“Caring for One Another: A Life of Service” (Part 2)
Romans 1:11-15
August 2, 2015
A number of years ago, London resident Simon Thompson was trying to push his stalled BMW off a road in a London suburb when another driver called out, “Do you want a hand?” And then the car’s back doors flew open and out jumped two brothers, William and Harry, to help Simon — that would be Prince William and Prince Harry, heirs to Britain’s throne. The two young men rolled up their sleeves, helped Simon move the car, and then got back in their own vehicle and resumed their journey. Thompson said the princes acted as if it was no big deal: “I could not look them in the face because I did not want them to feel uncomfortable, but it is amazing when there are two princes pushing your car down the road,” he said. [Dallas Morning News, Aug. 5, 1999, 2A.]
Of far greater significance than that, of course, is the account of our Savior, given by Mark — “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The King of the universe is the servant of men.
So it should be natural for followers of the King to also be servants. Yet most of us find that service isn’t easy. Service doesn’t come naturally. We might affirm the words of George Whitfield verbally but find them hard to do: “Let my name be forgotten, let me be trodden under the feet of all men…I care not who is uppermost. I know my place…even to be the servant of all.”
But servanthood is essential as a follower of Christ and as a member of His church. As we have been slowly making our way through the introductory section of the great letter of Romans, we have seen Paul’s model for how a church cares for one another through a life of prayer (1:8-10). Now in verses 11-15, we are discovering how Paul models care for the Body through service. Here is Paul’s point —
Believers who care for one another serve one another.
Now that’s easy to say and just a little harder to do. How can we cultivate the desire to serve and have joy in our service? We begin by having our minds renewed about service and ministry. And in this passage, Paul identifies eight attitudes to cultivate so that we will be more able and joyful servants. Last time we examined the first four of these and this week we will look at the remainder. Here are eight attitudes to cultivate and develop to become God-honoring servants.
- Cultivate a Desire for Service (v. 11)
- Cultivate a “Blessing” Mindset (v. 11)
- Cultivate Humility (v. 12)
- Cultivate Persistence (v. 13)
- Cultivate a Desire for Fruitfulness (v. 13)
- Cultivate a Sense of Duty (v. 14)
- Cultivate an Awareness of Sin and Grace (v. 14)
- Cultivate an Eagerness to Serve (v. 15)
Download the rest of this sermon from Romans 1:11-15.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website later today.
Words of Grace 