Ministers Desk 18th September 2011

After a break to talk about stewardship I want to return to talking about our proposed purpose of Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.  Please continue to pray and reflect on this, as we seek God’s plan for our future.

The third aspect of the purpose is that we are led by the Holy Spirit to live out (embody) our faith through service that stretches us and challenges us to use our spiritual gifts.  This aspect of our purpose reminds us that service is a key component of being a disciple.  In John 13 Jesus washes his disciples’ feet on the night before his crucifixion.  There is much more involved in this than a simple one off action.  It points forward to the self giving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  At the end of this time Jesus says to his disciples, “now that I, you Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”  It is an invitation for us to enter into similar sacrificial acts of self giving service to God for others. 

Our proposed purpose envisages us each experiencing growth in our faith by having at least one area of service that stretches us and beyond ourselves and allows us to participate in the saving work of Jesus Christ as we make his kingdom known.

I am aware that many people in this congregation have found for themselves many areas of service in which they embody their faith.  They serve in leadership positions of the church and of groups in the church, in worship, through caring for others, being involved in outreach activities, and meeting the needs of people through Community Helping Hand.  We also embody our faith through serving where God calls away from the church.  Many people find that their service is given through their children’s school, in community groups and in giving themselves in other ways for the sake of others.  The key here is not what we do for the church, but the obedience we show to God’s call to serve.

We grow as disciples of Christ through service as we respond to God’s call to do that which we are incapable of doing on our own.  These can be known as God only experiences, where we only fulfil God’s plans through the power of God’s Spirit within us.  I think that it is a great loss to the church and for ourselves when we only do that which we think we are capable of.  It is a loss because when we only do that which we can do, we miss out on experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us.  On the contrary I have known, and I know others who have grow significantly in faith as they have done what is impossible for them, and seen the Holy Spirit make in possible. 

Embodying our faith in service does not mean that we all give the same time and energy.  I have previously said that we serve where God calls us, no more and no less.  This recognises that differences including age, health, work and family responsibilities will affect what we are able to do.  Jesus calls all of us to service, yet what that looks like is different for each one of us.