37.3 If We Just Do Our Work We Are Useless Servants

(Luke 17:7-10)

“Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’”

37.2 Service Instead of Exerting Power

(Luke 22:24-27)

An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the pagans have power over their people, and the rulers are called ‘Friends of the People.’ But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant. Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves him? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves.

37.1 Hypocrisy Of Scribes

(Matthew 23:1-12)

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses’ Law. So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don’t practice what they preach. They tie onto people’s backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren’t willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads. They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are. Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks! They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the market places and to have people call them ‘Teacher.’ You must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you are all brothers of one another and have only one Teacher. And you must not call anyone here on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only the one Father in heaven. Nor should you be called ‘Leader,’ because your one and only leader is the Messiah. The greatest one among you most be your servant. Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great.

36.4 God Cares For the Lonely

(Psalm 113)

Praise the Lord!

You servants of the Lord, praise his name!
His name will be praised, now and forever.
From the east to the west
praise the name of the Lord
The Lord rules over all nations;
his glory is above the heavens.

There is no like the Lord our God.
He lives in the heights above,
but he bends down to see the heavens and the earth.
He raises the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from their misery
and makes them companions of princes,
the princes of his people.
He honors the childless wife in her home;
he makes her happy by giving he children.

Praise the Lord!

36.3 Help Others, Including the Foreigners

(3 John 2-8)

My dear friend, I pray that everything may go well with you and that you may be in good health—as I know you are well in spirit. I was happy when some Christian brothers arrived and told me how faithful you are to the truth—just as you always live in the truth. Nothing makes me happier than to hear that my children live in the truth.

My dear friend, you are so faithful in the work you do for your fellow Christians, even when they are strangers. They have spoken to the church here about your love. Please help them to continue their trip in a way that will please God. For they set out on their trip in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers. We Christians, then, must help these people, so that we may share in their work for the truth.