Living on Purpose [Ministry] ;; Cascade Hills. "Are you serving God?"

The question asks, [What is Ministry?]
Why do we minister? Why serve?

The scriptures listed are:

• Mark 10:43-45
• Ephesians 2:10
• Romans 12:3-8
• Psalms 139: 13-16 

Mark 10:43-45 says:

^"43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

          - This scripture is basically saying that to be great you need to be a servant to others. If you remember the story, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Now when we think of [servants] we think about butlers and maids but to God serving is meeting needs with love. Try and help people as much as you can. We have all recently seen the quote ["Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle"] Well, when have we seen someone being bullied or picked on and all we do is laugh? How many times do we just sit back and do nothing to help others because its "uncool?" 

Ephesians 2: 10 says:

^"10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

          -We are Gods handy work. I think that pretty much speaks for itself. GIRLS! This is to you! Don't deny it we have all looked at another girl and said "i wish . . . " I admit, I have looked at other girls and said I wish I had her legs or I wish I was like her. Boys you are just as guilty. You see all these girls in society now wanting muscles and you try and try to get it but you just can't. The point of this scripture piece is God made you, YOU for a reason. You are here for a purpose NO ONE else can do. You ARE worthy, you ARE beautiful, you ARE amazing. Don't let society and its version of "beautiful" let you stop from serving God and fulfilling your purpose. 

Romans 12: 3-8 says:

 "³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

           -This scripture piece is on PURPOSE. Tonight, Adam [Adam Churchwell Cascade Hills Youth Pastor] was talking about how to find our "S.H.A.P.E" Shape stands for, S.piritual Gifts, H. eart, A. bilities, P. ersonality, E. xperiences. Finding your shape is trying to find what your purpose is whether it is Evangelism or just talking to others to help them get through a situation. To find your SHAPE you need to find what you are passionate about. Me for example, I am passionate about helping others through my writing [hints the blog :-) ] I write to show people they aren't alone. That they aren't the only people dealing with whatever it is bothering them and that there is a way out. Your passion may be sports or art, or even singing. Use that passion to help you grow spiritually. To make disciples for God. 

Psalms 139: 13-16 says:

^"13 For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be."

            - This brings us back to the YOU were created for a purpose. God made you perfectly to do your purpose then bring you home. Use your SHAPE we talked about, your passions, your strengths to guide you, to help lead us sinners to God. Make disciples, bring them to him, give the wonderful name of Christianity back to normal.YOU are P.E.R.F.E.C.T. Don't want anything else, don't want to be anything else or look like anything else because that person you wish you could be, can NEVER do what you can do. They WON'T make the difference you will. 

Now that I have discussed the scriptures and what they mean, I want to share some notes I took tonight during sermon.

"Us as "Christians" show the love of God. If you aren't being kind and serving, how can you be a servant of God?" 

"Whenever you are feeling unworthy, remember, you are Gods handy work."

"Saying you are a Christian and acting like a Christian are different. People watch "Christians, are you showing the love God would?"

"Nothing shows Gods love more than serving unexpectedly. [This reminded me of Will today at lunch, he took a girls lunch tray to the trash without being told to. He did it out of the kindness of his heart, he was being an example of serving. He didn't expect a thank you or anything in return. THATS what we should be doing.]"

"The reputation of God has been ruined by us "Christians"

"We tend to show love in the way we receive it."

"Love is a verb, an action. NOT just an emotion."

"Make actions with respect. Just because you don't WANT to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't. REMEMBER, we are serving GOD."

"Some of the greatest rewards are those in which are not tangible."

"When you deal with something it isn't the end of the world, use it to help others. To help them deal with the same situation."

 "When something is expected, the joy of doing a good deed is demolished." 

So, after reading this, answer these.

• If you could turn back time, would you help that person in need? Would you give them that few dollars? Would you stand up for them? 
• If you could do anything for God and are guaranteed success, what would you do? 
• Are you using your spiritual gift for popularity, or to serve God?
• What is your passion? What is your SHAPE?

I wanna hear your answers. Message me on Facebook, Text me, anything. I am interested in your answers. They will be completely private. But send em' my way :-)