The Blueprint Of Service

1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.

13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.

14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

- John 13:1-17

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.

13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.

14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

- John 13:12-15

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done.”

- John 13:15

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

- John 13:17

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror

24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

- James 1:22-25

“The true Christlike leader is known by the ease and spontaneity with which he or she does the little, annoying, messy things - the things in which in the ancient world the slave would do, the things in which in our world we always secretly hope someone else will do so we don’t have to waste our time, to demean ourselves.”

- Theologian N.T. Wright

“Jesus gave us a vivid object lesson His last night with the disciples by washing their feet, like a servant. Parents know this self-giving principle by instinct as they pour their energies into their self-absorbed children. Volunteers in soup kitchens and hospices and mission projects learn this lesson by doing. What seems like sacrifice becomes instead a kind of nourishment because dispensing grace enriches the giver as well as the receiver.”

- Author Philip Yancey

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Mixer

When you were a kid, what did you look forward to the most during school breaks? The least?

Neighborly - Daily Devotional

To get the Daily Devotionals delivered to you every morning, text ‘dailydevotional’ to 97000.

1. In Pastor Pam’s 2/19/22 entry, Do You See Me?, she challenges us to “stop doing” and “just be” to someone in our life. Think about a time when you felt like you weren’t “seen” or mattered to someone? What turns those kind of moments around for you? And what do your past experiences inspire you to do in turn for someone else?
2. In Counseling and Group Life Director, Som’s, 2/16/22 entry, Spring Cleaning, she reminds us of the importance of ‘decluttering’ our spiritual life. What does that look like for you? If God is doing a new thing in you, how can you join Him and make room for Him, tossing out the old?

Sermon Questions

Scriptures: John 13:1-17; James 1:22-25 (see Message Notes on your CRB App for the NT Wright and Phillip Yancey quotes)

1. What impacted or challenged you in today’s message?
2. Why does consistent humility (humbleness) characterize Jesus’ ministry? Why is it important to understand Jesus came as a servant - a different kind of script?
3. What were the disciples not understanding about why Jesus came? (Remember the two Greek words Pastor Ken shared: LOUW - wash entirely; NIPTW - washing a part of the body)
4. What does “repent” mean? Why is it important that we repent daily? Does this understanding make obedience to God’s commands easier for you, or harder?
5. Why did Jesus wash everyone’s feet at the table, knowing what he knew about them? What does this reveal about your own willingness to serve others?
6. Describe a time when you have experienced the truth of this statement: “What seems like sacrifice becomes instead a kind of nourishment because dispensing grace enriches the giver as well as the receiver.” Phillip Yancey, Vanishing Grace - Whatever Happened to the Good News?
7. Discuss the qualities necessary in a servant-leader. (See quote by NT Wright) What changes do you need to make in order to follow a servant-leader, and be a servant-leader?
8. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in servant-leadership?
9. Who can you identify today to figuratively “wash their feet”?

Go Deeper

Jesus Christ is Servant of all. And as followers of Christ, we are to step out of idleness and selfishness, into purpose by following His example of servanthood. Spend some time going through these verses and hear what God is saying to you:

Mark 10:45; Mark 9:35; 1 Peter 4:10; John 15:12-13; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Philippians 2:6-7; Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6; Matthew 20:26-28; Luke 4:8; Matthew 4:23; 1 Corinthians 13;1 John 4:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:12-14; 2 Corinthians 9:12-13; Hebrews 6:10; John 16:13; 1 John 4:8

Serve

Good Neighbor Day is coming up Saturday, Feb 26! Register online or in app.

Pray

Pray this week that each person who calls The Church at RB their church home would grow as Good Neighbors in response to the call to servant leadership. Pray that hesitations, misconceptions, and unwillingness about serving one another would be erased and replaced by the grace of Jesus’ example.

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