June 28, 2026 I Where we Serve

Devotional

Day 1: The Gospel Isn’t a Package to Hoard but a Delivery to Complete

When a delivery driver dumps all packages in one spot, chaos follows. So it is when believers receive the good news of Jesus but fail to carry it beyond their own doorstep. The gospel thrives on movement, designed to travel from heart to heart through ordinary people willing to be couriers of grace. Its power lies not in storage but circulation, transforming both the carrier and the recipient. Every person becomes a divine delivery address. [01:05]

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, ESV)

Reflection: What specific relationships or spaces in your life feel like undelivered gospel packages? How might you courageously “scan the barcode” and release the good news there?

Day 2: From Teflon Hearts to Reoriented Rhythms

Teflon pans keep things from sticking, but disciples aren’t meant to be nonstick surfaces for God’s Word. The early church didn’t just attend gatherings—they let Scripture reshape their schedules, spending habits, and dinner tables. Their faith became a gravitational force, pulling neighbors into orbits of generosity and wonder. True community forms when Sunday truths grip Monday lives. [13:03]

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles." (Acts 2:42-43, ESV)

Reflection: Which area of your weekly rhythm most resists “sticking” to God’s priorities—your calendar, wallet, or relationships? What one adjustment would make your faith more gravitational?

Day 3: Seeking Welfare in Exile’s Unexpected Mission Field

Babylon’s exiles built homes and planted gardens in enemy territory. Their survival tactic became their salvation strategy. Wherever God plants you—the job you didn’t choose, the neighborhood that feels foreign, the season of waiting—is soil for gospel seeds. Your zip code isn’t a mistake but a mission field. Welfare work starts by praying for the welfare takers. [18:17]

"But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (Jeremiah 29:7, ESV)

Reflection: What “exile” in your life (relational, vocational, or geographical) have you resisted embracing as holy ground? How might praying for its welfare change your perspective?

Day 4: When Service Becomes the Gospel’s Visible Grammar

Holding doors and hauling groceries aren’t random acts of kindness—they’re gospel prepositions. Service verbs like “fixing,” “feeding,” and “funding” become the world’s Rosetta Stone to decode Christ’s love. Skeptics may question motives, but calloused hands preaching mercy often open ears faster than sermons. Every oil change and casserole carries resurrection subtext. [26:21]

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane task or errand this week could become a “translation” of God’s love if done with intentional joy? Who might need that Rosetta Stone moment?

Day 5: From Jerusalem to Samaria: FAT Faithfulness in Familiar and Foreign

Grover’s “near and far” lesson mirrors Jesus’ map: start local but stay mobile. Jerusalem meant their kids’ soccer games; Samaria meant the coworker who votes opposite. The Holy Spirit fuels both the courage to invite neighbors and the grit to love ideological enemies. FAT faithfulness—being Faithful, Available, Teachable—turns grocery aisles and group chats into holy ground. [31:35]

"You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, ESV)

Reflection: Which “Samaria” in your life (a person or place that feels culturally/spiritually foreign) is God nudging you to engage with Christlike curiosity this month?

Sermon Summary

The delivery driver picture makes the point plain: a package has a destination, and it would be crazy for a driver to dump every order in one pretty neighborhood. The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news, but God never meant for that good news to sit in one place once it has been received. God has called his people to carry that package wherever their feet may trod, because salvation, purpose, identity, and fellowship with the eternal God are not private possessions. Good news that has brought life to one person must be treated as good news that somebody else needs to hear.

Acts 1 shows Jesus preparing his disciples for mission, not giving them a timeline to satisfy curiosity. Jesus does not tell them when the kingdom will be restored, but tells them that power will come when the Holy Spirit comes upon them. The kingdom question gets redirected into kingdom work. God does not call his people to dig deep for strength he never meant them to manufacture. What God calls his people to, he equips them for.

Acts 2 shows what happens when the power of God is rightly implemented. The early church devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer, and that devotion created a rhythm of gathering, growing, serving, and going. The gathering was not merely entertainment or education. God filled the cup so that his people could pour out what had been given, then come back to be filled again.

The first answer to where service happens is simple: God’s people serve where they gather. The Acts 2 believers did not just attend gatherings. Their lives were reoriented around a new way of living, and the Word was not meant to slide off like Teflon. The church gathers to serve one another, hold one another accountable, and become more aware of the opportunities God has placed nearby.

The second answer is that God’s people serve where they work, worship, live, and play. Jeremiah 29 shows exiles being told to seek the welfare of the city where God had sent them. God may place a believer in a hard, unwanted, or ordinary place for an eternal purpose. The community becomes the mission field.

The third answer is that God’s people serve where God sends them. Acts 1:8 names Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, which means here, near, undesirable, and far. Jesus calls his people across the street and around the world. Service is not merely something done in a place. Service is a lifestyle practiced daily.

Key Takeaways

1. The gospel has a destination The gospel is not a package to receive and leave sitting on the truck. God gives good news so that it travels to the people who need hope, forgiveness, and a way out of shame. A delayed package frustrates a person quickly, but a delayed gospel should stir deeper urgency because eternal things are at stake. [03:36]
2. God empowers what God commands Acts 1 does not send disciples into mission with bare hands and tired souls. Jesus promises power when the Holy Spirit comes, which means mission is not fueled by personality, guilt, or human grit. Exhaustion often grows when strength is pulled from a place God never intended, while faithful service begins with receiving what God supplies. [06:30]
3. Gathering fills cups for scattering The Acts 2 church gathered, grew, served, and went. The church does not gather merely to learn more or feel better, but to be filled so that the world around it can see Christ as beautiful. A full cup is not the final goal. A full cup becomes a gift when it is poured out in visible, generous love. [09:43]
4. Ordinary places carry eternal purpose Jeremiah 29 places exiles in Babylon and tells them to seek the welfare of the city. God may use a workplace, neighborhood, school, grocery store, or hard season as the very field where witness becomes visible. A believer may want escape, but God may be calling for roots, dependence, prayer, and faithful presence right there. [18:42]
5. Service and witness belong together Witness gives words to the gospel, and service gives evidence to the gospel. Good works without gospel witness can become mere niceness, and words without embodied love can sound hollow. When service is gospel saturated, skeptical people begin to wonder why love, sacrifice, and generosity are showing up in such ordinary places. [23:10]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:21] - The Delivery Driver Picture
[01:40] - The Gospel Is Good News to Deliver
[05:16] - Acts 1 and the Power for Mission
[08:43] - Acts 2 and the Rhythm of the Church
[10:51] - God Has People Placed on Purpose
[12:18] - Serve Where the Church Gathers
[16:46] - Serve Where Life Happens
[17:17] - Jeremiah 29 and Seeking the City
[21:16] - Beyond Holy Huddles
[23:10] - Service Gives Evidence to the Gospel
[27:13] - Near and Far with Grover
[31:15] - Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the Ends
[35:32] - Serving as a Daily Lifestyle
[36:15] - A Prayer for Open Hearts and Faithfulness

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Jeremiah 29:4-7 (ESV)
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

Observation Questions

In Acts 1:8, Jesus redirects the disciples’ question about the timing of the kingdom. What does He emphasize instead of giving a timeline?
What four practices did the early church devote themselves to in Acts 2:42, and what visible outcomes resulted from this rhythm (vv. 43-47)?
How does Jeremiah 29:4-7 challenge the exiles’ perspective on their unwanted situation in Babylon?
The sermon compared the gospel to a package meant for delivery. What happens when a delivery driver dumps all packages in one neighborhood, and how does this relate to believers? [01:05]

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus’ refusal to answer the disciples’ question about the kingdom’s timing (Acts 1:6-7) be significant for how believers approach mission today?
The early church’s “gathering, growing, serving, and going” created a cycle. How does gathering to “fill the cup” enable believers to pour out effectively into their communities? [09:43]
Jeremiah 29:7 tells exiles to “seek the welfare of the city.” How does this command redefine the purpose of being in a hard or ordinary place?
The sermon states, “Service gives evidence to the gospel.” How do acts of service make the gospel visible in a skeptical world? [23:10]

Application Questions

Identify one person in your daily life (work, neighborhood, gym, etc.) who needs to “receive the package” of the gospel. What step could you take this week to share hope or serve them in a way that points to Christ?
Reflect on a season where you wanted to escape a difficult or ordinary situation (like the exiles in Babylon). How might God be calling you to “plant roots” there now and seek the welfare of others? [18:42]
The early church’s rhythm included gathering to grow and scattering to serve. What part of your weekly routine (e.g., prayer, fellowship, rest) needs adjustment to better fuel your capacity to pour out?
Think of a time when your service (e.g., kindness, generosity) created curiosity in someone. How could you prepare to explain the “why” behind your actions next time it happens? [25:51]
Acts 1:8 calls believers to witness “to the ends of the earth.” What fears or excuses hold you back from engaging with people who feel unfamiliar or undesirable (like Samaria)? How can dependence on the Holy Spirit address this?
The sermon compared believers to delivery drivers. Where have you been “letting the gospel sit on the truck” instead of delivering it? What practical habit (e.g., prayer, intentional conversations) could help you act with urgency? [03:36]

Sermon Clips

50s

#ServeEveryDay

“``Are we putting a governor on the power of what god has put into us? Are we are we the the the difference with that power not being in implemented in the way that god intends us to implement it? Where has god called you to serve? Here's the big takeaway and I would even say a big challenge as the band is coming this morning. Serving isn't something we merely do in a place. It's a lifestyle we practice daily. Serving isn't something we merely do in a place. It's a lifestyle that we practice daily. He's called us to serve across the street and around the world wherever we are to be available for his glory even in the hard places.”

60s

#MissionWhereYouAre

“What if he has called us to be a beacon of light right where we work, live, play, where we recreate, where we eat, where we shop for our groceries, where we get our oil changed. What if god has called us to be a people who glorify and serve those around us in those situations? All of us are surrounded by people, which means they are people who need to be discipled in our home, in our work, in our school. Wherever we go, we are called to be missionaries. Oftentimes, we think about this idea that missionaries are to be special forces type people. They go over to hard places and do hard things. What if god's called all of us to be missionaries right where we are? You might look to the ones who go over to foreign countries, go to Nicaragua, to India, to hard places like Afghanistan and say, man, they are the elite. God's called you to be elite and faithful right where you are.”

58s

#PlantRootsServeCommunity

“You see, our community is our missions field and the gospel strengthens our community wherever it goes and is received. You may feel like exiles in your situations of your life. You may feel like you're working where you were not intending to work. You may feel like you're living in a neighborhood or community that you did not feel like is where god had intended you to be, but what if god has you right where you are for a reason and he's the one that put you there? What if it is opportunity for us to show a deeper dependence that god in the middle of where we are would have a greater work for us and that we would invest ourselves in such a way, god, I don't know where it is that you are leading me, but I am willing to plant roots right here, right now until you tell me to move otherwise. Perhaps, he is telling us that the welfare we seek should not be for ourselves, but for the community that he has called us into.”

45s

#FaithfulAvailableTeachable

“Are you faithful, available, and teachable with where god would call you to serve? Are you willing? He may not call you to hard places. But if he does, are you willing to answer that call? Are you willing to walk through regions that you may not know or may be undesirable for you to walk through if he calls you and you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that he will equip you for that? He's called us to serve here, near, and far in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even to the end of the Earth. Jesus calls us to places that are both familiar and foreign.”

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June 28, 2026 I Where we Serve

Devotional

Day 1: The Gospel Isn’t a Package to Hoard but a Delivery to Complete

Day 2: From Teflon Hearts to Reoriented Rhythms

Day 3: Seeking Welfare in Exile’s Unexpected Mission Field

Day 4: When Service Becomes the Gospel’s Visible Grammar

Day 5: From Jerusalem to Samaria: FAT Faithfulness in Familiar and Foreign

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

June 28, 2026 I Where we Serve

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