This is part of a 12-week series designed around some basic Christian disciplines that will propel you to spiritual growth!<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If the above player does not work for you, simply click this link:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/andyaddis\/beginnings-7-service\" target=\"_blank\">Service<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Here is the podcast above in a nutshell…<\/h3>\n<p>Welcome to week 7 of Beginnings where this week we focus on the strength of the church: service!<\/p>\n<p>Service is considered a step of maturity for those fully committed and zealous believers, but a quick trip through the Bible lets us know that God considers it a fundamental principle of the faith.<\/p>\n<p>Service is counter-cultural in a consumer driven mentality. Think of the language used as people \u201cshop\u201d for churches checking out worship styles they like, seeing if the preacher speaks to them or not, and investigating what each church has for their kiddos.<\/p>\n<p>Hmmm. I wonder what would happen if we “shopped” for churches looking for the biggest needs so that we could serve more?<\/p>\n<p>Mark 10 contains the attitudinal summary of Jesus’ take on Christianity: 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them,\u00a0<em>\u201cYou know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,d 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, that\u2019s pretty clear. Jesus is all about service, and He expects His followers to, well, follow!<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a quick tour of service through the Bible:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>SERVICE IS AN EVIDENCE OF FAITH\u00a0<\/strong>– James 2:18 \u201cBut someone will say, \u201cYou have faith and I have works.\u201d Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>SERVICE IS A WORK ETHIC<\/strong>\u00a0– Ephesians 4:28 \u201cLet the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>SERVICE IS IN ALL THINGS<\/strong>\u00a0– Colossians 3:23-24 \u201cWhatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So here’s the scoop\u2026 there is a verse in the Bible about you: 1 Peter 4:10 which says,<em>\u201cAs each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This means everyone has a gift (including you), other people need your service and when you serve you to become a vehicle of God\u2019s grace!<\/p>\n<p>So, let me suggest you do a few things here:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Find your gifting, either by trial and error, or take the online test we provide at CrossPoint:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/crosspointnow.net\/gifts\">http:\/\/crosspointnow.net\/gifts<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Talk to your pastor and either ask for a suggestion as to where you might serve or just straight up volunteer for something that interests you!<\/li>\n<li>Finally, throw yourself into it!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Make sure to check out the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/u2169698.ct.sendgrid.net\/wf\/click?upn=lr1cWh3LUcnuRE0ezk1k5qewU8j-2BruEdgldUXsuB0-2FSeZG8YNmYAXnmL0bQN70N-2Bkdi-2BzlHsUEu-2BuTlMjIsMng-3D-3D_6BaxkXs1Li8xqczo8NoR-2BLXGFGHcPwXBA-2FOQLitGXFRkw18xcIjzlEVNYU0E2xxH-2FMPJomenBXNKYWmTaRFAjygJNavHcMeF1kOi4V-2BNX4fDBpc6sLiTu4v5RMooSDr6S0H5aYciwT6d-2FSRVlVZWqsVTHCMW-2BH0YRJhW5P0JPJymr-2Fpyq6PgH0dcqencWde41IQhrakuQLvwio-2BqpAAyc3IshmWdIj9jPqpDf7Ru7uc-3D\" target=\"_blank\">podcast<\/a>\u00a0for more on this topic and then get in the game!<br \/>\n<em><strong>Seeking more of Him and less of me,<\/p>\n<p>Andy Addis<br \/>\nPastor, CrossPoint Church<br \/>\nJohn 3:30\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is part of a 12-week series designed around some basic Christian disciplines that will propel you to spiritual growth! If the above player does not work for you, simply click this link:\u00a0Service Here is the podcast above in a nutshell… Welcome to week 7 of Beginnings where this week we focus on the strength … <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/2016\/02\/17\/beginnings-week-7-service\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> “Beginnings Week 7 – Service”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}