SESSION 2:
JESUS THE SERVANT
SERVE
RLC’s theme for the coming year
We continue to CONNECT and GROW through
reflection on what it means to be a Christian
servant.
As God’s baptized children we experience the
new FREEDOM we have in Christ to love and
serve all of God’s children and all of God’s
creation.
Overview of Sessions
Session 1: September 22: “Serving Through Worship”
In worship we respond to God’s love & forgiveness with prayer, praise, and
thanksgiving
Session 2: September 29: “Jesus the Servant”
Jesus’ example empowers our lives for service
Session 3: October 6: “Loving God and our Neighbor”
Our serving is guided by Jesus’ double commandment of love
Session 4: October 13: “Called to Serve: Getting Practical”
Responsible service tests our creativity and faithfulness in our use of God’s gifts
Session 5: October 20: “I have Other Sheep: the Broader Horizons
of Service
God calls us to expand our horizons in the service of love and mercy in the world
BIBLICAL IMAGES OF SERVICE
Diverse Images
Worship; Master/Slave; Obedience; Submission;
Reverence; Submission; Work; Render Service;
Heal; Restore; Assist; Help; Support; Minister
Give Thanks and Sing
God’s Praises
Encourage and Support
One Another
In Worship We:
Hear God’s Story of
Gracious Love
Experience Confession
and Forgiveness
Pray for one another and
our World
Share community in joys
and sorrows
Are Inspired for service to
our neighbor and world
“JESUS, THE SERVANT”
Jesus’ example:
Teaches us about what it means to be a servant
Empowers our lives for service
God’s Suffering Servant
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen,
in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit
upon him; he will bring forth justice to the
nations. 2 He will not cry or lift up his voice, or
make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he
will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will
not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed until he
has established justice in the earth; and the
coastlands wait for his teaching…..
5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the
heavens and stretched them out, who spread out
the earth and what comes from it, who gives
breath to the people upon it and spirit to those
who walk in it:
6 I am the LORD, I have called you in
righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and
kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the
people, a light to the nations, 7 to open the eyes
that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from
the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in
darkness.
8 I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I
give to no other, nor my praise to idols. 9 See,
the former things have come to pass, and new
things I now declare; before they spring forth, I
tell you of them. 10 Sing to the LORD a new
song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let
the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands
and their inhabitants.
Isaiah 42:1-10
Who has believed what we have heard? And to
whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground; he had no
form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire
him. 3 He was despised and rejected by others; a
man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no
account. 4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him
stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted….
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the
punishment that made us whole, and by his
bruises we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have all turned to our own way,
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us
all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet
he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led
to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its
shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth….
11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall
find satisfaction through his knowledge. The
righteous one, my servant, shall make many
righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death, and was
numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the
sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.
Isaiah 53:1-12
The Son of Man: Come to Serve
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus
was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and
those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve
aside again and began to tell them what was to happen
to him, 33 saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief
priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to
death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; 34
they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him,
and kill him; and after three days he will rise again…“
Mark 10:32-34
Disciples : A Servant Like their Master
42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know
that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as
their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are
tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but
whoever wishes to become great among you must be
your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among
you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a
ransom for many.“
Mark 10:32-45
The Way of the Cross
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to
them, "If any want to become my followers, let them
deny themselves and take up their cross and
follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will
lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and
for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will
it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their
life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their
life?
Mark 8:34-37
Follow Me…Washing Feet
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and
that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the
table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he
poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to
wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon
Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus
answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will
understand
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned
to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13
You call me Teacher and Lord-- and you are right, for that is what I am. 14
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another's feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also
should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are
not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one
who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do
them. (John 13:3-17)
The Good Shepherd… Life for the Sheep
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not
own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs
away-- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired
hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay
down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring
them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one
flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because
I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it
from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this
command from my Father."
John 10:11-18
Father, Forgive Them
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they
crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and
one on his left. 34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them;
for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast
lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by,
watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved
others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his
chosen one!"
Luke 23:33-35
Follow me….“You Must Forgive….”
Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must
rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must
forgive. 4 And if the same person sins against you seven
times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says,
'I repent,' you must forgive."
5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6
The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard
seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted
and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
Luke 17:3-6
Imitators of One Another and the Lord
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 2 I commend you
because you remember me in everything and maintain the
traditions just as I handed them on to you. (1 Corinthians
11:1-2)
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in
spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired
by the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all
the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (1 Thesalonians
1:6-7)
Christ as Servant – Model for Christian Community
Philippians 2:1-13
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any
consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any
compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of
the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord
and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or
conceit, but in humility regard others as better than
yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests,
but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you
that was in Christ Jesus,
Translation Note on verse 5: (NRSV & NET):
"Have this attitude in/among yourselves which also [was] in Christ
Jesus," or
"Have this attitude in/among yourselves which [you] also [have] in
Christ Jesus."
6 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not
regard equality with God as something to be
exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form
of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being
found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and
became obedient to the point of death-- even death
on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave
him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always
obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more
now in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you,
enabling you both to will and to work for his good
pleasure.
Philippians 2:1-13
Christ Lives in Me
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I
might live to God. I have been crucified with
Christ; 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is
Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in
the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not
nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes
through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Galatians 2:19-21
Always Ready for Surprises
32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions,
and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear
out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like
those who are waiting for their master to return from the
wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as
soon as he comes and knocks.
37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert
when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and
have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.
Luke 12:32-37
MARTIN LUTHER
SMALL CATECHISM
Explanation to the Apostles’ Creed, Second Article (ELW, p. 1162)
“I believe in Jesus Christ….”
…He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from
death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or
silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his
innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order
that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom,
and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and
rules eternally.
MARTIN LUTHER
ON CHRISTIAN FREEDOM
A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.
Although the Christian is thus free from all works, he ought
in this liberty to empty himself, take upon himself the form
of a servant, be made in the likeness of men, be found in
human form, and to serve, help, and in every way deal with
his neighbor as he sees that God through Christ has dealt
and still deals with him. This he should do freely, having
regard for nothing but divine approval. (Freedom of the
Christian)