We Ought to Serve Because Christ Has Served Us

In one paragraph

Pastor Carl walked Philippians 2:1-11 through a single controlling idea: we ought to serve others because Christ has served us. He used a video testimony from a woman named Jennifer, who left a high-paying consulting career to spend her Thursdays in Bible study with homeless women in South Dallas, as a living illustration of the passage before he opened it. The opening questions in verses one and...

Read together

1. 1 Timothy 2:5 introduced before the opening song about Christ as the one mediator between God and mankind
2. Romans 4:25 read before the song Jesus Paid It All, about Christ handed over for our sins and raised to make us right with God
3. Galatians 2:10 Jennifer's story, a verse about remembering the poor that prompted her to ask whether she was doing that
4. Luke 14 Jennifer and Scott's Luke 14 wedding, the passage about inviting those who cannot pay you back
5. Philippians 2:3-4 introduced before Jennifer's video as the heart of the passage, thinking of others as better than yourselves
6. Philippians 2:1-11 the main passage read aloud in full, having the attitude of Christ
7. John 3:16-17 quoted to answer why God would humble himself, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son to save not judge the world
8. John 13 Jesus washing the disciples' feet at Passover, used to illustrate humble service
9. Hebrews 10:24 cited as encouragement to motivate one another to acts of love and good works
10. 1 Corinthians 15:58 closing benediction, nothing you do for the Lord is in vain

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl opened by asking whether there is any encouragement from belonging to Christ. What does that encouragement actually look like in your own life right now, and how has it changed the way you see yourself?
2. Pastor Carl talked about the fellowship we share in the Spirit, and mentioned a phone call with Rick, who was in a wheelchair in Casper and said he longed to be back in that fellowship. When have you felt the absence of that bond most sharply, and what did it tell you about how much you value it?
3. The passage describes Jesus giving up his divine privileges and taking the position of a bond slave, even washing the feet of the men who would betray and deny him. Pastor Carl asked, what is your excuse for not serving? How would you honestly answer that question?
4. Pastor Carl said serving others does not guilt us in, but lovingly draws us in because Christ served us first. Is there a difference in how it feels to serve out of guilt versus out of gratitude, and what has that looked like practically for you?
5. Pastor Carl asked his kids around the table what service looks like in their world, and his daughter Addie said giving up your swing on the playground. What is the equivalent of that in your setting this week, the small, concrete thing you could do?