Serving Like Jesus: A Call to Selfless Love

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Matthew 25:34-40
2. John 13:12-15
3. Mark 10:45

#### Observation Questions
1. According to Matthew 25:34-40, what are some specific ways Jesus says we can serve others? How do these acts of service relate to serving Him?
2. In John 13:12-15, what example does Jesus set for His disciples, and what command does He give them after washing their feet?
3. What does Mark 10:45 reveal about Jesus' purpose in coming to earth, and how does this purpose relate to the concept of service?

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why does Jesus emphasize serving others as a way of serving Him in Matthew 25:34-40? How does this perspective change the way we view acts of service? [01:16:31]
2. In John 13:12-15, why is it significant that Jesus, their teacher and Lord, washed the disciples' feet? What does this teach us about humility and leadership? [01:03:55]
3. How does Mark 10:45 challenge the cultural narrative of self-fulfillment and self-promotion? What does it mean to give one's life as a ransom for many? [01:00:18]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on the idea that serving others is serving Christ. How does this change your motivation for serving? Can you think of a recent act of service where you felt you were serving Jesus? [01:16:31]
2. Jesus washed the feet of all His disciples, including Judas. Is there someone in your life who has wronged you that you find difficult to serve? How can you follow Jesus' example in this situation? [01:28:36]
3. The sermon emphasized that true service is often unseen and unapplauded. How do you feel about serving without recognition? Can you commit to a specific act of service this week that no one else will know about? [01:10:24]
4. Hospitality was highlighted as a powerful form of service. How can you open your home or your life to someone in need this week? What practical steps can you take to make others feel like family? [01:21:20]
5. Serving with love and humility was a key point in the sermon. Think of a person who tests your patience. What is a short prayer you can say before the next time you interact with that person to help you serve them with love and humility? [01:07:21]
6. The sermon mentioned the importance of serving with open eyes, recognizing needs around us. Can you identify a need in your community or workplace that you can address this week? How will you take action? [01:15:18]
7. Jesus' ultimate act of service was giving His life for our salvation. How does this ultimate sacrifice inspire you to serve others? What is one way you can embody this sacrificial love in your daily life? [01:35:16]

Day 1: Heart Transformation Through Service
True service requires a transformation of the heart, where the needs of others become a priority over personal desires. This transformation is not about the scale of the actions but the love and humility that underpin them. Often, the most genuine acts of service go unnoticed and uncelebrated, yet it is in these quiet moments that one's character is most aligned with the Savior. Service in the Kingdom of God is not about seeking applause but about embodying the love of Christ through every small, selfless act. [01:10:24]

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." - Matthew 6:3-4 ESV

Reflection: Consider a recent act of service you performed. Did you seek acknowledgment, or were you content in the knowledge that God saw your actions?

Day 2: Hospitality as an Extension of Service
Hospitality is a profound expression of service that involves opening one's home and life to others. It is not about the perfection of the environment but the willingness to share whatever one has. This form of service creates a space where individuals can feel valued and experience the love of Christ as if they were family. It's a reminder that sharing life with others is a powerful testament to God's love and grace. [01:21:20]

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." - Hebrews 13:2 ESV

Reflection: How can you practice hospitality this week, even in a small way, to create a space for someone to feel the love and acceptance of Christ?

Day 3: Love as the Foundation of Service
Serving with love is the essence of Christlike service. It is straightforward to serve those dear to us, but the true challenge lies in serving those we find difficult. Love should be the driving force behind service, and if it is lacking, one must seek God's help to be filled with His love to overflow to others. This love is the hallmark of genuine service, distinguishing it from mere duty or obligation. [01:07:21]

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling." - 1 Peter 4:8-9 ESV

Reflection: Is there someone you find challenging to love or serve? How can you ask God to help you see them through His eyes and serve them with His love today?

Day 4: Humility in Service
Humility in service is about setting aside one's ego and serving others without the expectation of recognition. It involves doing what is right, even when no one is watching, and considering others more significant than oneself. This humility is not innate; it must be actively pursued through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, reflecting the humble nature of Christ. [01:11:30]

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." - Philippians 2:3 ESV

Reflection: What is one way you can serve someone this week without any expectation of thanks or recognition, simply for the joy of following Jesus' example of humility?

Day 5: Serving with Open Eyes
Serving with open eyes involves being attentive to the needs around us and being willing to take action. It means rejecting the "not my job" mentality and embracing every opportunity to serve as Jesus did. When one serves with open eyes, they become the hands and feet of Jesus in a world that is desperate for His touch and love. [01:15:18]

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." - Philippians 2:4 ESV

Reflection: What are some needs in your community that you have been overlooking? How can you take a step towards meeting one of those needs this week?

Good morning, everybody! You look well-rested. This morning, I was telling people, if you see somebody that is falling asleep, give them a nudge. But you look like you're going to go, so here we go.

Welcome to week three of our "Like Jesus" series. I really hope—and it's my prayer—that you have been feeling challenged by this series. A good challenge that you are really looking at yourself in the mirror and desiring to look more and more like Jesus. Because as disciples, that is what our desire should be: that we look at our Master and we are trying to follow His example in everything that He did—in the way that He acted, in the way that He prayed, in the way that He thought, in the way that He did every single thing, and in the way that He served us.

We're going to be talking today because our goal as Christians is not heaven; it's Jesus. It's about knowing Him more and being more and more like Him every single day. But I don't know if you have noticed that is not really what our culture and our world is telling us. They are actually telling us the opposite, right? They are saying, "Just do whatever makes you happy." We are free to choose whatever it is that we want. So you choose how you want to act, and you choose what you want to say, and you choose what you want to do, and you choose everything. Like, it is your choice as long as you're not hurting anybody. Just be free; be yourself. Fully you, be you, right?

And if we are not careful, if we are not grounded in the Word of God, that can be very enticing. Because wanting to do—because being able to do what I want to do is what I want, right? Like, that's what I want. I just want to do whatever my soul wants to do. But that is not what the Bible tells us to do. We are supposed to be more and more like Jesus.

If you go into the internet right now and you type something like, "How to advance in life" or "How to make it to the top," you will find an infinite amount of content. You will find books, and you will find podcasts, and you will find blogs, and you will find YouTube videos, and you will find how-to guides, and you will find coaches that will help you to achieve your better self, right? To market yourself, to brand yourself, to gain followers, to be the best of the very best in every single thing. Because we are supposed to have self-help and self-improvement and self-promotion, because that is what this world really appreciates. That's what this world wants.

Because we have an ego problem. Because we have a "me first" problem. Because in everything that we do, we want to be the ones that are recognized. We want to be the ones that are at the top. We want to be the ones that when you show up, people are like, "Oh, do you see who's here?" Right? Like, we want to be the GOAT. We have an ego problem, and this problem is not unique to 2024. It is not something new. It is a problem that has happened from the very beginning of humankind, and it is something that happened even in Jesus's day. Even Jesus, when He was in this world, had to deal with people wanting to be at the top.

But when Jesus came onto the scene, He flipped the narrative of what success and influence was all about. It was all different. The people were not expecting what He had to say about it. They were mind-blown. We actually read in Luke about His disciples arguing about who was the greatest. In Luke 22:24, it says, "Later, the apostles began to argue about which one of them was the most important." Can you imagine? They are with Jesus, and they are arguing about which one of us is most important. I can see Peter saying, "No, well, it's obviously me! Like, duh, right? It's me." And I can see James saying, "No, no, no, no, no! It's me! It's definitely me!" And then here comes John, "I am the one that Jesus loves, so obviously I am the most important."

So they are having this debate, and Jesus says to them, "The kings of the world rule over their people, and those who have authority over others want to be called the great providers for the people." People want to have this authority, and they want to be noticed, and they want to have something that people are like, "Oh, he's the one that does this; he's the one that does that." But then He continues, "But you must not be like that." In other words, stop the foolishness! The one with the most authority among you should act as if he is the least important. The one who leads should be like one who serves. Who is more important: the one serving or the one sitting at the table being served? Everybody thinks it's the one being served, right? But I have been with you as the one who serves.

He is telling us just to stop. What people value and what people see as the most important thing is not what is the most important thing. And if authority is what you want, then you must act like you are nothing. And if you want the influence, that means that you are the one serving everybody. And people were not ready for that. They were just confused about this new way of doing things and the new way of seeing success.

We also see this mom, which I still don't fully understand, but she comes to Jesus and she says, "Jesus, I just have one favor to ask you, like a tiny little thing. I want you to promise me that one of my sons is going to sit at your right side in the kingdom, and the other one is going to sit on your left." Can you imagine the audacity of this mom? Like, she's saying, "I want my babies to be seated at the head table." You know, when we are in the kingdom, I want everybody to see that my boys were like BFFs with Jesus. They were thinking about authority; they were thinking about position; they were thinking about optics—what everybody's going to see. And Jesus was not having any of that. So He says, "Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your willing and humble slave."

See, and I want to emphasize those two words because that is what is very important here. We need to be willing and humble slaves—willing and humble servants. We are willing because we are not serving people because we are pressured to do so. We are not serving people because we don't have any option. We are not serving people because, "I guess I'll join." But we are serving people willingly because we want to do it. Because we have decided that this is what our life is going to be like, and we are going to do it in humility, regarding other people as above ourselves. That is the way that Jesus is telling us that we need to serve.

And people were not expecting this new way of thinking. They were not expecting this new way of seeing success. And honestly, our culture doesn't expect that either. We value different things. But that is why it is so important for all of us to understand what Jesus values. Because being a willing and humble servant is not something that makes people excited, right? It is not something that is like, "Yeah, I'm super comfortable being a slave to everybody else." Serving is costly. You're going to have to give up so much in order to serve in the way that Jesus wants you to serve. Because serving—truly serving—is not just something that you do when you go on a mission trip. Truly serving is not only what happens that once a month when you help in a soup kitchen or when you do a food pantry or when you go and do like an outreach event. Serving is not only what happens on a Sunday morning when you're a part of the dream team and you come and you serve. No, because truly serving is not an event; it is a way of living. It is a different way that you see yourself, and it is a new way for you to act. It is not just an event; it is not just something that has a date and time, but it is something that you do day in and day out, from the moment that you wake up to the moment that you go to bed. You are a willing and humble servant. It is different.

And as we are walking in this path to be more like Jesus, we need to understand this. Serving is a very important part of our kingdom identity. And I want you to hear what Jesus said in Mark 10:45. He said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." He's saying, "Even the Son of Man, even I, Jesus, God—if somebody has ever walked the face of this planet that deserved to be served and deserved to have authority and power and recognition and be lavished with all the good things that this world has to offer, that was Jesus." But He is telling us, "Even I did not come for you to serve me; I came to serve." So how much more do you and I need to serve? Jesus showed us with His own life that serving is very, very important.

So if we're going to become more like Jesus, we need to serve like He did. We need to become servants. John 13 gives us this beautiful story, and it's a beautiful representation of how Jesus served His disciples. See, back in that day, people had to wear open-toe shoes and walk around the streets, and they would just get covered in all kinds of things—dirt, mud, animal poop, and who knows what else. So somebody had to be washing people's feet before they entered a home. And I totally understand this because we have a puppy, and we put our puppy in the backyard to do his business. But this little guy finds all of the mud—all of it! And he digs in the mud, and he rolls in the mud, and he eats the mud. And every single time that we have to go and put him back inside, he looks like this. Yeah, his paws are kind of white, and you don't see a lot of white in them.

So the thing that happens in our household is that as we are putting him in the backyard, everybody disappears because they know whoever opens the back door is in charge of wiping the paws. And nobody wants to do it. Nobody wants to be the one having to get down and get all dirty and get all muddy and get all covered in backyard mud. And if that is something that we feel about a cute, fluffy little pet, can you imagine grown-up man feet covered in—I don't know what—from how many miles that you were walking?

So the person that was tasked with the job of washing feet was usually the lowest of the low. Like, nobody wanted that job. Nobody wanted to be the one that was at the door waiting for people to come in because it was gross. So they used to have the lowest people, the lowest servant, the lowest slave—the one that almost feels like this person has no value—be the one washing feet. But we see in John 13 that Jesus, when they were having the Passover meal, He grabs a towel and wraps it around His waist, and He grabs a bucket with water, and He goes, kneels down, and starts washing the disciples' feet one by one.

He washes Matthew's feet, and He washes Andrew's feet, and He washes James's feet. He's washing everybody's feet. Can you imagine the shock on the disciples' faces? Like, our Rabbi, our Master, our Lord is washing feet? We know that they were shocked because Peter said, "You will not wash my feet!" Like, there's no way that you are doing that for me because it was reserved for the lowest of the low. Jesus did that for all twelve of them.

And then in verse 12 of John 13, it says, "When Jesus finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and went back to the table. He asked, 'Do you understand what I did for you? You called me teacher and you call me Lord, and this is right because that is what I am. I am your Lord and teacher, but I washed your feet. So you also should wash each other's feet. I did this as an example for you, so you should serve each other just as I served you.'"

Jesus was giving them a command, and it was not a command to every once in a while have a foot-washing service. You know, make sure that you go and have a pedicure done beforehand and then come with fresh socks and just, you know, symbolically let's wash each other's feet. No, no! He's telling them, "You saw what I did. I did what nobody wants to do. I took the lowest position of everybody in here to serve you. Do that for one another. Do for each other what nobody else wants to do. Serve one another in the same way that I have served you." It was a command to serve.

So if we're going to be serving like Jesus, we need to understand how He served. And the first thing is that He served with love. John 13:1 says, "It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go back to the Father. Jesus had always loved the people in the world who were His; now was the time that He showed them His love the most." This is talking about Him dying on the cross for us.

So we need to serve with love. He had loved the people that were His, so because He loved them, He served them. Do you love the people that are around you? Do you love them well so that you can serve them? And that love really begins with us loving God and receiving His love. Because we cannot go out and try to love people with a love tank that is empty. So we need to go to God and receive His love and let Him just overflow in us. Because from that overflow of love, we will be able to serve other people well. That is when we're going to be able to see people the way that Jesus sees people.

See, when we love people, it is easy to serve them. You know, I can serve my husband and my kids so easily because I love them. So we need to love the people that are around us. If serving somebody is hard, you need to pause and evaluate. That's when you go back to the mirror. That's when you see yourself and you ask, "Do I love this person like I should? Am I serving everyone around me with love?" And if the answer is no, then there's stuff that you need to do.

In a couple of weeks, we're going to be talking about how we can love like Jesus. So if loving has been a little bit of like a, "I'm not fully sure how to do that," come back because we want to help you so that you can love like Jesus. But love should be the fuel that helps you serve people.

So when we love like Jesus, when we serve people with love, we also serve with humility. John 13:3 says, "The Father had given Jesus power over everything. Jesus knew this. He also knew that He had come from God, and He knew that He was going back to God." He knew who He was. He knew the authority that He carried in the room. He knew that He had come from God; He was going back to God. He knew His position, yet He served. Serving others is never beneath us.

And the moment that we feel like, "I should not stoop down to serve somebody," we are saying that we are better than God because He did it. And there are so many times that you say, "But you have no idea how hard I have worked for my degree, how hard I have worked to get the following, how hard I have worked to get to where I am." Awesome! You still have to serve if you want to be like Jesus. That is what we are required to do.

See, we see that Jesus was doing what nobody else would have chosen to do on their own. Nobody would have said, "You know what? I want to do today? Wash feet! Put me on that job today!" No! But our Master, our Savior, our God took the towel and served. A lot of people would really want the perks and the titles and the position and the following and the influence, but they are not willing to rub a towel around their waist and start serving.

A true servant is not looking for the spotlight. They are not doing things so that somebody will recognize them and say, "Oh, you did such a good job!" Right? Jesus was not looking for recognition. He was not looking to be exalted because He was washing feet. He did it out of humility. And I understand that it feels nice when somebody notices what we do, and it feels nice when somebody says, "Hey, you did such a good job!" or "Hey, you have such a servant's heart!" or "I saw what you did; it was very nice." That feels good, and that is okay.

But we have to be careful because if we are not careful, and if we don't submit to God, the desire that we have as humans for gratification, we will end up serving just to hear that "attaboy" again. And that is why so many people are, with very good intentions, and they have very good motives, but along the way, the more that they hear that they are doing a good job and it feels good, and they know that if they do this, they're going to be clapping for me, then we start changing. And instead of serving to give God glory, we are serving to see who's looking. And we are broadcasting every single good thing that we do.

"Let me put it on Instagram! Let me put it on Facebook! I'm going to be picking this up, but I'm just going to wait until somebody comes and, 'Oh, look, look, look what I did! I did it, and nobody even asked me!'" Because we just want the recognition. But it is not what we are supposed to do. We need to be able to put our ego aside, our desire to be noticed aside, and serve with humility.

So we go back to the mirror and say, "Am I serving with humility? Will I serve even if nobody ever notices? Will I still serve if nobody ever says thank you?" And humility doesn't just fall on us. We have to be intentional. We have to go to the Holy Spirit and say, "Holy Spirit, show me the areas in my life where there's pride so that I can lay it down and give me the willingness and the desire to actually change."

So we serve like Jesus when we serve with love, when we serve with humility, and when we serve with open eyes. John 13:4 and 5 says, "So while they were eating, Jesus stood up and took off His robe. He got a towel and wrapped it around His waist. Then He poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers' feet."

See, the custom of the day was that as you were entering a home, you were getting your feet washed because we don't want whatever the journey has brought with you to come into the home, right? So it was a thing that happened at the door. We don't know; the Bible doesn't tell us, but that didn't happen because they were eating when Jesus does this.

So picture this with me, okay? Back in that day, tables and chairs were not a thing. They were eating with a little table that was just raised above the ground just a little bit, and people would sit either on pillows or on mats. So feet were very much invited to dinner, right? Like, they were front row to the meal. So everybody at that table saw each other's feet, and everybody realized, "Your feet are nasty!" Right? Yet nobody did anything about it until we see Jesus getting up and washing feet.

He saw a need, and He did something about it. And something that drives me crazy is this "not my job" mentality. We see that so prevalent in our day. You see a need, but because that is not in my job description, I'm not going to do it. And I have heard and experienced that so many times, and it just drives me nuts when somebody will come and say, "Hey, somebody was at the door, but nobody opened." And you ask, "Did you open the door?" "That's not my job." Or, "There was a lot of trash; somebody really needs to pick it up." "Did you pick it up?" "That's not my job; I'm just informing that there's trash over there."

Right? Or you go to the store, and somebody is having a really hard time doing self-checkout, and you're like, "I cannot believe that they don't understand how self-checkout works!" Did you help them? "I don't work at Target!" Or you go to a restaurant, and somebody's having a hard time getting the menu from a QR code, and you're like, "It's not even that difficult!" Did you show them how? "That's not my job!"

And we are very good at noticing what needs to be done but not doing anything about it because, "That ain't my job! I'm not getting paid to do that, so I'm not going to do it." See, they were all at the table. Everybody was able to see nasty feet. Peter could have done it. Andrew could have done it. Anyone could have done it. "Hey, listen, at least be like, 'Okay, let's make a line, and one by one, we wash our own feet!' Like, let's do something!" Right? But none of that even happened.

Are you the one that can see the need but doesn't do anything about it? It's time to go back to the mirror and say, "Am I serving with open eyes? Can I see the need, and when I see the need, do I do something about it? Or have I been operating in that 'not my job' area?"

See, we serve like Jesus when we serve with love, with humility, and with open eyes. So let's be that church. Let's be the church that serves like Jesus. And I know that there are a lot of people that have good intentions, and you have a good heart, and you really want to do something. The problem is, "I don't know what to do!" Like, I really do want to serve, but I just don't know where to start or what to do.

So I want to be very, very, very helpful to you today, okay? We're going to be very practical. So Jesus was telling a parable about the Judgment Day, and He's telling people about when the king puts the godly people on the right and the ungodly people on the left. And I really believe that He's giving us a beautiful blueprint on how we can serve—the things that we can do to serve people. And that is found in Matthew 25, starting at verse 34.

"Then the king will say to the godly people on his right, 'Come! My Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom He promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made. It is yours because when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me.'

Then the godly people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you with no place to stay and welcome you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?'

Then the king will answer, 'The truth is, anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.'"

That was a rich passage, and I think that He has a lot that we can take from it. So we're going to be going line by line so that we can learn what we can do as we are trying to serve like Jesus.

"When I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink." We can meet the spiritual and physical needs. What can you do to help somebody that is in need today? Can you take somebody out for lunch? Can you bring somebody groceries? And maybe you say, "You know what? I don't have that much money to just go around paying for people's groceries and stuff." But if you know that somebody needs a couch or needs a bed, can you help them and say, "Hey, I have somebody in need of a bed. Does anybody have a bed?" Can you be in the process of helping people to get whatever they physically need?

"When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home." We should be showing hospitality. We need to open our home and allow people to come in and just feel safe for a little bit. We should be the people that our house is always open for other people, right? And I know that some people say, "You know, my house is my safe space, and it's my happy place." So, like, I try to separate things. You know, like, they are over there, and I'm over here. We can kind of meet in the middle.

But let's go back and let's just take a trip down memory lane to the very first sermon series of the year, "Kingdom," and we'll learn that, like Pastor Carlton said, everything that we have belongs to God—your house included. We are only managers of what He owns. So if somebody needs God's house, God's house is open, right? And we can show hospitality.

So we actually had to live this out. Brandon and I, about ten years ago, were living in Crete, and we had a spare bedroom in our home. We only had the boys at the time—no Kelsey yet—and we had a spare bedroom that we used to call Suzu's room because that was the room that my mom would come and stay in when she was in town.

One day, we were over in the children's department, so we were the children's pastors. One day, one of the young ladies that was our volunteer came to me and she said, "I was kicked out of my home. I don't have a place to go." So I told her to just sit down for a moment, and I went and I found Brent, and I said, "I think that we need to bring her home with us." And Brent agreed. So she moved in with us, and she lived there for a few months until she was able to get a job and get back on her feet and then get her own place.

But she had dinners with us; she had game nights with us. She is the reason why I knew what "The Bachelor" was because she wanted to watch it every Monday night. You know, she was a part of our home for a little bit. We had to show hospitality to somebody that was in need.

And maybe you will never have somebody living with you in your home. Maybe that is not something that God is requiring from you. But can you open your home for a life group? Can people that are in desperate need of just talking to somebody come to your home, get a cup of coffee, and be able to talk to you and just feel safe and loved for a little bit? Can your home be a place that is just a safe space for other people? That has been our prayer and our desire, and that's what we've been trying to do—Brandon and me—that people will just feel comfortable in our home.

We have adopted the Olive Garden slogan, you know, like, "If you're here, you're family." So if you come to our home, you can go to the fridge and grab something to drink. If you're cold, you can just grab a blanket. If you want to put your feet up, go for it! Because we are to show hospitality to other people.

Then it says, "When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear." What are the people around you without? And this is not just tied to money, but are the people around you without somebody who will pay attention to them? Can you provide them with time? Are there people around you without true friendships, true relationships? Can you provide them friendship? Are there people around you without hope? Can you give them the hope and the life that we can find in Jesus? What are the people around you lacking?

Then He says, "When I was sick, you cared for me." We need to care for the people that are sick, the people that are weak, those who cannot care for themselves. See, a couple of years ago, Brent's grandma was in town. She lives in Michigan, and she got sick, and she was in that rehab center for a while. So we were taking turns going and being with her so she was not alone.

I remember she was in this rehab center in Orland Park, and I walked in the very first day, and she had a roommate. It was this older lady—super sweet. And I realized there's not a lot—there's nobody coming for her. So being the chatty and nosy person that I am, I start talking to her and I start just asking her all kinds of things, right? Her name is Ethel, and she was there for two months. Her daughter would come and visit when she was not at work, but she was at work a lot, so she was not there often.

Sometimes her grandson would come, and I know all of her business because I kept just talking to her. And as I was caring for Gigi, I was caring for Miss Ethel. So every time that Gigi said that she wanted to watch TV, I would say, "Miss Ethel, do you want to watch TV too?" If Grandma said, "I am thirsty," I would say, "Miss Ethel, are you thirsty?" When we were having a conversation, I would say, "Hey, Miss Ethel, what do you think about this?" And I would just bring her into all of the conversation.

There were a couple of times that she went to the restroom, and she needed help. Talk about, "That's not my job!" Right? But I helped her. There were a couple of times I had to go and find the nurses because she needed something that I couldn't do for her. Every time that I left, I would give my Gigi a kiss on the forehead, and then I would walk to Miss Ethel's bed and I would give her a kiss on the forehead. It got to the point that she was excited when I would walk in the room, right?

And one day I walk in, and her daughter is there, but Miss Ethel is not. Because the daughter knew that I had been caring for Miss Ethel, when I asked her, "Where is she? What happened?" She actually volunteered the information and told me that she had gone to the hospital. They rushed her to the hospital; they don't even know if she's going to survive. So I told her at that moment, "Hey, there's Jesus. There's hope in Jesus. Could I pray for you, and could I pray for Miss Ethel?" And it was a beautiful moment where I was able to minister to somebody because of me caring for her mom for a little bit.

You never know what will happen if you are caring for people in their moment of need. So we care for people when they are sick, when they are elderly, when they are weak. And then it ends, "When I was in prison, you came to visit me." We need to show compassion to the broken. We need to be there when people are having the worst day of their lives. We need to show them love; we need to show them grace; we need to show them Jesus. We need to show them that there is hope, that something better is coming.

Do people feel like they can lean on you? That they can go to you if they are in trouble? If they were to tell you the darkest moments and the most painful things, will they know that you're not going to change the way that you see them or that you will start judging them? Can they even tell you, "All of this is my fault, and I've done it many, many times," and you will still walk the journey with them to be able to be reconciled with Jesus?

We are called to be there for people when nobody else wants to be there. We are there to show love and to show mercy and to show grace and to show Jesus to people so that is what we can do. And I'm sure that you can think of many other things on your own that you can personally do. But the thing here is we cannot just be sitting down. We cannot just be saying, "Yeah, like all of this serving thing sounds very nice, but it is a lot of work." Because yes, it is! But we are supposed to do it. That is a command that Jesus gave us.

So if you want to serve like Jesus, we also need to know who we are supposed to be serving, right? Because if we're going to be doing this list of things, I'm going to have to figure out who is going to be on the receiving end of all of those things, right? Well, we are supposed to serve everyone.

So look at the person behind you. You are supposed to serve them. Look at the person next to you. You are supposed to serve them. Look at the person in front of you. You are supposed to serve them. So you can exchange information in ways of being served after service, but we are supposed to serve everyone.

And I know that some people are going to be saying, "You don't really mean everyone, right? Like, everyone, everyone?" Because I can serve 99.9% of the population of the world, but there is this one person I could never serve—that person. You have no idea what they've done. You have no idea how they treated me. You have no idea how rude they are every time that I'm around or how much pain they have caused me. "Me? Not that person!" Right? Like, somebody else can go and serve them.

Well, let's see. As an example, Jesus went and He wrapped the towel around His waist, and He grabbed a bucket with water, and He washed twelve sets of feet—not eleven, twelve. He knew fully well that Judas had already decided in his heart that thirty pieces of silver were better than Jesus's life. So he said, "I'm going to get the money. I'm going to give Jesus to the soldiers. They're going to arrest Him and then later on kill Him." Well, I'm okay with that, right? Like, no more explanation than that. Yet He did. He washed his feet. He served him.

So if Jesus can serve Judas, you can serve whoever has wronged you as well. Because it is not about our feelings; it is not about our preferences; it is not about who we like or who we don't like. We serve everybody because that is what being a disciple looks like.

So we serve everyone we meet. We serve the people we like, the people we don't like, the people that are close to us, the people that are far away from us, the people that we know, the people that we don't know. We serve everyone.

But I'm going to give you a list just really quick as we close today of different groups of people that I want you to look for a way to serve this week. And the first group is your family. You need to serve your family. I think that sometimes it's really easy to serve outside of your four walls, you know? And you go to work, or you go to church, or you go to other places, or you volunteer, and that is easy, right? And that has happened to myself too—that I am all day at church, and I am talking to people, and I am serving people, and I'm coming home, and I am tired. And I sit down, and somebody's like, "Can I have some water?" Like, "You get your own water!" Right? Like, I just sat down; I had a heavy day. You know how to get water!

That is not serving my family the way I should. If I am okay serving other people, I should much more serve my family. Because if I am not putting the same effort and the same passion into serving the people in my household, my priorities are wrong. They are the people that God gave me to love and to care for. So I should serve my family with joy, giving the same amount of excellence that I would put into anybody else.

So we serve our family. We serve at school, and we serve at work because that is where we spend most of our day, right? So how can you serve your boss? How can you serve your coworkers? Maybe by being a good employee. Maybe by doing the things that you were supposed to do and doing them well. How can you serve your teachers or your fellow students? Maybe by being a good student—actually bringing your work on time and doing it completely and being kind to the other students that are next to you—not bullying anybody—being just a respectful person.

We need to be able to serve the people at work and at school. We need to serve in our neighborhood. Maybe as you go down for a walk with the dog or maybe for a jog or something, if you see trash on the ground, can you pick it up? If there's any need in your neighborhood, what can you do about it? Can one of your neighbors lean on you if they need anything for any reason? Do your neighbors even know that you live in that house? Have they ever seen your face?

We need to be able to be servants in our neighborhoods, in our local grocery stores, in the gas stations, in all of the places that are close to home. We need to serve at our church. See, this church is beautiful because we have so many different dream teams that you can be a part of. And our desire is for you to feel equipped. We want you to be able to use the gifts and the talents that God has given you and know how to use them so that this can be your training ground. And when you go out, you know what to do because you have been training how to do it.

We can serve God by serving His people. And lastly, we serve the world. You can go on a mission trip, or you can partner with us in the different things that we do to be an impact globally. We need to serve like Jesus.

So if you were to look at the mirror today, do you see Jesus in the way that you serve others? Do you see humility? Do you see love? Do you see compassion? Do you see Jesus in the way that you serve? Have you been serving not just as an event but as a lifestyle?

So I want you to just close your eyes and think about it for a second and ask the Holy Spirit, "Holy Spirit, do I look like Jesus in the way that I serve?"

Let's pray.

Jesus, we thank You for being the best example of a willing and humble servant. Thank You for showing us and giving us the blueprint and what we can do to serve the people around us. And thank You because as we serve others, we are serving You.

So give us, Lord, a heart—the desire to be a willing and humble servant. Lord, we don't want to do things for ourselves; we don't want to do things just to be noticed; we don't want to do things to advance in life. We want to do things to bring You glory in everything.

Lord, I ask that You today will give us a desire to serve—the way that You served, Lord—that we will just put our preferences and our desires to the side—that all of the things that we were envisioning and wanting—all of that stuff will be put to the side, and that we will be able to say, "God, what do You want me to do? How can I serve the people around me?"

Lord, give us a heart for others, Lord, that we will be able to serve them with everything that we have. In Your name, we pray.

And as we wrap up today, I don't want to leave the stage without talking about the ultimate thing that Jesus did to serve—the ultimate act of service that He had for us. We read about it a while back, and it said that He didn't come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. He laid down His life for you and for me because the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, and none of us could have ever paid for our own freedom, for our own salvation.

So Jesus left everything, and He came, and He humbled Himself, and He served so that you and I could have eternal life, so that we could have a reconciliation with the Father. So maybe you are here today, and you heard about this Jesus who was so loving and so kind, and He did so many great things, but you don't know Him personally.

I want to give you this invitation to ask Him into your heart. In just a moment, Pastor Carlton is going to come, and he's going to tell you what you can do so that we can be on this journey with you. But the starting point is to ask Him to come into your heart.

So if that is you, and if you want that relationship with Jesus, I would like for you to repeat after me. And actually, I'm going to ask everybody to repeat with me:

"Jesus, thank You for coming into this Earth. Thank You for loving us. Thank You for serving us even though we didn't deserve it and we didn't earn it. You did it out of love.

Today, I recognize that I have fallen short, that I have done things that You don't approve of, and I ask that You will come into my heart and make me new. From this day forward, I want to walk with You, and I want to learn how to be like You every day of my life.

In Jesus' name, Amen."

In just a moment, Pastor Carlton is going to come, but first, we're going to just seal all of this with a song of worship. Let's stand together.

1) "We are supposed to be more and more like Jesus... but that is not what the Bible tells us to do. We are supposed to be more and more like Jesus if you go into the internet right now and you will type something like uh how to advance in Life or how to make it to the top you will find an infinite amount of content... because we have an ego problem because we have a me first problem because in everything that we do we want to be the ones that are recognized." [53:33 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Download clip | Download cropped clip | Captioning clip)



2) "Jesus says to them... 'the one with the most Authority among you should act as if he is the least important the one who leads should be like one who serves... but I have been with you as the one who serves.' He is telling us just stop that what people value and what people see as the most important thing it is not what is the most important thing." [56:01 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Download clip | Download cropped clip | Captioning clip)



3) "We need to be able to put our ego aside our desire to be noticed aside and serve with humility... we have to go to the Holy Spirit and say holy spirit show me the areas in my life where there's Pride so that I can lay it down and give me the willingness and the desire to actually change." [01:11:30 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Download clip | Download cropped clip | Download captioned clip)



4) "We serve like Jesus when we serve with love with humility and with open eyes... Are you the one that can see the need but doesn't do anything about it? It's time to go back to the mirror and say am I serving with open eyes can I see the need and when I see the need do I do something about it." [01:15:18 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



5) "We need to serve Jesus showed us with his own life the servant is very very important so if we're going to become more like Jesus we need to serve like he did we need to become servants... Jesus did that for all 12 of them and then in verse 12 of John 13 it says when Jesus finished washing their feet he put on his clothes and went back to the table he asked do you understand what I did for you." [01:00:18 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



6) "Jesus was giving him a command and he was not a commend to every once in a while have a was a a feet um Washing Service... he's telling them you saw what I did I did what nobody wants to do I took the lowest position of everybody in here to serve you do that for one another do for each other what nobody else wants to do serve one another in the same way that I have served you it was a command to serve." [01:05:20 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



7) "Jesus had always loved the people in the world who were his now was the time that he showed them his love the most... do you love the people that are around you do you love them well so that you can serve them and that love really begins with us loving God and receiving his love because we cannot go out and try to love people and a love a tank that is empty." [01:06:00 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



8) "Jesus was not looking for recognition he was not looking to be exalted because he was washing feet he did it out of humility... we need to be able to put our ego aside our desire to be noticed aside and serve with humility so we go back to the mirror and say am I serving with humility will I serve even if nobody ever noticed would I will still serve if nobody ever said thank you." [01:09:48 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



9) "If Jesus can serve Judas you can serve wh Whoever has wrong you as well because it is not about our feelings it is not about our preferences it is not about who we like or who we don't like we serve everybody because that is what being a disciple looks like." [01:29:17 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



10) "We have adopted the Olive Garden uh slogan you know like if you're here your family so if you come to our home you you can go to the fridge and grab something to drink if you're cold you can just grab a blanket if you want to put your feet up go for it because we are to show Hospitality to other people can you show Hospitality to other people." [01:21:20 <-dO1QwYPeQ0>] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)