Worship – Grow – Serve!

“[Jesus] answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”   (Luke 10:27)

You’ve heard and seen the phrase “Worship – Grow – Serve” at Redeemer for quite some time now.  What does it mean, and why do we repeat it so much?  We are going to spend the last few weeks of January asking and answering those questions on Sunday mornings.  We hope you’ll join us.

In Luke chapter 10, Jesus beautifully summarizes commandments of God in the Old Testament found in Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19.  In modern expression, we refer to this as the “Great Commandment,” which in actuality is a summary of all of God’s commands.  The Great Commandment has two parts to it – Love God and Love Neighbor.  This “vertical” and “horizontal” love comprises the foundational action and attitude of the Christian, and thus it is fitting that a vertical and horizontal line intersect to make a cross.  The Cross is a great visual for loving God and loving neighbor.

At Redeemer, we express loving God and loving neighbor as worship – grow – serve.  “Worship” is where we express our love and devotion to God… both on Sunday morning as well as in our private and daily devotions.  Further, worship is an adoration of God that is expressed through all our thoughts and actions, using our time, talent and treasure.  Therefore, we see the stewardship of our offerings also as an act of worship.  Truly, for the believer, all of life is and should be a worshipful expression of thanks and praise.
Grow” fits well at the intersection of God and neighbor.  It is our goal to grow both in our love and knowledge of God, as well as in our love and relationships of neighbor.  So “Grow” includes our study of the Bible and our fellowship with other believers.  We want to grow in both aspects of our relationship.  In fact, when we grow in our knowledge of God and His commands, He then turns our heart toward our neighbor as the beneficiary of our love toward and faith in Him.  Our Growth Groups at Redeemer are designed to the perfect place for you to grow in both love of God and love of neighbor!
Finally “

Serve” is an expression of mature faith as we turn our focus off of ourselves and onto God and our neighbor.  Jesus himself said that He did not come to be served, but to serve (Matt. 20:28).  When we ask the question, “How can I serve the Lord?”  He responds to us, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25:40).  At Redeemer we serve the Lord by serving our neighbor – both inside our congregation and out in the community.   We seek to serve them both in physical and spiritual needs.

May this New Year be an opportunity for us to follow the Lord’s command to love God and neighbor, through worship, growth and service!

Worshipping, Growing and Serving Christ with you,

Pastor Augie.


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