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Objective

In this lesson, we’ll discover that the greatest way we can follow Christ’s example is by serving others in love and with a humble heart.

Key Verse

Philippians 2:5: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Introduction

We have been called by Christ to show God’s love by sacrificial service. Our flesh wants to have power and influence over other people. Our flesh wants special privileges and honors. But the work of God’s Spirit in our lives should produce the desire to be more like Christ in His humility and servanthood.

Even Jesus’ own disciples struggled with this desire for position and power. They had walked with Jesus for three years, witnessed His miracles, and heard His teachings, yet they still argued among themselves about who would be greatest in God’s kingdom. On one occasion, James and John even asked Jesus if they could sit at His right and left hand in His glory. Their mother joined them in this request, hoping to secure places of honor for her sons.

Matthew 20:20-21: Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

When the other disciples heard about this request, they became angry—not because James and John were wrong to seek positions of honor, but because they wanted those positions for themselves! This revealed that all the disciples were thinking about greatness in worldly terms.

But Jesus used these moments to teach them—and us—what true greatness really means. The disciples expected earthly kingdoms to work one way—with the powerful ruling over the weak, and the important people being served by everyone else. But Jesus turned their expectations upside down:

Matthew 20:25-28: Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t condemn their desire for greatness. Instead, He redefined what greatness means. In God’s kingdom, the path to true greatness leads through costly service, not through being served. The greatest person is not the one who has the most people serving them, but the one who sacrifices the most to serve others.

In this lesson, we will explore two essential truths that will transform how we think about serving God and others:

• How Jesus was a servant
• How we follow Jesus in service

How Jesus Was a Servant

Jesus didn’t just teach the principle of servant leadership—He demonstrated it in the most powerful way possible. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus took a basin and towel and washed His disciples’ feet, doing the work of the lowest servant in the household:

John 13:12-15: When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

The greatest example of a servant is Jesus Christ. This is why He came to earth. Think about the remarkable truth of who Jesus is. He is the eternal Son of God, the Creator of all things, the One before whom every knee will bow. Yet when He came to earth, He chose the path of costly service rather than earthly power and glory. He washed His disciples’ feet. He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He gave His very life as a ransom for many. Every act of service cost Him something—His comfort, His reputation, His strength, and ultimately His life.

Let me share three powerful passages that show us Christ’s heart of sacrificial service. Read over these verses prayerfully and reflect on the example of service that Jesus gives us:

Philippians 2:5-7: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Mark 10:45: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Matthew 12:17-18: This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”

These verses reveal something amazing about Jesus. Though He possessed all power and authority, He chose to serve at great cost to Himself. Though He deserved honor and worship, He chose humility and suffering. Though He could have demanded that others meet His needs, He chose to pour out His life to meet the needs of others. This is the mindset—the same attitude and heart—that Paul tells us we should have.

(Notebook Moment: As you read about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and choosing the path of humble service, what strikes you most about His example? How does His willingness to serve challenge your own attitudes about greatness and importance?)

How We Follow Jesus in Service

Now that we have seen Christ’s perfect example of servanthood, we must ask ourselves: How do we serve in love the way Christ did? The answer involves three essential areas where Christ calls us to follow His example of servant leadership. Each area provides unique opportunities to develop the same servant heart that Jesus demonstrated.

➤ Serving Our Families

The first and most important place where we learn to serve like Jesus is right in our own homes. God has placed us in families not so we can be served, but so we can learn what it means to put others before ourselves. This is where the rubber meets the road in Christian living.

Paul gives us the perfect standard for how family members should serve one another:

Ephesians 5:25: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 5:22: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Notice that Paul doesn’t call any family member to demand their rights or insist on being served. Instead, each person is called to serve the others at personal cost. Husbands are to love their wives with the same sacrificial love that Christ showed for the church—a love that gives up its own interests for the good of the beloved. Wives are called to serve their husbands by supporting their leadership, just as the church serves Christ. Children serve their parents through respectful obedience.

But this pattern of costly service extends far beyond the traditional roles Paul describes. Every family member, whether husband or wife, parent or child, can look for ways to serve the others. We serve when we put away our own preferences to meet someone else’s needs. We serve when we choose kindness over harshness in our words, even when we’re tired or frustrated. We serve when we help with household tasks without being asked, sacrificing our leisure time for the good of our family.

Jesus Himself gives us the perfect example of family service. Even while He was dying on the cross, He was thinking about the needs of His mother Mary. He made sure that John would care for her after He was gone:

John 19:26-27: When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

If Jesus could think of serving His family even in His moment of greatest suffering, how much more should we look for opportunities to serve our loved ones in the ordinary moments of daily life?

Many of us find family service the most challenging because we’re tempted to take our families for granted. We might be kind and patient with friends or church members, but then come home and be demanding or selfish with those closest to us. But God wants our families to see Christ’s servant heart through our actions toward them.

The beautiful truth is that when we learn to serve our families well—even when it’s costly and inconvenient—we’re building the foundation for all other forms of service. The person who cannot serve in love at home will struggle to serve genuinely anywhere else. But when we master the art of putting our family members’ needs before our own, we develop the character that enables us to serve effectively in every other relationship.

➤ Serving Others

Jesus didn’t limit His service to His immediate family—He served everyone He encountered with compassion and mercy. When we follow His example, we discover that our service extends far beyond our own household to include anyone God places in our path.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day tried to limit their responsibility to serve others. They wanted to know exactly who qualified as their “neighbor” so they could serve those people and ignore everyone else. But Jesus told a story that revolutionized how we should think about serving others.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus described a man who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. A priest and a Levite—both religious leaders—saw the wounded man but passed by on the other side of the road. But a Samaritan traveler stopped, cared for the man’s wounds, took him to an inn, and paid for his recovery. Jesus concluded by asking which of these three had been a neighbor to the wounded man.

Luke 10:36-37: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

This parable teaches us that anyone who needs our help becomes our neighbor. The question is not “Who is my neighbor?” but rather “To whom can I be a neighbor?” Christ’s example shows us that we serve others not because of their race, social status, or relationship to us, but simply because they have needs that we can meet.

The Good Samaritan in Jesus’ story shows us what compassionate service looks like. He saw the need, felt compassion, and took costly action. He used his own resources—his time, money, and energy—to help someone who could never repay him. He didn’t just offer words of sympathy; he provided practical help that required personal sacrifice and made a real difference.

This kind of service requires us to keep our eyes open as we go through our daily lives. God regularly brings hurting people across our path—people who need encouragement, practical help, or simply someone who will listen to their struggles. The question is whether we will notice their needs and respond with Christ’s compassion.

(Notebook Moment: Think about your daily routine—the places you go, the people you encounter. Who might God be placing in your path that needs to experience His love through your service?)

Sometimes serving others means big acts of mercy, like helping someone through a major crisis. But more often, it means small acts of kindness that cost us something and show God’s love: using our time to help an elderly neighbor with groceries, spending emotional energy to encourage a struggling friend, sacrificing our comfort to visit someone who is lonely, or sharing our financial resources with those in need.

1 John 3:17-18: If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

John reminds us that genuine love for God will always express itself in practical service to others—service that costs us something. We cannot claim to love God while protecting our time, money, and comfort from those who need our help. When Christ’s love fills our hearts, it naturally flows out in costly service to anyone who needs our help.

➤ Serving the Body of Christ

The third area where Christ calls us to follow His example of service is within the church—the Body of Christ. God has given each believer spiritual gifts, not for our own benefit or glory, but specifically so we can serve and build up other Christians.

1 Corinthians 12:4-7: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Notice that Paul calls spiritual gifts “different kinds of service.” These gifts are not spiritual trophies that make us feel special or superior to other believers. They are tools that God has given us to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ effectively.

Every spiritual gift mentioned in Scripture is designed to meet someone else’s need. If you have the gift of teaching, you serve others by helping them understand God’s truth. If you have the gift of mercy, you serve by comforting those who are hurting. If you have the gift of helps, you serve by meeting practical needs. If you have the gift of leadership, you serve by guiding others toward spiritual maturity.

1 Peter 4:10-11: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Peter helps us understand that using our spiritual gifts is actually a form of stewardship. God has entrusted us with these abilities, and He expects us to invest them in serving others rather than keeping them to ourselves. When we use our gifts faithfully to serve the church, we bring glory to God and experience the joy that comes from fulfilling His purpose for our lives.

Unfortunately, many Christians never discover the satisfaction of using their gifts to serve others because they’re waiting for the perfect opportunity or the ideal position. But God doesn’t call us to wait for perfect circumstances—He calls us to start serving right where we are with whatever gifts and opportunities we have, even when it requires sacrifice.

Paul understood this principle perfectly. He used his gift of apostleship to serve churches throughout the Roman world, enduring beatings, imprisonments, and shipwrecks for the sake of the gospel. But he also served in many humble, practical ways that cost him personally. He worked with his hands to support himself financially so he wouldn’t be a burden to others. He personally carried financial gifts from one church to another. He spent time encouraging individual believers who were struggling with various challenges, often at great personal expense.

2 Corinthians 4:5: For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

This verse captures the heart of service within the Body of Christ. We don’t serve in order to build our own reputation or gain recognition for ourselves. We serve because Jesus is our Lord, and serving others is how we honor Him. When we approach church service with this mindset, it transforms everything we do from a duty into a privilege.

The church needs every member to use their gifts in service. Some gifts are more visible than others, but all are equally important. The person who quietly cleans the church building is serving just as meaningfully as the person who preaches from the pulpit. The person who visits shut-ins is serving just as importantly as the person who leads worship. In God’s kingdom, there are no insignificant acts of service.

(Notebook Moment: What spiritual gifts do you believe God has given you? How are you currently using these gifts to serve others in your local church? What steps could you take to serve more effectively?)

Conclusion

What was true of Jesus is also true of us. When Christ returns, we will be lifted up to reign with Him:

2 Timothy 2:12: If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us.

Revelation 20:6: Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

These promises remind us that our current calling to serve is temporary, but it is also tremendously important. Now is the time for us to serve others in humility and love the way Jesus did. Later will come the time for glory and honor and reigning with Christ.

But here’s the beautiful paradox of God’s kingdom: the way up is down. The person who learns to serve faithfully in this life is the one who will be trusted with greater responsibilities in the life to come. Jesus Himself taught this principle:

Luke 22:26-27: But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

When we serve our families, we’re learning to love the way Christ loves. When we serve others with compassion, we’re showing the world what God’s mercy looks like. When we serve the Body of Christ with our spiritual gifts, we’re participating in God’s work of building up His people.

Every act of humble service makes us more like Jesus. Every time we choose to put someone else’s needs before our own, we grow in Christlike character. Every opportunity we take to help, encourage, or build up another person prepares us for the eternal privilege of reigning with Christ.

The choice is ours. We can spend our lives seeking to be served, or we can follow Christ’s example and find joy in serving others. We can demand our rights and privileges, or we can discover the greater satisfaction that comes from using our lives to bless others.

Let the same mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. Choose the path of humble service, and you will find that in losing your life for others, you have truly found it.

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