A Servant of Christ | Romans 1:1 | Dr. Brian Lee (7/10/26)

Well, I have been asked to have the honor... The undeserved honor to give the word of God tonight, and so it is my joy to do that. And our main passage is in the New Testament. And so if you would turn with me to the book of Romans, we are going to look together at the beginning of the book. Romans one verse one will guide us in our study tonight, And we will also look at the surrounding context of chapter one and also, in some ways, the overall context of the book of Romans to help us understand tonight's theme.

And there is a theme for tonight. But beyond that, we are also gonna highlight the life of the writer of Romans, and that is the apostle Paul. And before we look at the text, allow me to make a brief comment. And the comment is this, it is sad and unfortunate these days that we have some Christians who criticize or even attack the the writings of Paul or twist his words or take them out of context. And these critiques are often directed at passages where Paul writes about God's design for marriage, including the roles of husbands and wives, or it could be about the role of women in the local church, or about sexual immorality or other doctrines of truth.

And I say this in love tonight, I pray, that if anyone has a problem with the words of Paul, they have a problem with Christ himself. Because Paul's words are the words of Christ that he promised in the gospel of John, specifically John 16 verse 13, where Jesus promises that when the spirit of truth comes, that his words, Christ's words, would be revealed and guide us into all truth. And the books in our New Testament that contain Paul's writings are Christ's words through the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, the spirit of Christ. And it's not just the words he wrote, but Paul, on more than one occasion, encourages us today to imitate his life. I wanna take a moment to mention one reference of this before we get into our main text.

It's in Paul's letter to the church in Philippi. He says the following in Philippians four verse nine. He says, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. His life, his example of living, what you have seen in me. And as we look at both the writings of Paul and his life example tonight, especially regarding the theme of tonight's message, I pray that we would be inspired to imitate him because he famously said, imitate me as I imitate Christ.

So may that be true tonight by the grace of God. So let's turn now to our main passage, which gives us three main principles. Romans one one. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. This is very similar to his other epistles.

He introduces himself at the beginning of the letter, not just as the writer, but what his identity is in Christ. And in almost every letter, he identifies himself at the beginning as an apostle like he does here in Romans. But this introduction is unique. For while he does call himself a servant at the beginning of his letter to Titus, and he also identifies himself with Timothy as servants, plural, at the beginning as an introduction to Philippians. Romans is the only letter addressed to a church where Paul introduces himself alone individually as a servant.

And that is our theme tonight. The title of this message is a servant of Christ, what it means to be a true servant of Christ. And so here we have our first principle at the beginning of our text. And the first principle is this, a servant of Christ serves only one master, and that is Christ Jesus. His authority, his supremacy in one's life.

And as obvious as this might seem as we read this at the start of Romans, Paul identifies himself here as a servant of Christ Jesus. There is no one else here identified but Jesus. One master, one lord, one Christ. In fact, we're gonna take just a few moments here. Let's scan the first six verses of chapter one of Romans and see how everything is about Christ here at the beginning.

We just read at verse one that Paul begins a servant of Christ Jesus. But look at verse three. It says, concerning his son. How about verse four, the son of God, and later in that verse, Jesus Christ our Lord. In verse five, for the sake of his name.

Verse six, called to belong to Jesus Christ. Even in verse seven, it says the lord Jesus Christ. And what I love about this is that each time Jesus is mentioned, it's under a different name, but it's one authority, one Christ, one Lord, the name above all names. And there are a lot of play... Places we can go in the writings of Paul to talk about the supremacy of Christ.

And, you know, the beginning of Colossians comes to mind. Colossians one, which speaks about who Christ is. But we see here at the beginning of Romans the supremacy of Christ in who a servant of Christ is, and that is Paul. And that instructs us tonight, brothers and sisters, how we can be servants of Christ as well. We see here a simple but profound reminder that a servant of Christ has one master.

Christ is supreme. He is the single authority over your life and mine. And even later in Romans, Paul outlines that those governing authorities on earth are under the authority of God. Where it says in Romans 13 verse one, For there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. And the Bible is clear.

You cannot serve more than one master. And if that is not nuanced enough for anyone, then they need to take it to Jesus himself because Jesus said himself, no one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. That's from Matthew six verse 24. And I realize in that verse, Jesus is using the example of the love of God versus the love of money here, but the principle remains the same.

Christ tells us that you cannot truly serve two masters, for you can only truly love one and be only truly devoted to one. If we wander away from his authority in our lives, the other authority or master we often serve is ourselves, Self. Our own will, our desires, our preferences, we make ourselves the master of our minds, our bodies, our souls. You've heard phrases like selfish ambition, selfish gain, self reliance, self fill in the blank, and even sometimes in the form of self pity. Being self serving is the opposite of being a servant of Christ, which also means that in humility, we count others more significant than ourselves, not only looking to our own interests, but the interests of others.

And that is what we... That is what can happen. A spirit led, life in that way, looking at others better than ourselves if we make Christ our authority by the Holy Spirit. And this is the only way to live with true joy and contentment, to be satisfied in his authority and not in our own. As one writer put it, it is the refusal to die to self that makes one miserable.

Being a servant of Christ means that we are broken, empty before him, that he may fill us and satisfy us. We die to self, that Christ would rule and reign in us. One master, his authority, his will. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus. And there's more we can say about this, but we need to move on now to our second principle Christ Jesus called to be an apostle.

Our first principle was that a servant of Christ serves one master. The second is this, a servant of Christ knows the voice of the master. And you can say it this way, a servant of Christ recognizes the voice or call of Christ in their life. And this speaks really ultimately to knowing and recognizing his word, his very voice. Allow me to break up this second principle into three sub points or perspectives.

And so the first that we're gonna look at together is to see this through his call for salvation, being saved in Christ. And it's interesting because here calling is mentioned. We just saw it. Paul had a specific calling as an apostle in verse one. But scroll down to verse six.

Calling is mentioned again. This is more in a broad context. It says, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. And even in verse seven, we have calling mentioned to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. And if you know the book of Romans, I find it amazing that a book that famously speaks about the doctrine of election or calling.

We have calling mentioned three times here in the first several verses of the beginning of the book. And without getting into the roots of this doctrine or the discussion or even debate, I wanna make this point regarding calling and salvation based on the text we're in. And that's this. God calls everyone to belong to Christ Jesus. Everyone.

It alludes to that, yes, at the start of Romans one in the verses we saw. But look at verse five. It says, for the sake of his name among all the nations. But even several verses later, look at Romans one verse 16. Look what it says here.

For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone, everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, which Paul so incredibly outlines in subsequent chapters in Romans. The apostle Peter tells us in second Peter chapter three verse nine that the lord is patient, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. Or we can go to first Timothy, first Timothy two verse four, which says that God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. I'm reminded now of the parable in Matthew 20. I had the opportunity to read Matthew 20 together with one of my sons earlier this week.

And this parable speaks of the master of the house inviting laborers into his vineyard, into his kingdom up to the eleventh hour. Remember, there were laborers from the morning at different hours of the day up to the eleventh hour. Salvation. He wants all to be saved. And this is where knowing the voice or call of the master comes in through the word because we are pointed to recognizing the call of Christ through the word of Christ.

This happens later in Romans. So in in Romans chapter 10 in in verse 14, Paul says this, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And go to verse 17, which says, so faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.

And I don't know if you've met Christians like this in different walks of life, but in the past, I've heard some Christians try to diminish the importance and significance of God's word and the role it plays in the salvation of souls. And sometimes, other things are prioritized or emphasized, like programs, strategies, maybe some form of communication or media, even a style of music. And there's nothing inherently wrong with those things. God can use any of those things for his purposes. But let us never be a people who compromise on what it says here and throughout scripture, that faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.

His call for salvation through his word. And that is why that is why the the ministry of the word in any church is so vital. The preaching and teaching of God's word, because it's central to the salvation of souls and the sanctification of his people. Beyond salvation, though, there is an... Also another kind of call, and this this is for believers, a specific call.

So let's go to our second subpoint here. We saw earlier in Romans one one that Paul was called to be an apostle, and this speaks to a specific calling that Paul knew and would later serve in his life. So this is our second perspective now on knowing the voice of the master, is that a servant of Christ knows his or her call of service, call to serve within the body of Christ, the church. And many of you are familiar with these passages. Paul, on several occasions, talks of this.

He talks about how in the body, there are many members, or within that body, there are varieties of gifts, varieties of service and activities. But, again, let's stay in the book we're in tonight in Romans. It's interesting how much of what we see in the first several verses of Romans one are a preview of what is expanded later in Romans. Turn quickly to Romans chapter 12, and we're gonna read just a few verses here to highlight this aspect of God's call to serve. Romans 12 verse four.

For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. And we see here among other passages in the New Testament that there is a specific type of calling that one could receive from the Lord to know what our service is in his house.

Even in the old testament, we see this pictures of different roles and callings from the people of God, especially in the different roles we see in serving in the temple. And, again, this points us to his call through his word, the word of God, seeking and hearing his voice in discerning, not just knowing what our call is, but discerning and confirming what our call is in the local church as servants of Christ. And so I guess the question is, what is your calling? Do you know what your calling is here tonight as you sit here and receive God's word? What is your calling that you know from the Lord?

The gifting that you have. Do you have a confirmation of that calling as Christ and as God has led you? If you are in doubt of how God is calling you, I am reassured by this, that the Lord sees our hearts above all else in wanting to know what our gifting is and surrendering that to him that we might serve him faithfully in whatever calling he has for us in the local church or in any other ministry. And, of course, this speaks to how he has gifted us, finding that out, how he's calling us, how he's leading us. And he will show us to the degree we hear his voice in his word and in prayer to the degree we walk close with him.

And I wanna go back to Romans one one because I think we have a a picture of this in the life of Paul. So in Romans one one, Paul as a servant of Christ heard a specific calling after salvation, actually, to be an apostle. Because if you remember Paul's salvation story, Paul was not told what his specific calling was until after he was initially saved on the road to Damascus. If you go to that passage, we're told that he surrendered to what God told him or actually Jesus told him. Right?

He was struck on that road to Damascus, and Jesus tells him in Acts nine verse six to rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. And he surrendered to this voice. He surrendered to the word of Christ and went. And it was there that a disciple from Damascus named Ananias, who was given that vision from the Lord of what Paul what Paul's calling was. He was to be the messenger to deliver that to Paul.

And Paul was saved by them because... How does Ananias address him? He says, brother Saul. So Paul was saved, but yet he was yet to receive his specific calling. And he received that from Ananias, the words that Jesus gave him, that he would be a chosen instrument called to carry the gospel to the Gentiles and to kings and to the children of Israel.

And, yes, Paul was chosen. He was elected. He was called. That was his destiny in Christ. But Paul also had to walk in that destiny, in that calling by faith.

And we know from the life of Paul and other books that he even went to Arabia. We are told he went to Arabia in Galatians for a period of three years to confirm that calling he received in Damascus. And I like to imagine and believe based on what the word says that Paul during these three years, he was in the word because he was the Hebrew of Hebrews. He knew the scriptures. And so I can imagine Paul rereading the Hebrew scriptures, our old testament, to hear the voice of his new master, Christ, and confirming that calling that he received to be an apostle upon salvation.

And I think that's a beautiful picture for us to continue to stay close to the Lord in his word, and in prayer to, again, that confirmation, that encouragement, and strength that we can only receive from Christ and his word in any calling or service that we are in. And so we're no different than Paul in this regard. We need to go to the word to walk in whatever calling God has given us within the church and to seek confirmation of that, to seek strength in that calling, and to surrender to that calling. Because I venture to say that there are some Christians in the church today that are serving in areas they are not called in. They have not gone to God's word.

They have not walked closely with the Lord to to have a confirmation of that call. Again, selfish ambition perhaps. Or maybe it's a call they're not qualified and based on the authority of God's word. And so we must go to the word to confirm any calling. If we are wanting to serve God, serve the church with his voice and the power of his voice, his strength, we must stay close to his word to continually hear that call and that voice.

I mean, look at the immediate context of Romans one one again because it's right there, actually. We just looked at the life of Paul, but one one in Romans where it says Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. But here it is in verse two, the very next verse. It says, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. There it is.

And so this idea of being set apart and and and being called, it's connected to God's word, the holy scriptures. A servant of Christ knows their calling and the confirmation of that calling through the holy scriptures. And that includes the promises of God. It says, which he promised beforehand, the covenants of God. And I find it amazing that Paul actually mentions David right after this in this in this chapter.

Think of the Davidic covenant, or he mentions Abraham in Romans four. The Abrahamic covenant. They know the covenants, the promises of God. They know the word. And so may we, as servants of Christ, always go to his word to hear that specific calling he has for us and confirm that calling for any season of life.

But we come now to the third perspective of how a servant of Christ knows the voice of the master. So a servant of Christ knows his voice not only for salvation, not only in a specific calling of service, but also in his call for commendation. What do I what do I mean by that? And here's what this means. A servant of Christ only hears the voice of commendation or the praise from his master.

So any praise or voice of approval that comes our way from others matters very little in the grand scheme of things because we desire only his call and his commendation in our lives. And, where do I get that from this text? Well, I'm looking more broad here in the life of Paul and what he wrote in other books. And we have to be a bit careful here because this, of course, doesn't mean that we are not to be a people of good repute, to all, even outsiders, as it says in the word. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't encourage one another with our words and actions.

We should genuinely strive to encourage each other in sincerity and truth. But if any compliments or praise comes our way in being a servant of Christ in our service, those things should be of very little significance to us, let alone having a desire for them. And let me ask us a question at this point. What belongs to us anyways? What belongs to us anyways?

Everything we have as his servants are his. It's from the master, from our master, his resources, his giftings, his blessings, his provision, his protection, his ministry, his church, his house. It's all his. And we are merely merely servants and stewards. And so this desire to only hear his voice and call of commendation is something we need to pursue and be sure our hearts are right in that regard.

Because if we're honest with ourselves, this is much easier said than done, especially as people of the flesh. Because our flesh tells us that we wanna be noticed. And this could be true if you're serving upfront. This could be true if you're serving... Maybe even more so if you're serving in the background.

You wanna be noticed by others. And sometimes we won't be noticed by our leaders, maybe our pastors or leaders or peers. And our flesh tells us we wanna be complimented or praised in our service of the Lord. But if we are true servants of Christ, we desire to hear the call of his pleasure alone, not the pleasure of men. And he can help us live this way through the Holy Spirit.

He can enable us. And so I wanna, at this time, talk about how Paul talks about this on more than one occasion because he lived this. Paul, who was highly educated, Paul, who was, he likely grew up in a privileged background. Right? Because he had Roman citizenship, Brilliant.

And he was humbled then during during his salvation, but he lived this out. He was bold and confident, of course, but he was also humble, a humble servant. He lived this. And so he actually says in first Corinthians four in verse three, he says, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not I do not even judge myself.

He doesn't even commend himself. He does not judge himself because it is the Lord who judges. And he says it in other places like second Corinthians 10, where in verse 18 it says, for it is not the one who commends himself who is approved but the one whom the Lord commends. But this is where I wanna take it because here, look at the connection of this principle to being a servant of Christ. Galatians one verse 10.

For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. I would not be a servant of Christ. Amazing words.

And I... Again, I realized the immediate context here at the beginning of Galatians is that he's rebuking the church in in Galatia here of accepting a different gospel, twisting God's word, but the principle still remains the same. That we are not to to seek the approval of man, but only the approval of our of our master, of Christ, the one we serve. And so one of the ways we protect ourselves from this is we stay close to his word, fully satisfied to hear only his voice of commendation in our service as servants. So a servant of Christ serves one master that speaks to his authority.

A servant of Christ also knows the voice of the master. This speaks to his word. And so we come now to our third and final principle of being a servant of Christ, and that is a servant of Christ belongs to their master, belongs to Christ, and this speaks to his kingdom. Look again with me in Romans one verse one. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

Now being set apart for the gospel can be an entire sermon series on its own. We can make much of what the gospel means, what it means to be set apart for the mission of the gospel, to share the gospel with others through evangelism or other means to unbelievers. But this, I believe, speaks just as much to believers, to those already set apart in Christ. Because remember, Romans was addressed to the church, to Christians in Rome at this time. And there is a clear connection here being set apart to the gospel, to the good news that is the hope of salvation for all men.

And once again, this is incredible. It's just the first introductory verses of Romans is a preview of what Paul does later in Romans where he expands on these principles. We're talking about the gospel here, the good news. Later in chapter one, we see Paul outlining the con... Condemnation of Gentiles or the nations.

Chapter two outlines the condemnation of the Jewish people. And in chapter three, the theme is God's impartial condemnation of both Gentiles and Jews before we get to the good news of the gospel in chapter four, which talks about justification by faith. And this is a reminder for you and me as those saved by grace that in order to receive the good news of the gospel, we must first acknowledge the bad news, the condemnation that apart from Christ, we are broken, wretched sinners, condemned to eternal suffering if we are not born again in Christ. And this is where the third principle comes in because salvation, being set apart for the gospel means we belong to him. We belong to his kingdom, the boundaries of his kingdom as his servants.

And I love how Paul writes about this in a different book in Colossians. This is a familiar verse to many, but I'm gonna read it here. Colossians one verse 13. It says that God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. I mean, you can...

I hope you feel feel that verse and the... I mean, the... Just the... That word transferred into a a new territory. His kingdom, we belong to him.

We have a new set of boundaries now. And how many times does God's word champion this idea and proclaim it that we as God's people are to be set apart from the world outside of the kingdom boundaries, to stop loving the world because we belong to him. And sometimes we think of God's boundaries as some sort of killjoy that takes away happiness and pleasure in our lives. But I thank God that many of us here know this, that in his loving design, these boundaries of his kingdom through his word is meant to keep us... Keep away the things that harm us, meant for our loving master to protect us within the walls of his house from selfish ambition, from sin, from the flesh.

And this is why we should be all the more vigilant in staying close to the Lord and being set apart and being satisfied and being set apart, belonging to him in our pursuit of holiness for it is for our good. I am reminded of the parable of the prodigal son at this time and what happened when he ventured outside of the boundaries of his father's house. This world has nothing to offer us and we wait for the kingdom to come, the kingdom we belong to now. And while we wait, God does not just leave us on our own. We have the Holy Spirit to help us in our sanctification.

Praise the Lord for that. And did you notice earlier that when we read and scanned the beginning of Romans chapter one, that the Holy Spirit is referred to in a unique way in the immediate context of our passage. And I believe it's the only time in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit is referred to as the spirit of holiness. Holiness because he helps us in our pursuit of holiness while we are set apart for him and for the gospel. A servant of Christ belongs to the master.

We are set apart in our salvation. We are set apart in our sanctification. But I wanna end our time now looking at something just as marvelous and beautiful, and that is that we are set apart in our inheritance. You know, I mentioned the parable of the prodigal son earlier. We are not just his servants or slaves to a loving master, but we are his children.

We are his children. And, you know, we all know this, but sometimes it doesn't hit us or we we need to be reminded of it. We are his children. And I have had the the blessing and joy of having a wonderful earthly father in this life. He's with the Lord now as of about five years ago.

And I know, many of us have had wonderful earthly fathers, and I know some who have not had wonderful earthly fathers. No matter what, earthly fathers fall way short of our heavenly father. We have a perfect father, a perfect father. Unlike earthly fathers, we have a personal God who we can know intimately as his children. And this is where I wanna land because as his children, the bible promises us this incredible, glorious inheritance that we will see one day not just as servants of Christ, but as his children and therefore heirs.

This inheritance that first Peter one verse four calls an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you and for me. And there are a bunch of places we can go. We won't do that. That Paul writes about about our our inheritance in Christ. I think Ephesians talks about Gentiles as heirs through the blood of Christ.

Galatians talks about, that in Christ, we are no longer slaves or servants, but sons and daughters, his children, heir through God through adoption. And we can even stay in Romans in chapter eight verse 17 where it says, if we are children of God, then we are heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ. Think about that. Heirs of Christ himself, fellow heirs. And of course, part of that is that we share in the promise of the resurrection.

We will have glorified bodies one day. We will be like him. But our final reference tonight, I wanna read a passage together that shows us why we have the undeserved honor and joy of even being called servants of Christ or being able to serve him in this life. I began this message by encouraging us to look at the example of Paul, a servant of Christ, but there has only been one true, one perfect example of being a perfect servant that ever walked this earth. And it is only because of his example.

His life, his love, his humility, his perfect obedience, his death on a cross, his blood that was shed, his victory over death, it is only because of Christ, the authority that we talked about at the beginning, his authority. Only because of Christ that we can even be called servants of Christ and serve with joy God in this life and also into eternity. So our last reference, we will read together. Let's take our time to do this. Philippians two and, several verses from there.

Philippians two verses three through eight. Again, familiar passage, but it'll be good to remind us of this as we close. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

And did you notice earlier that, in Romans one one, our main passage, the word gospel here, it's called the gospel of God. And I wrestle with that a little bit. Why is it called the gospel of God and not the gospel of Christ or the gospel like it is in other places? And I think in part, it's because this shows that not only Christ is God, the deity of Christ, which is also under attack by some, but this shows the deity of Christ. But I think it also points us to Christ and the fact that he was truly man, because we're given this example of Paul as a servant of Christ, but he was a sinner, fell short of the glory of God.

But it ultimately points us to how Christ truly man was the perfect servant to God the father, to the gospel of God. And so in in in closing thought here, this wasn't sure sure... Quite sure how to end our time together, but maybe this is a simple way to end it. To serve Christ, to serve him is really to know him. Is to know him, to know his word, to know his authority, to know his calling in your life.

I guess you can say it the other way too. To know him is to serve him. As you know him, as you grow in knowledge of him, ask the Lord, seek his word in how you ought to serve him in your life. Stay close to him. And let us be reminded tonight that we have a perfect servant who walked this earth, our savior Christ Jesus who laid down his life and rose from the grave, and he's coming back for his servants, his children, and we have a glorious inheritance waiting for us.

And I thank God that we have faithful servants here in our church family, but like everything else, let us strive to grow in maturity more and more in what God has called us to do in this season of our lives. His authority, his word, his kingdom. Let's pray and thank God for his word tonight. Father, we do indeed thank you for your word. Father, we love your word.

It is indeed a light unto our feet, and we would be lost, Lord, without what you have graciously revealed to us through your word and through your son. And we thank you and praise you for that tonight. Lord, we ask that you would help us in this season of our lives to be true servants of Christ. Lord, help us. We need your help because without you, we live in the flesh and we hear other things, other people.

Lord, help us stay close to you and to your word, to your people here. Mature us in our lives of prayer that we may talk to you and commune with you more. And we want to be faithful servants of you. It is you we only want to serve in this life. And in that process, Lord, fill us with your love.

May our love for you and one another abound more and more. Help us serve one another more. Teach us what that means, Lord, to consider others better than ourselves, in our families, in our homes, in our workplaces, here. Help us, Lord. We need your help.

We need your spirit to truly be servants of Christ. And we thank you that you do indeed help us as we come to you. You are so gracious to us. We give you thanksgiving and honor and praise and all glory tonight. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen. Let's stand and sing to the Lord.