Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction

Mother Theresa was born in Serbia, but is known world wide for her charitable work.

In 1952 the first Home for the Dying was opened in space made available by the City of Calcutta.

For more than 45 years, Mother Teresa comforted the poor, the dying, and the unwanted around the world.

In 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.

In receiving this award, Mother Teresa revolutionized the award ceremony.

She insisted on a departure from the ceremonial banquet and asked that the funds, $6,000, be donated to the poor in Calcutta.

This money would permit her to feed hundreds for a year.

Henri Nouwen was a priest and academic.

He taught at several prestigious universities and spoke at places all over the world.

I remember reading about what he did in 1986.

He moved to the L'Arche Daybreak community in Toronto.

L'Arche is an international network of communities founded by Jean Vanier, where people with developmental disabilities and their friends live together.

For a while, he focused his ministry on one man, Adam Arnett (1961-1996).

Adam never spoke a word, and needed a lot of help and Henri, world renowned author and speaker, spent his time serving this man.

My brother and sister-in-law attend Calvary Temple.

I met them there once and discovered pastor Barber, who could perhaps be called Manitoba’s pastor, folding bulletins in preparation for the next morning’s service.

Are these people exceptional?

Rick Warren, in “The Purpose Driven Life” points out to us that a life of service is not an exception, but is exactly what we have been created for.

We were shaped for serving God.

!

I. Called To Be Servants

!! A. Created To Be Servants

            There are many things on earth which consume resources, but as they consume resources, they also contribute something.

For example, an engine consumes gas, but contributes power.

Or we could think of a cow, which eats grass, but contributes milk, meat and fertilizer.

Because of the Manitoba Hydro policy of charging commercial outfits the cost of electricity at peak usage, I have heard of a ski hill that keeps the lights on the ski slope on all summer.

They are charged all year for the cost of power used during the winter months and since they are charged anyway, they keep the lights on, for no purpose.

It seems silly to consume resources and contribute nothing, but before we become too critical, we should probably look at ourselves.

Many times, we are the worst offenders.

We burn gas for no purpose, we eat more than we need to and don’t work according to what we have eaten.

We come to church to hear good singing and are well fed with messages, but hardly become involved in service.

We were not created to consume and not contribute.

The Bible says that we have been created to contribute something.

We were shaped to serve.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

!! B. Following Christ’s Example

Jesus has given us a great example of service and has called us to serve as He did.

Jesus provided a moving example of servanthood which is recorded in John 13:1-17.

Jesus sat down to an evening meal with his disciples.

They ate the meal together and in the middle of the meal, Jesus got up from eating and began to wash the disciples feet.

Coming as it did in the middle of the meal, His action was deliberate and intended to be an acted parable.

When he had finished washing their feet, he said to them, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.

14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

Although a footwashing service is a great symbol, like all symbols, we need to be careful that the symbol does not overtake the meaning.

The point of this acted parable is to challenge us, His disciples, to a life of servanthood.

In the Luke 22 account of this supper, there is a record of a dispute between the disciples about who was greatest among them.

Is it possible that Jesus was responding to these attitudes and demonstrating what true greatness was?

We continue the little games of competition and one-upmanship today and once again we need to learn from Jesus that in God’s world, as William Barclay said, “There is only one kind of greatness, and that is the greatness of service.”

!! C. Offer Yourselves

Deborah Douglas writes, “For many years, I have attended midweek communion at St. Bede's Episcopal Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

One thing I love is the hand-lettered sign that hangs over the only door into the sanctuary: SERVANT'S ENTRANCE.

There isn't any way in or out of that church except through the service door.

Following the call of God and the example of Jesus, we are invited to be servants.

Romans 12:1 makes that invitation when it says, “So then, my brothers and sisters, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him.

This is the true worship that you should offer.”

!

II.

Spirit Empowered Service

            Today is Pentecost, the day we remember that God’s Spirit has come to indwell every believer and to empower each believer to do God’s work on earth until Christ returns.

This gives us a great opportunity to think about how we can serve with Spirit empowered service.

Throughout the Bible, we read about service done in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Isaiah 61:1,2, there is a prophecy of the coming servant of the Lord, who would work in the power of the Spirit.

Jesus claimed that verse for himself when he quoted it in

Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”

In Joel 2:29, there is a prophecy about the coming of the Spirit on all men and women.

Peter quoted this verse on the day of Pentecost to indicate that the promised Spirit had now come to empower God’s people for works of service.

Apart from the Spirit, we will not be able to effectively do God’s work.

There are two ways in which the Spirit empowers our service.

!! A. Serving With The Gifts Of The Spirit

            Every person who is a follower of Christ has some gift from the Spirit which they are to use in service.

I Corinthians 12:7 says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

Recently someone left me a note asking “How do we find God’s call on our life?”

The answer to this question is to discover how God has uniquely made us.

Warren uses the acronym SHAPE to help us discover how God has created us for the service that will be particular to us.

SHAPE stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences.

It is in these different things that we find how God has made us uniquely to offer what we have to serve Him.

The Spirit has given each believer gifts which are those things we are able to do effectively.

But our shape is more than spiritual gifts.

God has also given us a heart.

Warren defines heart as “desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams and affections.”

Each of us has unique things about which we become passionate.

These passions for good have been put in us by God and they will help us know where we should serve.

Every person on earth has also been given certain abilities and aptitudes.

It is interesting how one person can take up a musical instrument and be able to play with hardly a lesson and another takes lessons for years and still struggles.

These are the different abilities we have been given and we should not ignore them as we try to discern our Spirit given shape for ministry.

Our personality is also unique and given to us by God.

One person is outgoing and another a good listener.

We should be involved in ministry in a way that fits our personality.

Furthermore, we all have different experiences - family, educational, vocational, spiritual, ministry and painful experiences.

All of these represent the way God has shaped us and as we discover who we are and realize that we are uniquely made, we will find how we can serve with the strengths God has given us.

However, the gifts of the Spirit are gifts, never possessions.

They were given to us to give away.

Therefore it is our responsibility to discover our gift and serve God with it.

The way to discover our shape is to become involved.

As we start serving in different ministries, we will find some things that we are able to do well and other things that are best left for others.

When we offer God what is natural to us and learn to serve in our strengths, we will find that we will discover how to serve in the power of the Spirit in the areas matching our shape.

Warren suggests, “You are the only person on earth who can use your abilities.”

!! B. Serving In Our Weakness

But the temptation we often face is to offer ourselves only in the area of our strength or our giftedness.

If we do this, we miss half of what it means to be a servant.