Chapter 6: Kitchen Service
Dwight L. Moody said, “Of one hundred men, one will read the Bible; the ninety-nine will read the Christian.” p. 83
There is truth and conviction in that statement. We discussed the people whose lives made us first notice Christ. This is why Kitchen Service is so important…our service can point others to Christ or push them away.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35
We read the example of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13:1-17. This act would have been shocking to the disciples. They would have considered beneath them to even was Jesus’ feet so to have Jesus bend down and wash theirs was unthinkable. This was also the only time in Scripture that Jesus told the disciples to follow his example. He meant for us to serve one another.
We also looked at three passages: Mark 1:29-34 Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law and those who came to the door, Mark 6:30-34 Jesus stopped and ministered to the crowd, and Mark 7:31-35 Jesus took a deaf man aside and healed him. In these passages we see Jesus serving others as he went on his way, as he went out of his way, and in all kinds of ways. Then we discussed how we could practically serve others and show Christ’s love in different areas of our lives.
We discussed using our spiritual gifts and talents for the Lord. One thing the book pointed out that although discovering your spiritual gift is helpful in many ways, it has also become an excuse for many of us not to do things in the church. There are things that need to be done and the way to find our balance is to spend time in the Living Room with Christ first, then we will know when we need to respond.
One of the ladies at church recently shared with me that a pastor told her each person in the church should serve in two areas: one in which they are passionate and one in which something just needs to be done. I thought this was a simple way to make sure we are humbling ourselves in service as a member of the church body.
Finally we looked at Acts 3:1-10 as an example of how to serve. When we serve, we must do it in a way that points people to Jesus or “we risk becoming surrogate messiahs” (page 96). We must always be looking for what God is doing around us and join Him there.
If you are interested in learning more about servant evangelism, I highly recommend reading “Conspiracy of Kindness: A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus” by Steve Sjogren.
Our discussion closed with 1 Corinthians 10:31-33…
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
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