Series: Easter: This Changes Everything
Message: Action?
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Sam Millen
Live Wonder: Bec Reid
Live Adventure: Jess Lee
Live Beyond: Art Preuss
Live Purpose: Don Pate
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: John 13:1-17 in the New International Version (NIV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: I read a report recently from Mic Henton, youth pastor at the College View Church in Lincoln, Nebraska (included here with his Conference President’s permission): “The youth were gifted $250 from a church member to be used any way they chose. I presented the money and asked if the students wanted to have a party, go bowling, see a movie, or do an event. They hemmed and hawed about the options so I tried something else. I brought up the idea of going to a grocery store in a lower income part of town and buying people’s groceries in the name of Jesus. They loved the idea. The only problem was that we needed more money. The youth then raised an additional $316 for a total of $636 in order to bless the community around us. . . . The teens prayed and when the Holy Spirit prompted them they would gather into line behind customers. . . . Some customers were brought to tears with gratefulness and others were shocked that anyone would be thinking of them.”
Mic goes on to say, “The students can’t wait to raise some more funds and do it again, but next time they want to be more intentional about creating a bridge between the act of kindness and the church for further ministry and connection.”
These young people may not have washed the feet of the people they helped, but it was a wonderful demonstration of compassion for that setting. There are countless ways we can serve others in any given context. But service motivated by love leads to a desire for connection. Love needs relationship. When I saw homeless individuals panhandling outside a premier hotel in Seattle, I tried to avoid any eye contact. I know—it’s terrible. Even worse, I was attending a One project gathering (2012) and repeatedly hearing the words “Jesus. All.” I realize we cannot help everyone at all times—even Jesus tried to get away from the crowds on occasion. Getting rid of my loose change would have at least demonstrated some beneficence. But inviting a homeless man to join our group for lunch is probably what Jesus would have done—and what another attendee actually did.
When I led a group of students on a mission trip a decade ago, we stopped at an AIDS camp on the last Sabbath afternoon. The youth had prepared items to give the people staying there. We encouraged them to engage in conversation after dropping off their packages. One student told me the lady she talked to had an incredible outlook. She was living in a dilapidated structure abandoned by the government, and completely dependent on the charity of strangers. But she had faith in Jesus, and instead of waiting to die in the midst of the squalor, there was an expression of joy on her face and her eyes were filled with hope. Since the students had worked hard all week and we were leaving the next day, we went to a fancy resort for a few hours in the evening. Even though I had not planned it that way, the contrast between the two locations was unbelievable. I was now looking at yachts docked in the marina with grand pianos (bolted down, a crew member assured me). When the student who met this lady found me (probably eating ice cream), she said she wanted to go back to the AIDS camp and talk to the lady there some more. Nothing at the resort appealed to her in the same way. In allowing us to serve them, the patients at the AIDS camp were serving us. I would even say they helped us more than we helped them.
Recalibrate: What is the nicest thing someone has done for you?
Respond: Pray for the young people who are surrounded by materialism.
Research: Read The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy. Quotes can be found here.
Remember: “Then He poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around Him” (John 13:5, ICB).
Sam Millen is the pastor at Anacortes Adventist Fellowship in Washington State. He his wife Angie is a schoolteacher on Orcas Island and their three children are really awesome!
Play a game of How Can We Help? with your little one. Place toys around the house in places they should not be, like a teddy bear in the fridge. The aim of the game is to find the toys and bring them all together again. Be found in Jesus’ love for you today.
The Bible says, in Acts 20:35: “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Mother Teresa is one of the most famous servant leaders. Through her faith, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to serving other people. While she had her critics from time to time, no one could question the motives behind her desire to help others. She never wanted any personal recognition for her work. Can you think of someone you know who serves other with humility like Mother Teresa?
“Fine, I’ll do it your way!” is what I used to say to my dad whenever he would give instructions on how to do something that I thought I knew how to do.. Peter pretty much takes the same attitude when he says to Jesus, “Not just my feet, but my whole body!” Jesus didn’t get upset at Peter’s ignorance but replied that he was already clean! Jesus was referring to Peter already being baptized. Because Peter had already been baptized, and did not need to get baptized again, Peter needed a change in heart. He needed to surrender and allow Jesus to be able to teach him. At this point in the game, Peter still did not understand that Jesus came to give up His life, and to “crush” the enemy (Satan), not the Romans. He came to die for the Romans, the Jews, the Christian, atheist (non-believer), for you, for me. Some of you have already been baptized and have publicly stated that you want to be with Jesus. Others have not yet made this public declaration. This is a good time to start thinking about it—if you haven’t done this already.
Let’s get real: Jesus was emphasizing that regardless or not of our public affirmation of wanting to be with Jesus, we sometimes are still reluctant to allow Him to things His way in our lives. Take some time to think about areas in your life that He may be asking you to surrender to Him.
A few days ago we talked about how the Romans jealously guarded the right to crucify. Crucifixion served a large purpose for the emperor and the senate. It was a pretty serious deterrent to crime. If you had to watch a man linger and suffer for a week or two with ants eating him alive, it made you think twice before you wanted to do the same deed. So, that’s why the centurion ran the spear into Jesus—no one was supposed to die of crucifixion in a matter of hours. What kind of deterrent would that be? The spear was rammed under Jesus’ ribs to prove—or disprove—whether or not He was faking death. When the spear went in, it tore a hole in the pericardial sac (surrounding the heart) so the clear, cushioning solution (that looks like water) poured out along with some blood because an artery probably got nicked. Jesus did not have to linger. Gethsemane and beatings had taken their toll—and God’s will had already been done.
Bec Reid is a real estate agent within her family business. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and is a part of the Wahroonga Adventist Church community.
Jess Lee is an education consultant for the New South Wales Adventist education system. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and attends Kellyville Church.
Art Preuss pastors in Massachusetts at the Springfield, Florence, and Warren Adventist churches and serves in the U. S. Air Force Reserve as a chaplain.
Don Pate is “retired” in Tennessee after decades of teaching and pastoring but is still active in speaking and creating for the Kingdom.