Tag: Christian service

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To serve, or be served

Stan Mitchell

Follow me in this scenario: A church member attends church for years. Though he or she attends fairly regularly, he adds nothing consistently to the efforts of the church. He does not teach a Bible class, does not repair widow’s storm doors, does not look up visitors to church.

How long does it take to develop a habit? Thirty days?

This church member now has a well-established habit of not adding to the church’s success in any way.

So let’s begin with one central question: Is it the church’s function to serve us, or is it a vehicle by which we can serve? Continue reading “To serve, or be served”

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Love through humble service

John Henson

Mark’s gospel shows Jesus as God’s suffering servant on a mission. Eleven times in chapter one alone, Mark uses the word “immediately” to describe the action surrounding the son of God. Everything Jesus did seemed to happen quickly. He is shown as God’s inexhaustible servant.

In Mark chapter nine, the Master showed how our thinking sometimes gets in the way of being the kind of servant God wants. While on the way to Capernaum, Jesus’ disciples had been arguing. When they arrived, the Lord asked them what they had been arguing about. They had been fighting for prominence in the coming kingdom. Continue reading “Love through humble service”

Articles, Journeys with Jesus1 Comment

A miracle for mother

John Henson

After leaving church services, many people only desire to go home and rest or take a nap.

After leaving the synagogue, surely Jesus could have used some rest (Luke 4:38-41). Instead, when he arrived at Peter’s house, he found one crying out for help just as he had in the synagogue.

Peter’s mother-in-law, Dr. Luke tells us, was “afflicted,” which is a medical term Greek doctors used in those days to describe one’s condition. He also wrote that Peter’s mother-in-law was “suffering from a high fever” (Luke 4:38 NASB). Physicians, as Luke, classified fevers as either major or minor. Major fevers were life-threatening, and Luke described this as a major fever. Continue reading “A miracle for mother”