Today Im completing a three week sermon series called Identity.

For three weeks

were looking at three spiritual practices that can help us with the question, who am I
becoming? As the world encourages us to make New Years Resolutionsmany that we dont
keep, only eight percent of resolutions are kept in a yearthese three spiritual practices can help
us experience long-lasting growth. The practices can help us develop answers to our identity
questionswho am I becoming.
Two weeks ago we looked at the spiritual practice of worship. We have a need every
seven days to affirm and re-affirm our allegiance to God. When we fail to do this, we run great
risks of getting off track.
Last week we looked at the spiritual practice of Bible Reading. There is something in the
Bible that can help us with our most profound questions. I shared a simple five step way that can
help us unlock the treasure that is the Bible. I encouraged us to read one chapter of Mark a day
for sixteen days. Im so proud that so many of you are doing this with me. A lot of us are
reading Mark this week and that is really cool. Ive looked forward to reading a chapter every
day because I know that you are reading a chapter. If you werent able to read Mark this week
you can get caught up very easily. Put the word Mark on our communication card, and I will
E-mail you a reading plan.
Today were looking at the spiritual practice of service.
Presbyterian congregations usually do a really good job of service. We have a long
history. Tomorrow many of the world will have a day off to remember Martin Luther King Jr
and all he did for America and the world. Im thinking of celebrating the holiday by seeing the
movie, Selma. Im proud that even though it was controversial many Presbyterians marched
with Martin Luther King Jr as he tried to create the beloved community. I realize that Martin

Luther King Jr had flaws, but despite his flaws he was one of the greatest people of the 20th
century. He teaches us the importance of service.
He said this:
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Lifes most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?
We answer this question at Chain of Lakes through our commitment to homeless

teenagers. As you came into the entryway you saw some displays about Tiger Take Out, the
food shelf at Blaine High School. Make sure you check them out.
Im so proud of how youve committed yourselves to serving homeless teenagers. This
week we received this week from Cassidy Pohl, a coordinator of Tiger Take Out. They had
gotten a bit low on food at Tiger Take Out. Pam Van Meter and Val Owens asked you to step up
by giving food. Guess how you responded. Ill let Cassidy answer that question.
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THANK YOU so much! Tiger Take Out looks amazing [for all the food that Chain of Lakes
gave]. Thanks for all of the work that you did on Monday. When I walked in there later that
afternoon to grab a backpack I was so excited [that the food shelf is stocked]. Others have
commented to me about how great it looks in there too.
So blessed to have this wonderful partnership with all of you at Chain of Lakes Church.
You are serving! You are doing for others. You are making an impact in the world!
Lets go deeper. Lets serve more. I want to go deeper by asking two very simple
questions in this sermon. I would encourage you to write these two questions down. You can do
this on the left hand side of your bulletin. The first question is this: Why serve? The second
question is this. What happens when we serve?
The simplest answer is this. God wants us to serve.
The Bible teaches us that God wants us to serve. The Bible is a manual for service. Let
me share this point in telling you a story. Its a story about a man named Micah. He was a man
who lived in a very small village called Moresheth in southwest Judah. He lived a little more

than seven centuries before the birth of Jesus. He had a book of the Bible named after him. Do
you know what the book was called? Micah.
He was a minor prophet. Let me teach you something. The Old Testament is made up of
four sections. You might write this down
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1. Pentateuchfirst five books of the Old Testament
2. HistoryJoshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehehimah
3. WisdomPsalms, Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes
4. Prophets
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Two types of prophets.

Major prophetsIsaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Lamentations and Daniel.

Minor prophets12 of them--Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Are the major prophets more important than the minor prophets? No
Why the those five called major prophets and the other 12 are minor prophets. The major
prophets are longer and the minor prophets are less.
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Two dates can help us understand the prophets

722
586
In 722 the Assyrians overran Israel, the northern kingdom, took over the capital called
Samaria and deported the people
In 586 the Babylonians overran Judah, the southern kingdom, took over the capital
Jerusalem and deported the people
Micah was written between 730 and 700, so he wrote about to people in the northern
kingdom.

When Micah wrote God was frustrated with the people because of the way they were
treating the poor. Before the Assyrians invaded the Israel they put a big toll on the nation.
They required Israel to make a huge payment. The way that the country paid this payment was
to extract it from the poor.
God wasnt happy about this.
In the first part of chapter 6 God reminded Micah all that God had done for the people
throughout history. God had sent the people Moses, and Aaron and Miriam and they helped lead
the people out of Pharaohs grip into the Promised land. The people were still not following.
After God shared these frustrations, Micah asked a fundamental question.
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Micah asked, What do you want from us, Lord?

Im guessing that we ask this question of God all the time. What do you want from me,

Lord. What do you expect of me, Lord. How can I make you happy.
Micah answered his own question, and he used hyperbole to answer the question.
Will you be pleased if I bring a sacrifice of thousands of rams?
Do I need to bring ten thousands of oil?
Do I need to give my first born to you like the Egyptians did?
What do I need to do Lord to please you. What do you want from me, Lord
God answered the question
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He has told you 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?
Micah 6:8
The Bible has 31,103 verses. This verse is easily one of the ten most important.

Its all about service. The Hebrew word translated as justice is mishpat. Justice is a
sense of fairness. God wants to see fairness exist between people.
God doesnt want to see 50 percent of the world (thats over three billion people)

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live on less than 2.50 a day. Approximately 21,000 children die every day because of poverty.
God doesnt want homeless teenagers living in tents.
God wants you and me to serve and then to change these situation. God wants us to work
for justice and fairness. God wants us to serve.
A relationship with God is not a one-on-one relationship where we wait and expect to go
to heaven when we pass from this earth. God wants us to bring heaven into earthto work and
embrace the messiness of the world and change it. We are called to bring in the Kingdom.
This week weve been reading Marks gospel. Its a terrific read. The first words out of
Jesus mouth in Marks gospel were this.
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The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe
in the good news. Mark 1:15
God wants us to be agents of the kingdom
Why do we serve? God wants us to serve.
Service is not an optional part of discipleship. It is just as important as worship and Bible
reading and prayer.
Which leads me to the second question of the sermon. What happens when we serve?
I think that when we serve well we get in touch with the best part of who we are as
humans.
Earlier this week when it got barely above zero I thought about Trinitys story. Trinity
talked at the Box City event that we did with Blaine High School. She told us that she slept in a
tent for two years. I cant imagine sleeping in a tent when the temperature gets on the south size

of zero degrees. I got cold sleeping in a box at Box City when the temp only hit 30. As I walked
outside this week in the deep cold I had compassion for ___ and anyone who is sleeping outside.
That compassion came to me because Ive had the opportunity to serve.
When I serve I become a better person.
When I serve my own problems dont seem so important. Service is the greatest antidote
to narcissism. I dont think about myself when I serve. When I serve Im not concerned about
my own problems. Service brings out the best in me.
Its my experience that when I serve Im the one who is changed.
In this series were looking at the question who am I becoming? We cant become
fully human unless we serve. When we serve the best part of ourselves are brought out.
When people share with me that they are too busy to serve I always think, Its not about
your time. Its about who you are. When we dont serve were missing out on who God wants
us to be. Were the ones who are transformed.
The final response I have to this question of what happens when we serve is that we bring
glory to God and to the church.
This past week Ive listened to a number of stories about the response to the mass
shootings in France. In some of the stories the role of religion in the world is being debated.
Even though the jihadists who killed 17 people in France last week used religion to cover for
their actions, their actions are not religious. They dont represent Islam. The Koran doesnt
condone such death. Despite what Franklin Graham says, Islam is a peaceful religion.
To say these jihadists represent Islam is to say that the Klu Klux Klan represents
Christianity.

In one of the stories I heard this past week I heard someone say they need freedom from
religion instead of freedom of religion.
My heart just cries when I hear something like that. I think Jesus is crying when he hears
something like that.
The best way to represent any religion is to serve. When people outside of the church see
our compassion and our desire for justice they are going to take notice. When we are known for
how much we serve instead of our judgment, even the greatest skeptic will take notice. Francis
of Assisi said to preach the gospel at all times and use words when necessary. We preach the
gospel when we serve.
Hopefully you and I as disciples at Chain of Lakes will be known for our compassion and
love. Hopefully we will be known as people who are willing to do whatever it takes to help the
poor and the vulnerable. We do this not because we are trying to do good. We do this because
we are representing God. We are bringing honor to God when we serve. We want people to get
a glimpse of the heart of God through our service.
When we help at Tiger Take Out or collect money for someone who is struggling we are
making our own case for God.
Who are we becoming? In this series Ive shared that when we worship, when we read
the Bible and when we serve we can discern answers to this question. If I had an extra Sunday
for this series I would add prayer to the mix. We need all four of these practices. Worship by
itself is not enough; Bible reading by itself is not enough; service by itself is not enough; prayer
by itself is not enough. When we do all four consistently we will continue to grow to become the
person God wants us to be. When we do all four the journey is exciting. When we do all four

we will live out the type of faith that will bring God credit and will be so intriguing that others
will want to learn more too.
When we do all four we never have to make a New Years resolution. Were always
discerning what God wants from us.