>>So two weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to use two weeks ago today and two weeks from now to talk about evangelization. And what we talk about in terms of evangelization is really our journey with Jesus. How Jesus has touched our hearts and lives and how we share that with others and to be a person of evangelization, first means that you’re a disciple, in fact, a missionary disciple. What it means to be a disciple is that you’re a person of prayer, of service, and of sharing your faith with others.  

Two weeks ago, we talked about prayer, pray well with others. Today, we’ll talk about serving. What does it mean to serve? So the first thing I want to talk about in terms of serving is that we always serve in Jesus’ name.  

You know, among our culture, the word volunteer has sprung up. And my goal is to get volunteer out of our vocabulary, because what Jesus asked us to do was not volunteer. He asked us to serve. So first of all, service always has as its center Jesus himself. We have to hold on to that. And as we serve, we work on that journey to become a missionary disciple. Secondly, what it means to serve is to be a person of service, both when it’s comfortable and uncomfortable. Both. We serve in Jesus’ name when we’re comfortable and uncomfortable.  

An example: I don’t mind doing dishes at my mom’s house. I’m very comfortable doing that. I can talk to everybody in the dining room and kitchen that’s very comfortable to me to serve there. But there’s times it’s very uncomfortable. Please don’t ask me to blow up 25 balloons for the birthday party that is uncomfortable.  

Or, you know, you know what it’s like. Sometimes we’re called to serve at a food pantry. We walk in at a food place of dinners, for the meals for those who are in need or homeless. We walk in and there’s the smell of homelessness in that room. And you know what that is – and it’s uncomfortable. Or we’re called to engage or talk to somebody who’s on the street looking for a handout. Maybe we give them a handout, but we also engage them and we serve them just through our conversation.  

We’re called to be people of service when it’s comfortable and uncomfortable. We do it in Jesus’ name. And sometimes it’s comfortable, but usually it’s not. And then thirdly, we serve not to feel good. I know a lot of times we serve, we come home, we’re like, “Oh, well, it felt good to serve, give of ourselves.” Yes, that’s true. We’re also called to grow in humility. And missionary disciples serve and understand that our service is a growth in humility as we connect ourselves with Jesus over and over and over again.  

Friends were called to be disciples of Christ Jesus. That means we pray, we serve and we share. And we’ll talk about sharing in two weeks. But what does our service look like? Always in Jesus name, comfortable and uncomfortable, leading us to a deep sense of humility with Christ Jesus.