Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

1 John 5:3

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

John 13:1-15

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ² And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" ⁷ Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." ⁸ Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." ⁹ Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." ¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "You are not all clean." ¹² When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

Matthew 25:31-40

"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³ and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; <sup>35</sup> for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, <sup>36</sup> I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' <sup>37</sup> Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? ³⁸ And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? ³⁹ And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

Summary and Function

Summary: We love God because God first loved us. God showed His love for us by going to the cross to be tortured and murdered as a sacrifice for our sins. He paid the penalty for our sins. God did this not because we deserve His love but because it is in His nature to love us. In response, we ought to love God.

We show our love for God by obeying God. If we love God, then we obey God. Jesus makes it clear that we are to serve each other within the church and serve whoever is in need. Let’s demonstrate our love for God through service. Let’s meet the needs of the poor and downtrodden. Let’s provide hope and assistance to whoever is hurting. By doing this, we demonstrate our love for God and people will see Jesus in us.

Function: To encourage the congregation to demonstrate their love for God through service

The Sermon

I. Introduction: My 2 year old son, Joshua, is starting to assert his own desires. He’s

becoming more independent.

A. He loves to drink juice from his sippy cup.

· He’ll constantly ask for more juice as soon as he empties his sippy cup. He’s mastered the word ‘please’.

· If we let him, he’ll drink so much juice that he won’t eat regular food for dinner. So, we limit the amount of juice he can have.

· When we do this, he cries and pitches a fit.

· He doesn’t realize that we are establishing juice limits and saying ‘no’ to him for his own good. He doesn’t realize that he needs solid food to stay healthy.

B. He doesn’t always like to hold an adult’s hand while crossing a street or busy parking lot.

· He’ll pull his hand away

· I would then grab his hand and say, ‘If I want to hold your hand, I will hold it’. I then demonstrate that I am much stronger than him by gripping his hand securely. Joshua would then cry until he realizes he’s not getting his way.

· Joshua doesn’t realize that I’m keeping him safe by holding onto his hand and restricting his movement.

C. When it comes to our relationship with God, many people are like Joshua.

· They look at God’s commands as burdensome. They look at Christianity as a restrictive religion that keeps people from enjoying life.

· They don’t realize that God’s commands actually show us how to live a joyful life to the fullest. They don’t realize that God’s commands demonstrate the way things ought to be. Imagine what this world would be like if everyone…

- Loved their neighbors as themselves or…

- Did on to others as they would want done on themselves

· Christians, however, should have a profound appreciation for God’s commands. They should have a sincere and strong desire to obey all of God’s commands

II. A Christian’s profound appreciation for God’s commands

A. A Christian knows that God loves him/her even though none of us deserve it. We’ve all sinned and deserve punishment but God loves us so much that He gave us a way out of our punishment. The way out is Jesus Christ. He went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sin. That paved the way for us to receive God’s forgiveness.

B. Because God loved us, we love God. 1 John 4:19, “We love because he [God] first loved us”

C. To love God is to obey God

· As a result of our love for God, we earnestly desire to obey God. We want to obey God.

· We know that God’s commands are ultimately in our best interest. If God loves us, he has our best interest at heart.

· 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”

· So, how do we love God? We love God by obeying God!!

III. Demonstrating love of God through service

A. God makes it very clear that he wants us to serve

· John 13:1-5: The story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. This was a servants duty. The Lord Jesus gave us this example. We are serve others as he served others.

· Clearly we are to serve each other but we are also called to serve anyone who is in need

- Matthew 25:31-40: The parable of the sheep and goats. The sheep are the saved people. They are identified by their service to those in need. When they served the least in society, they were serving Jesus Christ himself.

- Jesus identifies himself with the weak, poor and oppressed in society. He identifies with the people society looks down upon.

B. We demonstrate our love of God through service

· If we love God, then we obey God.

· God commands us to serve others in his name. So…..

· We demonstrate love for God by serving each other and those in need

C. Service as a means of grace

· Through service, God will change your heart.

· You will become more like Christ. You’ll see people the way Jesus sees people. You will begin to love people the same way God loves us.

IV. Opportunities to demonstrate your love of God through service

A. Church sponsored opportunities to serve those in need

· June 14-20: Family Promise. This is an opportunity to help homeless families get back on their feet. You’ll provide meals, fellowship and encouragement. Along with meals and shelter, these families receive assistance in finding a home and employment

· June 24: Hope and Help service. This is an opportunity to pray for people in economic crisis. You will also be able to obtain information about various charities and agencies that can assist the economically downtrodden. You may decide to become a volunteer at one of the charities.

B. Opportunities to serve those in need outside the church

· Visiting an acquaintance in the hospital

· Sharing a meal with a homeless person

· Various Christian ministries

- KAIROS/Walk to Emmaus

- Arlington Community Service

- Gideons

- City Rescue Mission

D. Opportunities to serve within the congregation

· Visiting the hospitalized and shut-ins

· Nursery/Children ministry/Youth Ministry

· Office volunteer

· Lawn care

· ‘Venture in Discipleship’ week-end

V. Conclusion