Tag: Christian service

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Learning to serve

Jon Galloway

“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favour of him. ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’” (Matthew 20:20-21 NIV)

I think that as parents we can relate to Zebedee’s wife’s request of Jesus. Who wouldn’t want to see their children excel and be given places of importance with those they work with? Many believe, based on a comparison of the lists of the women at the cross when Jesus was crucified, that Zebedee’s wife was Salome, who was also the sister of Mary, Jesus’ mother. If this is the case then we can possibly see why she approached Jesus, especially if he was her sister’s son. Continue reading “Learning to serve”

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Are you worried?

John Henson

According to the Centers for Disease Control, heart disease killed more than 630,000 people in 2016. That is a death from heart disease every 40 seconds. Cancer was the second most prevalent cause of death taking 596,000 people.

USA Today reported the top ten things that worry Americans are: government corruption, terrorist attacks, not enough money for the future, becoming a victim of terror, firearm restrictions, closely related people dying, economic or financial collapse, identity theft, closely related people getting sick, and Obamacare.

Not one of those things (or any other) should worry a faithful child of God. Continue reading “Are you worried?”

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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”

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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”