Join the Work
Here at Christ Church St Ives, we want you to Finish 2023 Well and Start 2024 Well. We together are God’s temple, the place God dwells and we want to honour him in what we do here and make sure we are loving and encouraging each other. We want you to become more and more the visible picture of the Gospel God desires us to be - we are praying you will be an engaged and committed contributor to all that happens here rather than a casual consumer.
The third thing we want you to ask yourself is, how will I serve the Gospel in 2024?
In Mark 10 Jesus spells out the purpose of his life like this:
The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many!
There is something quite profound about that statement and thus Christianity. In most of the world religions, the message is clear: serve long and hard and you might be accepted. In Christianity God says, Jesus has come to serve you, to show you honour and give you help.
John Hindley, writes: Jesus greatness is not that He can command the service of millions; it is that he serves millions.
And it is Jesus’ loving willing service of us, that motivates our loving willing service of him and his people. We don’t serve Jesus so we can become disciples. We serve Jesus because we are disciples. And it is a great blessing and joy to do so. To see lives changed, the gospel go forward and people served. There are few better ways to use your time. So Colossians 3:17: Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Now I know life is busy and even more than last week, this pep talk has great potential to induce guilt and frustration. Just managing your life, your family, your work, your home and yourself is hard enough before you start hearing do this and do that at church. So hear this: my goal today is not to tell you to do more.
I just want you to think about whether you are doing best?
You need to manage your life, your family, your work, your home and yourself for the glory of God and doing that to the Glory of God to the best of your ability is service of Jesus.
But if you are able to do that, then I have 1001 ways you can join the work, see God’s kingdom grow, change the world and make disciples. And there is nothing better you can do with your time than that. I am so thankful that 100s of you have already joined the work. I am praying 100s more will.
Of course, some of us will need to step back from serving in 2024 because of changes in our lives - please talk to your team leader. Some will be able continue on in the same way - talk to your team leader. For some it is time to step in. If that is you, speak to a staff member or head to the 2024 page on the website and join the work. I guarantee, no matter who you are and no matter how God has made you, there will be opportunities for you to join the work here.
Jesus’ service of us is life-changing. Our service of him can be too! What will you do with your time and energy in 2024?
