High Expectations: Service
“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
Serving is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. As followers of Christ and receivers of the gift of forgiveness and salvation through him, we are called to go into the world to share the love of God with all those we meet. It does not matter what age you are, whether young or old, every Christian is compelled to dress themselves with humility and serve those around them without seeking reward or acknowledgement.
This has always been true for those who follow Jesus, but because of the state of our world today, we desperately need Christians who are willing to share God’s love to other people and express his compassion. As Samaritans, one of our primary expectations is that we will serve our neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends through acts of helping, assisting, encouraging, inspiring, and loving. When we do so we express our faith and hope in Jesus Christ.
Jesus did not just talk about faith, he lived it. He put faith into action and encouraged us to do so as well, by showing how our Heavenly Father is loving, compassionate and forgiving of the penitent. Someone once asked me, “what makes our Christian Service any different than Community Service? The difference is in that our acts of service mirror the life of Jesus and the love God. Our acts of service are performed with the goal to bring the spirit, compassion, love, and humility of God to those we serve.
Serving is at the heart of what it means to be a Samaritan. Jesus was asked what a person had to do to get into heaven and he responded that we had to love our neighbor as ourselves. He was then asked, “Who is my neighbor?” His response was to tell the story of the Good Samaritan. It is from that story and that name that we get our church name “Samaritans Hill” and the title for our members of Samaritans.
At their core, Samaritans need to be servants. Our name implies that we are modeling ourselves after the Good Samaritan. Join us this Sunday as we learn what it means to be a servant!
-Pastor Ken