We were blessed yesterday as Leon brought to us the Word of God, “Every Member Serving”.  It was good to be reminded that service is at the very heart of our transformed life, and that as we are motivated to serve we bring glory to God.

I expect that we are like every church, always looking for more volunteers! In crèche, children’s work, youth work, parent and toddlers, set up, pack down, worship, in fact in nearly every area of church life, we need more people who are willing to serve. This is a very real need, as some of these activities are under threat of closure if we are not able to resource them with people who are willing to serve.

However, whilst recognising this need, I would make five further points about our service for our Lord.

Firstly, I believe that is good to acknowledge those who have for many years served faithfully, often in an unseen capacity. We can all think of people who quietly get on with their work, not looking for praise or thanks, but willingly serve the Lord with a joyful heart. We have many like this in our church, and they are a real blessing to the Body of Christ.  One of the lasting memories of a big conference that I attended in London was not the speaker or the worship, though both were excellent, but was of a elderly lady who walked around the auditorium during the day  with a plastic bag and picked up rubbish. You could see the joy of the Lord on her face as she humbly served in this way.

Secondly, we must also recognise that our service for the Body of Christ is not just for the church corporately, but is for individuals as well. Our service continues through the week, by visitation, helping and supporting our brothers and sisters. Serving with meals, shopping, gardening, childcare and in many other ways, should be a natural expression of our love for God and our love for each other.

Thirdly, as we serve one another, I believe that this demonstration of love and unity will overflow into our communities and will lead to acts of service for our neighbours, work colleagues, families and friends. What a wonderful way of declaring the love of God by serving others with a kind and joyful attitude.

Fourthly, I believe that our service can have far reaching effects, some of which we may never see. One act of service, one kindness, may plant a seed of the Good News of Jesus Christ  into a life, which when watered by the Holy Spirit will lead to the salvation of that life which in turn will be fruitful for the Kingdom of God.

Finally, it could be that our service is preparing us for other areas of ministry that God has planned for our lives. Not that our serving should ever stop, but in some miraculous way, by the grace of God, our faith is built and God can use us in ways that we had not thought possible. It was Saint Francis of Assisi who said “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

We were encouraged at the end of our meeting yesterday that God can use each one of us with what he has already entrusted to us. Moses felt that he did not have anything with which he could serve God, but God used what he already had in his hand. We know that there is nothing small in the service of God. Everything is important to Him, and He is willing to use each of us for His glory.

The Bible encourages us that our service should be full of love (Galatians 5:13b) and that we should serve with a smile on our face, as whatever and whoever we are serving, we are really serving God (Ephesians 6:7). And remember, we know that we cannot do a thing to earn our salvation, but now that we are His, we serve to show our love to Him who has transformed our lives with His love.