I want to talk with you today about a subject that you've all heard before: service. What comes to your mind when you first hear the word service? Service is a word that has been used and abused over the years. I.e.: National Parks Service, UK Courts Service, Service Apres-Vente, Internal Revenue Service…
For me, it's marriage. Marriage is all about opportunities to serve. For those of you who've been married for a few years or more, try to think back to those first days. I remember that when I was first married, I loved to find ways to serve Troy. I'd bring him coffee first thing in the morning, iron his shirts, make his favorite meals…
In a way, it's very similar to the way I felt when I first became a Christ-follower. I was so excited about the gift I'd been given that I wanted to do anything I could for Christ just out of gratefulness. But, just as in marriage, things started to impede my natural desire to serve God. Life got in the way. I went through some disappointments in my Christian walk. I got caught up in work, family, and the free time I did have I didn't want to give away anymore. So this topic is as necessary for me as much as it is for anyone.
Service is absolutely critical to our relationship with God, because it is one of the key ways that we can pour out our love and gratitude to God – by serving our fellow Christians and spreading His love beyond into the world. My hope is to show you that when we have experienced the goodness and generosity which God brings into our lives and relationships, He has designed us in such a way that He expects us to respond. Not to just soak it in and keep it to ourselves, but to give it away to others and to give back to Him too. George W. Truett, a prominent US pastor and statesman, once said, "To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge. To find the will of God is the greatest discovery. To do the will of God is the greatest achievement." Think about that for a moment. What was Dr. Truett saying? He was simply declaring the profit and value of serving God. And the most amazing thing is that when we serve God, we end up being blessed in ways that we could never have imagined.
And so, if you are a Christ-follower who has received from God His goodness and generosity, something is wrong if you are not serving Him now in some way.
And I have found that there are generally three things which keep people from serving, three things which restrain the natural response of service: ignorance, disconnect, and selfishness.

1. Ignorance:
It seems to me that there are many people who just don't know that part of what it means to be a Christ-follower is to dedicate ourselves to serving God and people. Some people just don't know that it's impossible to be a faithful Christian without serving. And so without even knowing it, many Christ-followers end up being disobedient or unfaithful to God because they don't walk in the good works of service God has already designed for them.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (Contemporary English Version)
You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.
Many Christians are tempted to stop there. "I'm saved without having to do anything," we say. But immediately after that, the Bible goes on to say…
God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are.
What are we? If we have come to know Jesus, we are now children of God. We are God's kids, His family. So serving is kind of like doing family chores. In a good family, everyone pitches in to help. Everyone serves. You may say, "But I'm not a natural musician. I don't like getting up in front of people. I don't have any children going through Sunday School. You don't want me cooking for the family lunch if you are trying to attract others!" I want to tell you two things:
First, there is always something that you can use your gifts and skills to do. And these things are critically important to our church. Set-up and tear-down needs to happen every Sunday. Coffee needs to be made, dishes need to be washed. If you can't figure out how you can fit in, come and talk with me or Stephen or Lara or David. I promise any one of us can find a place for you!
The second thing is that God is able to stretch us to be of service in ways that we would never dream of on our own. I'd like for Troy to tell you quickly about an experience that we've had that both tested and blessed us in an incredible way.
Personal Story: Troy (You'll have to ask Troy to tell his story to you!)
Another form of ignorance may be the way that we think about St. Marc's. For many of us, this time in France is just a temporary assignment, whether for a few months or a few years. Many of you left great churches when you came to France, and in another few years you might go back to those same great churches. In the meantime, you have the sense that you are just "extended visitors" and this is "not my real church" - so therefore you may feel you have no need to get involved here or now. The Church doesn't just mean my old church in the States or even The Church of England; The Church is God's work on earth through His believers, completely regardless of building or denomination. So this is indeed OUR church, and if you aren't serving here, you aren't serving God in France as He intends.
Some Christ-followers aren't serving because of ignorance . I've also found that others aren't serving because of what I would call disconnect or sadness.

2. Disconnect
There are many of us who have some significant losses and wounds in our lives and often those losses and wounds make us sad or sometimes even negative or critical people. Sometimes, when we are sad or negative ourselves, it becomes very hard to accept or even notice the goodness and generosity of God in our lives.
I know that when I feel disconnected or angry at Troy, I feel absolutely no incentive to serve him. In the same way, when there is something between you and God that is causing a disconnect, you are going to be disconnected from serving Him as well.
It's often not that God isn't being good or generous with us, but because of our own sadness or negative perspective, it's really hard to see it or feel it.
Many of us who are sad or wounded don't feel like we deserve to be treated with goodness or generosity so when we are, either we don't believe it, or don't accept it.
And if that resonates with you at all, you know how hard something is to respond to when you don't accept or believe it in the first place. So if we don't feel like we deserve the goodness or generosity of God, we will have a very difficult time recognizing it or believing it is real in our lives. And therefore we will have a very difficult time responding to it.
The unfortunate result is that many who are disconnected and wounded are not serving... one of the very things that could bring them so much joy and healing. Now, I say that's unfortunate because it is a loss for the individual not serving, but also for the church because we miss out on the gift of you and the gifts in you which God put in you so we could all benefit.
Everyone loses when some of us don't serve.
Some of us don't serve out of ignorance. Some because of sadness or disconnect. Others don't serve simply because of selfishness.

3. Selfishness:
Now, I need to share some hard words with you this morning, but I hope you know I do this as one of you, struggling with the same issues and failings.
Some of us need to be honest with ourselves that the excuse we use about not having time to serve is really more about wrong or selfish priorities than it is about anything else.
Every one of us has 168 hours a week. No one has more. No one has less. And if any of us doesn't have say at least a few of those 168 to give back to God in service to His church, I need to tell you something is seriously wrong. And it may boil down to just a selfish spirit determining the use of your time.
I'm going to make you a challenge. Track yourself for a week or two - if you're willing to do it honestly. Ask yourself how much time you spend on your computer for fun, watching TV or listening to music. How much time is given to things for you like recreation or even work? Many of us are working too many hours giving away - to employers or the pursuit of some sort of financial security or success - hours of service which could be dedicated to God.
Sometimes people have the misperception that God has special servants called ministers who get paid to do the serving while others get served and observe. That isn't what God designed "fulfilling His dreams and desires on earth" to be like.
As my old pastor says, our natural selfish behavior is like a professional football game where you have 22 men on the field desperately in need of rest and 60,000 people in the stands desperately in need of exercise. But sometimes that's what the church looks like too.
Now, let's not be ridiculous or extreme about this. The point is simply that all of us have time, if we make it, to serve.
But many of us don't because we have already filled up our time with other things and can't manage to squeeze serving God in. It just doesn't have a place to fit. And that has happened, I will argue, because of a lack of spiritual priorities.
If we want to get serious about becoming a faithful follower of Christ and we hope to give back even a portion of what God has already given us, then we need to prioritize serving Him and the church first, then fit our other activities in around that, not the other way around like so many of us do.
And these are hard words, I know, but I think truthful ones. The problem may be selfishness. Doing what we want with our time.
So let me bottom line it for us: serving Jesus, for any of us who have already come into relationship with Him is not an option, it is an obligation. It is really an obedience issue. It's not whether or not I should serve, but how I serve. It's much more about attitude than anything else.
If you want to know how God is calling you to become involved in the life of this church, all you have to do is listen. If you hear yourself saying "someone really should be doing this" (much as I did with this talk), then that someone is probably you. If you see a gap, step into it. If you see that our Church leaders and volunteers are struggling under their heavy burdens, take some from them and take them on yourself. And if you hear God's voice telling you to follow His will for you, by all means do it.
I'd like for Norma to come up and tell you about an experience that she had in finding and following God's will for service.
Personal Story - Norma (You'll have to ask Norma to tell her story to you!)
I Corinthians 12:4-7 (CEV) There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve the same Lord, and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do. The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others (for the common good).
In that passage, the writer, Paul, goes on to give an analogy of a human body working as one but with many different parts all playing their role to make it happen. When one part doesn't work well, the whole body suffers he says. And he says that the same thing is true in the church.
Example: When your foot falls asleep. You can't walk... may fall over.
We are all designed to play a part and when we do, watch out. What a powerful church that will be. Needs will be met, people will be cared for, our community will be served, lives will be changed, people will be saved, wounds will be healed, racism will be erased, marriages reconciled, people will be set free. I want to be a part of a church like that. Don't you?
So, what will it take? What will it take for St. Marc's to become a church like that? It will take all of us experiencing the goodness and generosity of God for ourselves and then expressing it to others through serving, sharing and giving.
I challenge each of you to think of a significant way that you can become involved in the life of our church, and then to act on it TODAY. There are a handful of you who are already serving in more ways than I can count. For those of you who are doing so, THANK YOU for your generosity of spirit. For those of us who are not serving actively and consistently, I have made up a form that lists three categories:
Service opportunities that already exist at St. Marc's
Take a look at the opportunities that are listed and find what God may be prompting you to do. Take a chance! We're looking for three month commitments, so you won't be signed up for the rest of your natural life.
I have an idea
Some of you may have already been prompted by God to think about new ways to serve at St. Marc's. Maybe you would love to see a formal women's ministries program spring up. Maybe you have a passion for the community around us. Maybe there's something else that I haven't every considered. Jot your idea down and let's get going on this.
Use me!
If you don't feel God prompting you to serve in a specific way, I still want to see your name on this list. One of the most wonderful ways to benefit from service is to let yourself be plugged in where the needs are the greatest, much as Troy and I did with the youth group. Put your name here and Stephen will work with you to match your gifts with the needs of St. Marc's.
I'm excited by the direction this church could take if we all listen to God's will for our lives and for our church.