Service

Sermon 4 in the Series on Membership Vows to Uphold the UMC
SERVICE
Isaiah 58:1-10, Matthew 5:13-16, Micah 6:8

What is service? We vow to support the United Methodist Church with our Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness. But what is service? It all depends on how you look at it.

Service from the root- To Serve...
-(sports) a stroke that puts the ball in - like in tennis or volleyball
-serve a purpose, role, or function – Like, This podium serves to hold my Bible and notes
-do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function – Like some of you serve on committees -and councils here in the community.
-be used by; as of a utility – our electric service
-help with food or drink – Food service, some of you will be served by a waiter or waitress later today.
-devote (part of) one's life or efforts to, as of countries, institutions, or ideas - some of you served in the military.
-I could even get into animal husbandry if we get real deep into the definitions of service.

We could go on and on and on. In fact, I found 69 definitions for Serve or Service. I know some of them overlap but still, is there any wonder why we have questions about what our vow of service means?
We turn it into all these other things. In the end, we make our vow of service about showing up at church once or twice a week if it's not inconvenient. We make it about writing a check and placing it in the offering plate. We make it about being seen in the right place doing the right thing so others will know what we have done. So often it seems that our service becomes about us.
That's what God was telling the people of Israel through Isaiah. Their fasting had become about themselves. Little changed through the years. Micah tells of the problems with sacrifices rather than fasting. The people had pulled so far from God that they didn't even know how to get back to him. They fasted, they sacrifices, not an animal for the nation as was called for, but thousands of animals. There even seemed to be talk of sacrifices that included children. Not a pretty picture for God's People. Their sacrifices had become an abomination to the very God the people said they served.
But God does not leave them without an answer. Instead, God give the answer in both places...
Isaiah 6:10 - “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”
And in Micah 6:8 - “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Just as the people in those days of old, we too have the answers of what God calls us to do. We too have the answers of what it means to serve and, it really hasn't changed any. We are still called to free the oppressed, to share bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor in out of the cold, clothe the naked, we are still called to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. None of this has changed.
We see it all through the Gospels of Jesus.
You see, Jesus had a vision for what it would mean for his followers to be who he called them
to be. Matthew 5:13-16 shows us that image:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

We are a set apart people. We are a people called to be within this world but not of this world. We are a people that call ourselves Methodists, and that needs to mean something.

I have looked for some other words than my own to explain what it means to uphold the UMC with our Service. A statement from the Website of Nimmo UMC, Virginia Beach, VA explains it like this...
Jesus called disciples to follow him, and he sent them out in his name. The pledge to uphold the church by our service recognizes that we are a sent people; that we have a purpose which goes beyond weekly gathering for spiritual growth.
"But what can I do?" This is the question for many who feel they do not have the gifts or talents to be of service. Remember, though, that God has called you into the church because God wants YOU for who you are and for what you have to offer. By becoming involved in avenues of service, you may discover gifts and talents you did not know you had.
How you serve depends upon your interests, your gifts and abilities, the time you have available, the needs of the church, etc. … Beyond that, it means adhering to a life style in which the welfare of others is a primary goal.
This is a ministry which exceeds the capacity of any single person or congregation. Membership in the United Methodist Church is a membership in a world-wide community of faith. We can, and do, make a difference in the world -- all over the world -- as we uphold the church by our service.

We have a varied group here. We have children, youth, young adults, middle age adults, adults nearing retirement, and those in various stages of retirement. We are a congregation made up of business people, ranchers, educators, laborers, supervisors, entrepreneurs, and everything in between. There is no limit to what we could accomplish as a church if we were to all begin serving God as we were created. We would be in service in this community feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. We would be in service around the state as we work with the Conference in building and repairing homes for those in need. We would be in service around the world as we bring medical supplies and clean water to refugees in other parts of the world. There is no end to what we could do.
To close I want to show you a video about what can happen when a few kids take the words of a prayer seriously and begin to serve. In 1988, Brad Smith, a Seminary Intern at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC delivered the words "Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat" as a part of the pastoral prayer that Super Bowl Sunday. Little did he know what would happen from it.

Since that prayer was the spark that ignited the fire we now call Souper Bowl of Caring over $73,000,000.00 has been raised for local food banks and charities.
My question for us today is, What will we happen if just the few of us took seriously our vow to SERVE? How many lives would be changed?