One of my favorite sayings is, “We are at our best when we serve.” I truly mean that. Whenever life becomes about “me” then I get distracted by the things of life. The walls quickly come crashing in on me. Now when I serve others and ask the Lord to use me, my perspective stays in a kingdom mode.
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 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. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:” Philippians 2:1-5 Notice the word, “same.” It is used in verses 2 and 5. This word has to do with harmony and unity in the body of Christ. Where there is disunity, the spirit of God backs up. When there is unity then the Spirit of God is at home in our midst. Notice I didn’t use the word, “uniformity.” We are in harmony because we are striving for the same goal, that is to glorify the name of Jesus. We all have different gifts and graces and would approach things a little differently, but we are going in the same direction. We are first servants of God. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I love that title. All that we do is for the Lord. By definition, servants serve others not themselves. In verse 3, the word, “nothing,” doesn’t give room for anything to get in the way of my service for God. It would have been easier if Paul said, “Don’t do most things out of selfish ambition or conceit.” That would allow for an escape clause. Praise the Lord there is no excuse. I humbly serve the Lord with all that I am. We have some opportunities coming up that will help us all get out of our comfort zone and serve others. The Backyard Mission Trip is here locally and will be on Saturday, April 22. If you would like to serve, then stop by the Hands of Hope table in the foyer. We would love to see a group from our church work alongside each other that day. Another opportunity to serve is going to be July 29-August 4. We will be partnering with Appalachian Reach Out in Kentucky and serving a poverty-stricken area. The cost is only $299 for food and lodging. We will have an informational meeting on Sunday, May 7, at 6pm. Plan to come and learn more about what we will be doing. Our goal is to have 15 people on this team. I am still praising the Lord for Sunday’s service. I especially love worshipping with our church family and choir. Our kids in Powerplant and Promise Land also had a great day. We have such willing people to provide life-changing ministry to all ages. What a great day to be together. It matched the sunshine we enjoyed the rest of the day. On Sunday, we will continue our series in Revelation as we take a Fresh Look at the Last Book. Let’s continue to invite our family and friends as we dive into Revelation 5. I am excited to be together again. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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