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The Messenger
hat’s the big deal with ge�ng everyone to serve others? Why not just have everyone serve themselves? A�er all, that would cut out the trouble of figuring out what other people want.
Magnolia Baptist Church
"Every person a place to serve and a place to belong." June 2012
The fact of the ma�er is this: God works this way (Jesus declared, “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), and wants us to do the same. God set it up so that serving others accomplishes almost everything He desires of us. We find purpose in service. We step into our Kingdom ci�zenship when we serve. Faith in Jesus places us in the Kingdom. Our service is ac�ve ci�zenship. Service for the Chris�an is a privilege, a God ordained right. We get to serve! So what does it take to serve others? Check out this from the Rev. Dr. Mar�n Luther King Jr. “Everybody can be great. . . because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” We serve because of what God has done for us already. The more we serve others, the more we engage the way of God. The more we engage the way of God the more we see God in our lives and others see God in us. We become more like Jesus when we live out the way of Jesus. As we think about serving others, here are a few encouragements (mo�va�ons) to serve: 1. We Pass God’s Blessings on to Others It’s a good thing that God blesses us, but that’s not the end of it. Like a cup that is filled up to provide drinks for others, God’s work in our lives is not intended to stay “ours.” 2 Corinthians 9:8-12 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all �mes, you may abound in every good work. As it is wri�en, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and mul�ply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.” Our blessings are to be shared with others. Pass it on. Pay it forward. Bless others with your service just as God has blessed you by His. 2. We Lose Focus on Ourselves Admit it, when everything is about ME, I become MEserable. Every slight and every setback becomes magnified into a full scale tragedy. “How could this happen to ME?” “Why doesn’t God love ME?” “Listen to ME?” “Care about ME?” ME…ME…ME…but it’s not about ME! Really, it’s note even about them either. It is all about HIM! Serving others puts my heart, mind, soul and strength in a posi�on to engage the ways of God. Jesus affirms this. Read Mark 12:28-34 and then pick the newsle�er back up for more.
720 S. Magnolia Anaheim, CA 92804
3. We Fulfill the Reason Why We are Here God could have called you to heaven the moment you chose to follow Jesus if life was all about finding the right answers and filling in the blanks. However, God has le� us here to complete the work that Jesus started. That includes serving others. Read Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gi� of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus