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Me or You?

I preached my last sermon tonight at æffect, our Northwest Bible singles gathering. Tomorrow, I pack my office. July 10th we tentatively pull out for MD. Each domino sovereignly topples with joy and sadness.

One question shaped tonight’s closing message to the people I have loved serving. It’s a question I ask myself every time I go to work; every time I come home to my wife and kids; every time I see someone I’m hoping to avoid; every morning Eden wakes us up at 6am; every time I interact with Jesus. Next time I see you, it’ll be running through my mind.

Am I going to live for me, or you?

The Son of man came to serve, not to be served. The Master wiped dung from His followers’ feet. Jesus emptied Himself of His glory, walked intimately through this cracked earth, and died on a cross to rise and put all things back together again.

Summing up the law He fulfilled, Jesus said this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22.37-39).”

Loving Jesus, results in loving others, as Jesus did. Sacrifice yourself for someone else. Do nothing out of selfishness, in humility consider others better than you are, look to their interests and not yours. This, love, opens the door for the gospel. When you have loved as Jesus loves, explicit words strung together telling the story of the gospel will make tangible sense. They will have seen it in you.

Living this life while sharing the gospel of the Servant King breaks down barriers, saves souls. May the Holy Spirit turn us inside out, empowering our lives for a selfless movement of compassion and proclamation. Only when I cling to the work of the cross, will anyone find me living for you.

Please pray:

  1. We would not look past the work God has for us here while we look forward to our move (for more opportunities to love people and share the gospel here).
  2. The sale of our house!
  3. A supernatural love for the people of Silver Spring, MD.