SERMON SUMMARY

The Bible sometimes uses sports analogies to describe the Christian life (Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:24- 27). The Christian life is compared to a race—not a sprint, but a marathon where great endurance is required. God wants us Christians to get off the sidelines and into the game (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 4:10).

Too often, however, we are not interested in serving others—serving can get messy, it can get complicated. But any time you use your talents, your abilities, your experiences to help someone else, you’re ministering—and that makes you a minister. At TCC, we believe every member is a minister. You were created for that purpose.

God has given us the perfect model of a servant in the person of his Son Jesus Christ (Matthew 20:26- 28). Today we’re going to learn how to serve like Jesus. And to serve like Jesus, we must share Jesus’ attitude toward service. What does it require to serve like Jesus? We need to be available. Most of Jesus’ ministry and most of the miracles were performed occurred as a result of interruptions (Matthew 20:30-32). The same is true for us (Proverbs 3:28). John Wesley said: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, by all the ways you can, in all the places you can, and at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can.” That is a recipe for greatness! But to do that, you must be available.

But self-centeredness keeps us from being available (Philippians 2:4). Perfectionism keeps others from ministering (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Finally, materialism keeps many from ministry (Luke 16:13). Jesus didn’t say, “You should not serve both God and money.” He said, “You cannot serve both God and money.” You’ve got to decide whether you want to be rich, or used and blessed of God. Are you going to be a kingdom-builder, or a wealth-builder?

If you are going to serve like Jesus, you’ve got to be available, but you also must be grateful (Psalm 100:2) and faithful (John 17:4; 1 Corinthians 4:2). We should be grateful for all that God has done for us as well as for the rewards he promises for the future. What we do here on earth really matters (1 Corinthians 15:58; Mark 9:41). In God’s eyes, no service is insignificant.

And there are always more needs to be met than there are people who are willing to come down out of the stands and get into the game. God didn’t bring you here just to sit in the stands and cheer. He brought you here to serve (Hebrews 6:10). If everyone who calls Triangle Community Church their home began to serve here, if we would all get in the game, what kind of enormous, spiritual, nuclear reaction would we see in the Triangle and beyond? I think it would be phenomenal!

APPLICATION / CHALLENGE

Here’s how you can get in the game by serving here at TCC.

Go to connect.tcc.org.

Fill in your name and email address.

Check one or both of the boxes:

• Serving (Serving here at TCC)
• Outreach/Missions (Serving in the community and world)

By filling out this form you are not committing yourself to serve. In a couple of days, you’ll get an email with the link to a form which will inform you about the many service opportunities available. Once you complete this form, your ministry team leader will be in touch with you to get you started.