When it comes to serving Jesus, there is no one right way to thank Jesus for his gift of salvation. Yet sometimes we get the idea that our service is not very important. Nothing could be further from the truth! A famous pastor once said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ ”

Read Matthew 25:34-40.

List the opportunities—big or small—you have or could have to serve Jesus in your life.

What are ways that we can encourage others to view their service as important?

Free to serve as citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom

We are citizens of God’s kingdom, the church, while we live here. As such, we have the mission to grow and go with God’s Word. As people who know they are going to heaven, we want to share that with everyone else.

Read 1 Peter 3:15.

We all have a story of how the truth of God’s love impacts our lives. You know the reason for the hope that you have. What is your story?

Read James 2:1 and Philippians 2:3.

As citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom, we are going to serve by treating everyone in our lives differently than others would. We are to love others without showing favoritism. Kindness and gentleness replace malice and insensitivity. Give an example of a person or people we need to treat equally. What will it look like?

Discuss what it means to “value others above yourselves” and what that means for how we treat others.

Free to serve as citizens of God’s earthly kingdom

We are citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom, but we are also citizens of the state, which is God’s representative. This is another opportunity to serve God and others. So often people disrespect their elected officials or police officers who are placed over us to bless us. We may not always agree with God’s representatives, but we owe them our respect.

Read Romans 13:1 and 1 Timothy 2:1,2.

Develop a scenario where you disagree with others or your elected leaders. Write down how you can express your opinions while maintaining respect for God’s representatives and his Word.

Author: David Scharf
Volume 109, Number 12
Issue: December 2022