Living the Christian Life

Lesson 7 w/AnswersThe Discipline of Service

Prayer

We continue our Christian Living study of the twelve Spiritual Disciplines by looking at the "outward" Discipline of Service. What does "service" look like, what motivates us to service, and what does God expect in our service? These are all areas that will examine in this lesson.

Serving Christ and working to meet the needs of others is something that many followers of Christ willingly accomplish. What does God’s word say about serving Him, and how can we use this to better our own service? Let’s find out.

Read the referenced verses below and respond to the corresponding questions regarding service.

  1. What does service start with?
    1. 1 John 4:7-21 and Romans 12:9-13
      1. ANSWER: It starts with love. Serving others in the name of Christ comes from a heart of love toward one another.
    2. Psalm 127:1-2
      1. ANSWER: Serving starts with God. If we are serving to satisfy our own motives, it isn’t service. It is only service when we are serving to honor God. If we allow God to lead us into the areas of service that He intends for us, we will be successful in our service to Him.
    3. 1 Corinthians 10:31
      1. ANSWER: It starts with honoring God. Everything that we do should be to honor and glorify God, and not ourselves.
  2. In addition to love, what other commandment does Jesus give us regarding living and serving as Christ would have us do? See Matthew 6:33.
    1. ANSWER: We are to first, above all else, seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness—then all that we need will be provided. Through seeking His Kingdom first, we will be assured of knowing His will, and having all that we need in order to carry out the service that He has called us to accomplish.
  3. What can we learn about service from the verses in James 2:14-26?
    1. ANSWER 1: True faith results in service.
    2. ANSWER 2: We are expected to take real action to help meet others’ needs, and not just give them lip service using comforting words.
    3. ANSWER 3: Our services is a witness to others; it testifies to our faith in Christ.
    4. ANSWER 4: We demonstrate to God our faith in Him when we serve others in His name.
  4. In addition to providing for physical needs through our service, there are times when we need to address the emotional and spiritual needs of others. How does Romans 12:15 tell us to accomplish this?
    1. ANSWER: There are times when simply being there for someone ministers in ways that we may not realize. Mourning with those who have lost a loved one, or celebrating with someone who is experiencing a real blessing in their lives, simply requires us to be there for them and to be genuine in sharing our love for them.
  5. In our service to God, Paul instructs us regarding our role on this earth as his servants. What do the following verses tell us concerning this matter?
    1. 2 Corinthians 5:20
      1. ANSWER: We are "ambassadors", i.e., Christ’s representatives, in all that we do. We are not just representing ourselves when we serve others, but we are also acting as an emissary for Christ.
    2. Luke 9:23
      1. ANSWER: We are to deny ourselves and follow Christ daily. We do this through serving others.
  6. Often we can confuse being busy with serving. Examine Luke 10:38-42. What can we learn from this passage regarding service vs. "busyness"?
    1. ANSWER 1: There are priorities for everything that we do. Keeping the important things first can be challenging if we get caught up in a lot of activities that are not focused on things that really matter.
    2. ANSWER 2: Consider that because Martha took care of all the other things involving the production of the meal, it freed Mary to focus on the more important relationship aspects of Christ’s visit with them. This also speaks to the need to have people who will focus on the smaller (logistical) things so that others can focus on the more important. This doesn’t discount the work that others are doing, as it is also helpful and, moreover, essential.
  7. What are some specific examples of serving Christ mentioned in Matthew 25:31-46?
    1. ANSWER 1: Feeding the hungry.
    2. ANSWER 2: Caring for strangers, i.e., meeting the needs of people that we do not personally know.
    3. ANSWER 3: Providing clothing to the poor.
    4. ANSWER 4: Caring for the sick.
    5. ANSWER 5: Visiting those in prison.

Let’s take some time to examine our hearts this week and determine if there are ways that we can improve our service for Christ. If you are not currently actively serving and meeting the needs of someone or addressing a particular ministry need, this is an opportunity to pray that God will open your heart and your eyes to the many avenues for service that are all around us.

What a blessing to have the opportunity to serve others in the name of Christ!

Thanks for studying with us.

In Christ,

Wes

[2012]

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