Service is Spiritual Life

OBJECTIVE

Students will learn that service is a crucial part of spiritual life, and the key components of being a true servant. "Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself" Matt 22:37-39

INTRODUCTION - 5 Minutes

Service often has many misconceptions. Most people believe service is teaching a Sunday school lesson or preparing an outing for a church event, but this is a very limited understanding of what the true essence of service really is.

If the goal of the spiritual life is to be in unity with God, by working on the health of your spirit, aligning it with the Image and Likeness of God (as is the nature of our spirit) with the work of the Holy Spirit, then it is clear the way of doing this as said before is through denial of the self and will, which is Love, who is God and the Image and Likeness we were created to be.

CONTENT (KEY POINTS)

Service is crucial to the spiritual life because service is a denial of your will for others, in other words service is Love.

Everyone in the Church can offer a service in some capacity in the Church, as we are all from the One Body of Christ. From the pope, to the bishop, to the priest and layman, the Sunday school servant, preparers of food, cleaners and more are all granted the title of SERVANT. Yes, there are roles in the church, but all contribute to their relative degree of service with the same goal of Salvation.

Often times we put barriers before ourselves preventing us from starting to serve other, but the first thing we need is a willing heart. The title servant is often presented as something special as if it was some kind of hierarchy, but the servant is anyone who believes and gives from their time to aid the function of the church and others

"Little Children, Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3: 18)

"Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17)

It is clear that deeds and works are important and necessary for the restoration of our spirits. Some may say how is it that I serve God if He is in heaven? We can answer this with the words of Christ

"'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40)

What Christ is saying is at any time we serve another person, at any time we deny our will for another person in whatever form big or small, we have done this to Christ who is in every person we encounter. As said in Proverbs 19:7

"Whoever is generous to the poor, lends to the Lord"

Every human in existence is created in the image and likeness of God, so then every time you show love to another person you have shown love to God while at the same time forming your spirit into its original state which was made possible in the Incarnation.

"If anyone says "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4:20)

First we need to understand the significant difference between a religious teacher and a spiritual servant. The first relays information, the second builds souls, the first extracts knowledge from books and places it before the student on paper, the second feeds the one he serves from his own fullness: he shares the inner riches of his faith, his love, his self sacrifice and his humility. He provides genuine experiences and a living example to those he serves for it is himself that he gives and it is his own life that he offers. The first transmits words and concepts that he has heard externally, the second brings forth words and concepts from within, an outpouring that rises from his depths like lava erupting from the depths of the earth, the first prepares a lesson to convince his listeners, the second labors to give birth to children in Christ.

The Christian Servant is not just a teacher of lessons, but he is in the first place a leader of souls to salvation"-Fr. Mather the Poor

Love can never be taught simply by prearranged words and anecdotes, rather it is taught by truly giving yourself and communicating the love and longing for Christ to those you serve. Love is the ultimate criteria of Christian service.

"Though I bestow all goods to feed the poor, though I give my body to be burned, but have no love, it profits me nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3)

LIFE APPLICATION

Service consists of denial of myself, which includes my ego and can include giving of my time, comfort, opinion, desires etc... for the sake of God. As I come closer to God, He fills me with His fruits, including peace and joy.

Love is a choice of self-denial to give yourself, and this is manifested through your actions, which is service.

This can be done to your immediate family, your parents and siblings, the people in your neighborhood, your classmates, teachers, teammates, friends, elders, youngers, church group and congregation, the poor, the sick, the hungry, the naked, the immigrants, the outcasts, those with bad reputations, those with low self esteem, the unpopular...etc (Reference Matthew 25)

Any person we serve or can serve is as if we served or didn't serve Christ Himself.

Every person we come in contact with, we now have an opportunity to serve and deny our will, to figure out what it is the person needs or wants and to give to them.

ACTIVITY

Have the students go through some figures in the Bible and see the excuses they gave, and see if we give the same excuses today, and how God dealt with them when they gave the excuses.

ex) Jonah, Jeremiah, Moses, Esther, Joseph, Ruth, Gideon...ect

Ideas outside of the traditional Sunday School servant services to encourage youth to partake in:

• homeless food drives, clothing drives and more
• elderly homes
• english lessons for newcomers
• hospital visitations
• elderly of the church (groceries and needs, and cooking for them, rides to church)
• widows/widowers-help them with their young children and household assistance
• foster homes
• helping newcomers from Egypt to get situated (language, home, job, driving, shopping)
• tutor kids of the church or outside of the church
• babysit kids of the church or neighbors
• collect clothes and food from church members to give to those who need
• go around to church neighbors and let them know we are and that we are here if they need help
• offer any free service to anyone in your church's city (business, other churches, schools, volunteer)