoming whole in Christ instead of hunting for another half. [29:36]
5. Gifts belong in God’s house. God-given ability can easily be spent only on work, money, or personal advancement. The house of God becomes a place where hospitality, administration, leadership, teaching, and creativity are submitted back to the Lord. Serving does not shrink those gifts. God often multiplies them and causes planted people to flourish in ways others can see.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:50] - The Goal Is Just Like Jesus
[02:37] - Jesus Is Lord And Servant
[04:17] - Called To Serve, Not Consume
[05:32] - Time To Get In The Game
[07:11] - What Christian Serving Means
[09:03] - Serving In God’s House
[10:36] - Gifts Are For Serving Others
[12:21] - Groups, Teams, And Church Family
[19:04] - Your Church Or Favorite Church
[23:37] - God Sets Members In The Body
[27:51] - Single People Should Lead Serving
[32:08] - Church Grows The Gifts
[36:16] - Serving Accomplishes The Vision
[38:06] - Prayer Of Salvation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 20:28 — “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [04:11]

1 Peter 4:10 — “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:” [10:24]

1 Corinthians 12:18 — “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” [23:45]

1 Corinthians 7:32-35 — “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.” [29:36]

Psalm 84:10 — “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” [09:34]

Observation questions

In Matthew 20:28, what two things does Jesus say he came to do, and how does that shape the way believers should think about serving? [04:17]
In Psalm 84:10, what comparison is being made between being in God’s house and being elsewhere, and what does the image of a doorkeeper show about the value of serving?
According to 1 Peter 4:10, what is each believer supposed to do with the gift they have received, and how is that gift described? [10:24]
In 1 Corinthians 12:18, who arranges the members in the body, and what does that say about how a person finds their place in the church? [23:45]

Interpretation questions

Jesus is Lord of all, yet he came to serve. Why is serving not a side issue in the Christian life but part of what it means to be like Christ? [04:24]
Psalm 84:10 treats even a low place in God’s house as an honor. What does that reveal about how God’s kingdom values faithfulness differently than the world values status? [09:43]
If God arranges the members in the body as he chooses, how should that challenge a person’s habit of choosing a church mainly by comfort, convenience, or preference? [24:24]
First Corinthians 7:32-35 describes singleness as a season with fewer distractions for devotion to the Lord. How can that change the way single believers view this season of life? [31:14]

Application questions

Jesus came not to be served but to serve. Where has a consumer mindset quietly shown up in church life lately—through criticism, passivity, or waiting to be noticed—and what might it look like to shift toward “How can I help?” this week? [20:35]
When something feels missing in the church, is the first instinct usually to complain, step back, or lean in? Is there one gap that stands out right now that may actually be an invitation to serve? [22:11]
Every gift received from God is meant to serve others. What gift, strength, or ability is being used mostly for work, personal success, or convenience, but could also be offered more fully in God’s house? [33:47]
If God sets members in the body as he pleases, what has been shaping church commitment most right now: calling or convenience? What would it look like to respond more seriously to where God has placed you? [24:31]
Serving helps love, patience, humility, and compassion become real life instead of just ideas. What part of Christlike character still needs to be worked deeper into everyday life, and how might serving expose and grow that area? [27:04]
For those who are single, is this season being treated more like a waiting room or a field for devotion and service? What would it look like to use this flexibility in a way that honors the Lord? [30:50]
The mission is to seek and save the lost and help pull people from darkness into light. How could serving, inviting, or simply showing up with greater commitment help someone else encounter Jesus in the coming weeks? [36:16]

Sermon Clips

49s

#ServeNotConsume

“``But the problem is when that consumer mindset makes it into the church. The problem is when we show up to church and we come to consume, but not to serve. That is opposite of what Jesus tells us to do. That's opposite of who he was, who he is. He said, I didn't come to be served but to serve. Consumers ask, what's in it for me? Servants ask, how can I help? Consumers look at church as an outing. Like, oh, what you wanna do this Sunday? But servants look at church as a mission. Come on. Do I have any mission minded people that are here in the room with me today? That I am here on purpose for a purpose.”

52s

#LedToYourChurch

“Your set place, your place here is selected by God. This scripture is talking about how God arranges the people and the gifts within the church, within the body of Christ as he sees fit. I wanna tell you today that you don't just pick a church. God leads you to a place that pleases him. And when God does that, he is not looking at your preferences. He selects based upon his. He does not pull up a list of amenities and saying, oh, this is the church where you would be most comfortable. What does comfort have to do with your calling? When you find a church, you are called. You are called to a vision. You are called to a pastor. You are called to what God is looking to accomplish there in that city.”

33s

#LoveIntoAction

“I mean, now we could read about it. We could talk about it till we're blue in the face, but at a certain point, you gotta do it. At a certain point, love has to be an action in your life. Serving can't just be something that's your theology. Serving has to be something you practically apply. You gotta make some sacrifices. You gotta do the sweat equity and start to do the work if Christ is gonna be developed, if your heart is gonna be a place where it's close to Jesus, where you're thinking like him, acting like him, serving like him.”

43s

#ServeLikeJesus

“But Christ, being lord of all, humbled himself to serve others. That Jesus was the wisest person to ever live. He was equal to God the father, yet he served when he fed the 5,000. He served in teaching his disciples, pouring into them, and he served all of us when he got on the cross and gave his life for the payment of the penalty of our sin so that we could be redeemed. The example that Christ gave us here on Earth was not to rise to the top and have people serve you. No. The example he gave us was to lay down titles, to humble yourself, and to serve everybody else.”

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