BETTER TOGETHER is a journey our church is on to create more connection points, provide outlets and opportunities for people to connect. LIFE IS BETTER TOGETHER
SERIES: BETTER TOGETHER
PART 2: BETTER IS SERVING
Text: Various
Pastor Tom Cogle
Sunday, November 3, 2024
WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 THINGS YOU LOOK FOR IN A CHURCH?
1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________
• When it comes to church, we look for WHAT WE RECEIVE before we look for WHAT WE CAN GIVE.
• Better together is SERVING together.
REASONS WE DON’T SERVE
· I don’t knowHOW
· I don’t knowANYONE
· I don’tLIKEthe wayTHINGS ARE DONE
· I don’t want to beHURT AGAIN
· I don’tHAVE TIME
2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”
Romans 12:4-5 “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Ephesians 4:2-3 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Ephesians 5:15-16 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.”
WHY DOES IT MATTER IF I SERVE?
1. If JESUS served, then so should we.
Matthew 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
1 Corinthians 11:1 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Philippians 2:5-8 “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
2. Serving is not about YOU.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
3. Serving puts FAITH into ACTION.
James 2:17 “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
4. It is more blessed to GIVE than to RECEIVE.
Acts 20:35 “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE SERVE TOGETHER?
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
1. Expresses the LOVE OF GOD exponentially.
2. It builds COMMUNITY
3. We UPLIFT one another.
QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON
1. What’s your biggest hold-up in finding a place to serve?
2. What do you need to change in your life (whether a mental block or personal scheduling) to allow more room for you to serve?
3. How can you encourage those around you to start serving others in practical ways? Give an example.
4. Consider what you wrote for “top 3 things you look for in a church”. Why did you choose those things?
*All scriptures are NIV (New International Version) unless otherwise noted