May 5, 2025 • 34 mins
Serving alongside others transforms both our impact and our spiritual journey. In this enlightening conversation, Josh and Mark explore the profound biblical principle that we're designed not just to do good works, but to do them together.
Drawing from Hebrews 10:24 ("Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works"), they unpack how collaborative service creates a powerful upward spiral in our spiritual lives. When we serve with others, we experience accountability that keeps us showing up, relationships that deepen through shared purpose, and a motivating "spiritual competition" that pushes everyone toward greater faithfulness.
The evidence for group service is woven throughout scripture. From Ecclesiastes' wisdom that "two are better than one" to Jesus sending disciples out in pairs, the pattern is clear: God designed good works to be multiplied through partnership. As Proverbs reminds us, "iron sharpens iron," and nowhere is this more evident than when believers unite in service.
Josh and Mark offer practical insights for making group service a reality—from speaking intentions aloud to create accountability, to organizing simple projects like encouragement cards for first responders or nursing homes. They emphasize that collaborative service doesn't just benefit recipients; it transforms those who serve by strengthening relationships, building confidence, and creating joy that isolated service rarely achieves.
Ready to experience the difference that serving together makes? Listen now, then gather your group and put these principles into action. As the hosts remind us: "You were made for this."
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Made for Good, a podcast where we explore
how to live out our purposethrough good works out of a
biblical truth.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey, I'm Josh and I'm Mark.
Today we're talking aboutserving together.
You know, good works are notalways meant to be done in
isolation.
We're called to encourage andto inspire one another to make a
greater impact in God's kingdom.
So, Josh, I got a question foryou today.
Have you ever noticed how mucheasier and really more enjoyable
(00:36):
it is when you work with otherpeople, Even if it's the church
workday?
You know where you're shovelingthe mulch and cutting grass and
trimming the shrubs, howthere's a sense of joy in
serving together.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's interesting how you feel during it and after
relationships being strengthened.
You feel a sense of being moremotivated when you're together.
I can think about a couple ofrelationships that I have you
and I have some other closefriends as well that I think
about, and there is this thing.
This is a sense of spiritualcompetition, and I don't mean
(01:13):
that in an ugly way I know thatsounds ugly when I say that but
there's a sense of excitementthat happens and I want to do
something more because you'redoing something more.
That motivation that happensand it happens because we're
together.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, that's really.
I think that that's biblical.
I think that's exactly whatHebrews 10, 24 is talking about.
It says let us consider how tostir one another up to love and
good works.
So you know, serving togetherdoesn't just help other people.
You know the recipients of thework, the beneficiaries of the
work.
It inspires and it strengthensthe people who are doing it.
(01:51):
Yeah, not just in our faith butin our relationships.
You know, I'm seeing you dogood and you're seeing me do
good, and we can show each otherthat we're living out our faith
, that we're on the path, andplus the fact that some things
are heavy and we need two peopleto carry them, yeah, that's
(02:12):
both physically andphilosophically.
You know, josh, you mentionedtheir spiritual competition.
That's a concept that's in theBible.
I mean, if you look at the ESVversion of Romans 12, verse 10,
it says love one another withbrotherly affection, and here it
is outdo one another in showinghonor.
(02:33):
So I think maybe that it'sobviously lighthearted in a way.
But if you're outdoing oneanother, trying to show each
other honor, man, that's just anupward spiral of a relationship
.
You also have the concept ofiron sharpening iron in Proverbs
27, 17.
As iron sharpens iron, so oneperson sharpens another.
(02:55):
If we're serving together,we're actually sharpening each
other as well.
So I really love that elementof serving together.
Our starting point in thisepisode today is going to be in
Hebrews 10, 24.
And it's a verse for those whoare Bible students very familiar
Let us consider how to stir oneanother up to love and good
(03:17):
works.
So there's two elements to this.
There's the goal, and that'slove and good works.
The goal and that's love andgood works.
But there's a, an instigator,um, an action to take to cause
those things to happen.
And it's really, in a lot ofcases, serving together.
Now I could cause you to dosomething by saying something to
(03:37):
you and you go off and you doit by yourself.
But that does this does notexclude us getting together and
doing it together.
So when you do it together, aswe talked about, we strengthen
each other, we sharpen eachother.
It inspires us in our own faith.
So we're going to talk moreabout that, this power of group
service.
But we want to go back toHebrews 10, 24 and look at the
(03:58):
context.
In what context are we stirringone another up to love and good
works?
If you go look at Hebrews 10and just go back a little bit in
the other verses there.
Hebrews 10, starting in verse19, you see that the Hebrews
(04:20):
writer is saying Therefore,brothers, since we have
confidence to enter the holyplaces by the blood of Jesus I'm
reading from the ESV and by thenew and living way that he
opened for us through thecurtain that is, through his
flesh, and since we have a greatpriest over the house of God,
(04:41):
all these things are true.
Verse 22.
Verse 23.
(05:02):
Let us consider here we are,let us consider how to serve one
another up to love and goodworks.
And then verse 25, I think,gives us the context Not
neglecting to meet together, asis the habit of some, but
encouraging one another all themore as you see the day drawing
near.
Okay, so let's unpack verse 25a little more.
(05:26):
So there's two elements to thatverse.
I think.
It's talking about meetingtogether.
This is when the churchfamilies together for Bible
study, for worship service.
The things that we're going totalk about today should be
happening in that environment.
And just to complete thethought, the other part of that
is it's all the more as you seethe day drawing near.
(05:48):
What's the day?
Well, it could be judgment day.
Some versions have the word daycapitalized.
I think it could be the day ofthe end of our life, as our life
closes.
Or it could be the first day ofthe week, which I believe is
what this verse is talking about, when they assemble together.
(06:09):
So it could be that day.
It's one of those three.
The idea is we ought to bemeeting together.
We're going to encourage oneanother and strengthen one
another, and we're going to talkabout what those spiritual
benefits are in being togetherand doing these good works
together.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We're going to get into our Bible basis segment now
.
The Bible is clear that servingtogether brings spiritual and
relational benefits.
We're going to look back atreally where our podcast was
built off of, and that'sEphesians 2.10, where it reminds
us For we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
(06:50):
in them.
We aren't just called to dogood works.
God's already preparedopportunities for us to serve.
But what's interesting aboutthis is our lights can shine
even brighter when we worktogether.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
That idea is clearly conveyed in the Old Testament as
well.
If you look at Ecclesiastes 4,verse 9 and 10, it tells us why
working together is so important.
It says two are better than onebecause they have a good reward
for their toil, for if theyfall, one will lift up his
fellow, but woe to him who isalone when he falls and has not
(07:26):
another to Now.
There's some really interestingelements here.
The two are better than onebecause the first thing is they
have a good reward for theirtoil.
It's almost like they'recelebrating together.
You know the reward is we didthis together and like you know,
good job, good job, and there'sa reward from the work that's
(07:49):
shared between the two.
And then the other is havingsomebody there to pick you up
when you fall, and not havingthat is very lonely, of course.
So serving with others providessupport.
If you fall, it suppliesencouragement.
(08:09):
I think you see that in thegood reward for their toil.
And something we really haven'thit on it provides
accountability.
Show up at 7.30 to work onsister so-and-so's yard and you
agree to that.
I'm like, okay, well, I need tobe there.
(08:32):
I mean, that's a really simpleexample.
But accountability, it keeps usfrom, I think, burning out, and
I think that it shows thebigger picture of God's work in
having his people workingtogether in the kingdom.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
That's really interesting.
Just the thought was you weretalking, I was just thinking how
Jesus also sent folks out twoby two.
So there's, we just see thisall throughout the Bible.
Let's shift into our missionprofile and let's talk about why
group services matter, and Iwant to work shop these together
.
We have kind of really built tothis moment If we think about
(09:03):
all of the episodes we've hadbefore, and we're going to touch
on some things of why thesethings matter, but in context
now to us doing things together.
So the first one let our lightshine so that we can glorify God
.
What does that look like?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Going back to our Hebrews 10 context, where we've
assembled together, we're at ourworship service, we're at a
Bible study.
There's an element of lettingour light shine that almost
conveys our demeanor, right?
So if you show up sad anddowncast, somebody may ask hey,
are you fasting?
No, that's actually not whatwe're supposed to do.
(09:38):
You know what's going on.
So if you want to go to theworship service, to the Bible
study, you're going to have togo to the Bible study and let
your light shine.
Number one you need to be there, Right?
Because in Hebrews 10, 25, theyweren't showing up, they were
forsaking the assembly.
So be there and be happy.
(09:59):
You're meeting with your people, Right?
You're meeting with fellowtravelers on this journey of
sanctification towards a home inheaven.
So letting your light shine,being positive and being
encouraging to other people, man, you can do that when you walk
in the front door, greetingpeople, smiling and just exuding
(10:19):
, I am happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I agree with that, and one of my favorite things
we've talked about from thebeginning is love and compassion
turning into action rather thanus just feeling it.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Well, you know.
And so when you see that person, you're coming in, you're happy
, you're up, you're charged,you're excited about being
together with fellow believers,and you see someone who's not
someone who is downcast.
They're there, great, maybethey're there because they need
the boost, yeah, and if you lovethem and you have that
(10:54):
compassion for them in otherwords, as we've talked about,
you have a relationship withthem Stop and ask them how
they're doing.
Fine, I'm okay.
Why don't you tell me what'sgoing on?
We'll get into this, but youknow, ask the question Right,
(11:20):
and not just see it and go.
Man, they look really sad.
I wonder what was going on andyou're having this conversation
in the car, going home ratherthan seeing it and, in the
moment, taking action and going,going to the person and going
how are you doing?
Maybe they just got a baddiagnosis of cancer?
You can very quickly andclearly see where they are and
those who need compassion andlove go, surround them and boost
them.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I can see how some of these are easier in our comfort
space of the building, for sure, but think about serving as a
group or serving, you know, witha friend or brother.
In regards to redeeming thetime, what does that look like?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Well, I think you're redeeming the time in the
context of worshiping togetheris understanding, making a
commitment in your schedule tobe at these scheduled times of
assembly.
Sunday, first day of the week,there's a time to gather and
worship and remember Jesus'sacrifice.
On the first day of the week.
There's a time to gather andworship and remember Jesus'
sacrifice on the first day ofthe week when he arose.
(12:14):
It might be a midweek Biblestudy sometime.
These are times that areestablished and redeeming the
time.
There's, in my opinion, nobetter use of the time than
studying God's Word.
I mean, we don't do that 24seven, but redeeming the time is
making time for that.
And just I'll add a littlebonus to that Part of the
(12:37):
redeeming of the time is showingup prepared.
So if you've got a Bible study,read the chapter.
I mean, go over.
If there are questions theteacher's prepared.
Go over those questions.
I'll admit I don't always dothat, but I should always do
that.
Let's say, you and I have a roleof leading a public prayer or
reading scripture.
Commit the time to prepare forthat ahead of time,
(13:00):
understanding that you're notjust praying for yourself.
You're praying for 20, 30, 50,100, 200, 300, 400 people.
You're leading all those peopleConceptually.
You're leading all those peopleto the throne of God and to
give him praise and to make apetition, to give him
(13:22):
thanksgiving for the things he'sprovided.
We need to be prepared, so weneed to put in the time for the
preparation, same way we do.
You know the sports analogy isyou put in the time in the gym
so that shows, you know, in thegame, putting in the time ahead
of time for something that's soimportant when you are leading
other people in worship.
(13:42):
I'm going to read through thatthree, four, five times so that
I get.
I don't stumble over.
You know Sentai's name and andso you know, just to make sure
that I knew how to how to say itcorrectly.
But it's preparation and it'sputting in time to prepare.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I can see how we can do that on a number of levels.
You know, even sometimes Ithink when, when I think of a
group, I'll think of certainbrothers and sisters that I may
do things with at the building,but even within our own homes,
we can set the bar, as a husband, as doing the things you just
talked about preparing for Bibleclass, making that a priority.
Make sure your kids have theirBible lessons as a mom and a dad
, letting them know why thingsare important and redeeming that
(14:25):
time that's very special andprecious with your children, so
that they know that they'll beready for Bible class as well.
Love all that.
A couple weeks ago now, wetalked about the poor, and you
made the comment that the Bibletalks about the poor over 200
times, which is really wild,right, when you think about that
.
And so in that same context andeven in that same episode, we
(14:48):
did talk about the widows aswell, and James 1, I think it's
verse 27.
And so, when it comes toremembering the poor and the
widows and others in need, whatdoes that look like?
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Well, unfortunately, sometimes the poor, and almost
always widows, are right therein the assembly with us, right,
you know that could look like.
Sometimes maybe your churchfamily helps out financially a
poor family that's in your midst.
But it doesn't always have tobe money, you know from the
(15:21):
church assembly.
It could be something so simpleas bringing a meal or giving
somebody some money.
Hey, I know that you got a lotof expenses going back and forth
to the doctor, maybe in anothercity here's $50 for some gas.
Just do that privately, do thatoff, but you can do that and we
(15:42):
see it at our church family.
We see people in the parkinglot going from one car to the
other where they're sharingproduce.
I mean, sometimes we've got abasket outside our, the entrance
to our, the building, andthere's, there's fruit and
vegetables there that one of themembers brings and shares.
(16:03):
And so those who are poor andthose who are widows, and just
let's combine those poor widowswho have the need and they don't
have anybody necessarily toprovide that, I mean what a
blessing.
You know, it's just there, it'sjust free.
This meeting together is such agreat time to do that, because
(16:23):
you can, if you're observant, ifyou're aware, you can see the
potential need around you withthe people that you worship with
.
I mean, when we're called toaccount on the day of judgment.
We've talked about this beforein other discussions where when
we stand before Jesus at thejudgment day, he's going to ask
(16:47):
did we visit the sick in theiraffliction?
He's going to ask did we helpthose who are in prison?
He's going to ask if we've donethese things in our lifetime.
It doesn't say that.
He's going to ask can you nameall 14 apostles?
Not that those things are notimportant, but the focus why we
(17:12):
are created in Christ Jesus isto do good works, and the good
works is again to reflect theglory of God on others around us
.
Being aware and knowing thepoor and the widows in your own
church family and theministering to those needs, I
think is very, very important.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
One of the things you touched on in that was being
discreet.
I really appreciate you sayingthat.
I think that there will betimes where, if you were to ask
someone who you perceive to needsome help, they may tell you
they're fine.
They may say that we're okay,thanks for asking because you
they're fine.
They may say that we're okay,thanks for asking because maybe
they're uncomfortable.
(17:52):
In those moments we still cando good even when they say
they're okay.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Yeah, that leads me to a thought, sometimes, asking
the question we feel we've doneour part.
Do you guys need anything?
No, we're good.
Okay, I think it's better tojust do the good.
Amen.
If you did it for someone whoreally probably was okay, who
(18:18):
probably didn't, maybe didn'tneed the financial help or
whatever, is it still a blessing?
Yeah, you still bless thosepeople with whatever action that
you took to help them.
So maybe do it without askingBecause, as you said, a lot of
people, their pride, would causethem to say, no, no, really I'm
(18:39):
good.
In other words, I'm going tosuffer through.
I absolutely could use the $50.
Have you seen the price of gas?
I absolutely could use themoney for gas, but I'm not going
to convey to you my situation.
The reason behind that, I think, is there's probably not a
level of trust or a strongenough relationship between the
two people.
(19:00):
And if there, if there were, I'mlike yeah, man, you know you,
you know, you know what's goingon.
I mean, you know I'm, I'mhaving to go take my wife, you
know, four times a week to, youknow an hour and a half away,
for chemo treatment.
Yeah, absolutely, you know Ican use it and I appreciate it.
So just just do the good andmaybe even without asking,
(19:21):
Agreed, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
What brings us to the next one that I have as far as
why group service matters isjust something simple.
At least it can be Encourageand uplift fellow believers.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yeah, I think our very presence at a worship
service or a Bible study can beuplifting and encouraging to
other people.
And what we do while we'rethere, our presence, is the
first thing Show up, participateenergetically participate,
engage with others there.
These are things that doencourage and uplift fellow
(19:56):
believers.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Last episode we talked about how things can be
therapeutic when we do good.
Specifically, we can improveour emotions and our spiritual
well-being.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Well, I don't know about you, but if the singing
has been exceptionally good at aworship service or someone's
come up to me and said man, Ireally appreciate that prayer.
I really appreciate how youtried to paint a picture of us
this morning at this worshipservice, all standing before the
(20:29):
throne of God.
You tried to paint that picturein your prayer.
When I get in the car to gohome, I feel good.
I feel that my emotional andspiritual well-being has been
boosted just by being there, andmaybe at that particular time
all I did was sit in the pew andsing.
(20:50):
Maybe I didn't do anything.
Maybe somebody said somethingfrom some other time where you
or I had served in a public wayin the worship service.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
And the last thing is just building close
relationships within the body ofChrist.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, I mean familiarity, getting to know
people you know builds strongerbonds, particularly if you're in
a Bible class and you knowyou've had a really deep
biblical discussion and someonehas made a comment and you're
like, oh man, that is soinsightful.
I really appreciate that I'venot thought of that aspect
(21:29):
before.
There's a mutual respect thereand there's almost an
interdependency on their faiththat now you can rely, maybe
trust, that person a little moreto help you.
They demonstrated some wisdommaybe in that comment and so
(21:49):
that can be so helpful.
And, again, just a reallyreally close relationship.
We've mentioned the termencourager and we've likened it
in our class that we taught toan encourager, to a person who's
got this thread, and thatthread represents the love that
(22:11):
we're to have for one anotherand that encourager goes and
talks to this person and talksto that person and encourages
this person, and what they'rereally doing is stitching that
love.
They're stitching all thesepeople together.
Oh, josh said that to you, hesaid that to me too, and if you
do that enough and you threadthat needle around through all
(22:33):
the people attaching each othertogether with love, then you
become closer and closer andtighter and tighter, and I think
that that's an element ofassembling together that God
really expects from us.
You know these are great, josh,going through this and looking
at how, when we meet together,how we can serve and do good
(22:54):
works at the assembly, you know,before the assembly, during the
assembly and even after theassembly in the parking lot
potentially, during the assemblyand even after the assembly in
the parking lot potentially.
But I don't think that weshould limit what Hebrews 10 is
talking about.
It's certainly, I believe,talking about these things as it
pertains to assembly, but thereare other passages that we can
(23:26):
talk about and other exampleswhere the good works were not
confined to the four walls ofthe church building.
A lot of congregations willdivide up, particularly larger
ones, into working groups orsmall groups, whatever you want
to call them.
It's a subset of the assemblywhere they go out and they do
good together.
Sometimes that's social,sometimes that's meeting
(23:46):
together and just praying for along list of people who need
prayer.
Sometimes that's going andmaybe singing at an assisted
living home or a nursing home,or getting together and writing
cards and mailing them out tovisitors.
There's so many ways that wecan serve really outside the
building and it could be anorganic thing where we could
(24:08):
just get a group together.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe the same group of people
every time, and we're going totalk in a moment about what that
might look like.
But let's look at one morepassage.
We had mentioned Romans 12earlier about outdoing one
another.
In Romans 14, verse 19,.
It says let us make everyeffort to do what leads to peace
(24:30):
and mutual edification.
There's that word effort.
We talked about this before.
It doesn't require a lot ofeffort for me to eat a bowl of
ice cream.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
By the way, twice you've mentioned that, so I
think you like ice cream.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
That is true.
I am my father's son.
If we are looking to dosomething good, this is work.
We also talked about that aswell.
Serving together is work, butit creates a lasting impact.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
But it creates a lasting impact and it's not just
for the people who benefit fromit, but for the people who
serve as well, right, let's getinto our reality check and with
our focus really being and we'vegotten to a point now where we
can get more in the weeds on itcommitment to group service.
So I think we often have goodintentions when it comes to
(25:20):
serving, but without commitment,those intentions fade.
And here's what commitment togroup service looks like.
Three things making time forservice it's not going to happen
if you don't prioritize itRight Joining or organizing a
service project.
Be proactive in finding ways toserve.
And the third thing beingencouraging others to join.
(25:42):
Bring people together so thatyou can strengthen the
experience.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Sometimes just putting it out there, saying it,
causes it to happen.
If you say, for instance, to afriend maybe named Josh, what do
you think about doing a podcast?
Okay, now it's out there and itbegins to be worked towards a
(26:07):
manifestation, it starts toactually happen.
So if you say, if you, if inyour mind, without saying
anything to anybody you knowwhat I heard the other day on
the news that the food bank isreally cutting back because they
don't have a lot of volunteersand you think to yourself, man,
I should get four or five ofthese guys and we just go one
(26:30):
morning and work there.
You think it and it just sitsthere and you'll never do it.
Do those guys know about thatopportunity?
They don't about thatopportunity, they don't.
If you open your mouth and sayit and speak it, then now you've
(26:52):
made it visible and you've alsomaybe created a little bit of
accountability, not just to youto follow through, but you
challenged maybe some of yourbuddies to go with you as well
and putting it out.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
There is a way to cause it to happen.
We need to do that in allaspects of our lives,
spiritually.
There's been times where well,here's an example I needed to
talk, I needed to have adifficult conversation with
someone.
I knew it and there had beentimes in my life as a young man
where it, as we talked aboutearlier, started to fade because
I didn't act on it.
But as soon as I talked to mycore people about what I needed
(27:24):
to do, they knew.
So I spoke it into existence.
As you mentioned earlier, theystarted to pray about what I
needed to do and there wasaccountability.
I did have that conversationbecause people knew I was not
going to come back to those coregroup of people and then ask me
how did I go?
And then we have an excuse.
So I know that we are talkingabout serving as a group, but I
(27:47):
just think it's important tojust kind of stop and pause for
a minute and think, wow, wereally need to do this, to put
pressure on ourselves so we staymotivated and doing things in
the kingdom.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Yeah, you know.
Let's look at Ephesians 4,verse 16.
This is really talking abouthow the church works best
Ephesians 4, 16.
For whom the whole body, joinedand held together by every
joint with which it is equipped,when each part is working
properly, makes the body grow sothat it builds itself up in
(28:18):
love.
We were talking about beforethe encourager and kind of
stitching together love.
You know, that's how that verseends up.
But the whole body workingtogether, joint, held together
by every joint with which it isequipped.
I think that God has designedthe church to work together as a
(28:38):
multi-part organism, if I canuse that word.
It's designed to work together.
We should be working togetherin the kingdom and it's very,
very powerful for us to do thatbecause of all the reasons we've
talked about and encouragingone another.
But when we commit to serving,then we're going to grow
(28:58):
together.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
We obviously have talked about our mission profile
.
Let's get into your challengethis week, your mission
challenge, and it's going to bea group service activity.
So here's the challenge for theweek.
It's time to get together witha group and serve, and here's
how we want you to do it.
We want you to organize a groupproject and, by the way, this
can be with friends, it can bewith your family, it can be with
(29:22):
extended family, it can be withsome folks you know from church
and get a group of thosetogether, people that you love,
and pick a service activity.
And the second part of this iswe want you to make it hands-on
and meaningful.
Meaning, choose something thatrequires teamwork and has a
lasting impact.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Let's give our listeners a specific.
Okay, those are great conceptualideas and maybe, as you were
saying, that people alreadystarted formulating what they
may want to do and they'vealready got, even now, what they
want to go.
Maybe they've already beenthinking about it, right, and it
just popped in their head whenyou were going through a group
project, hands-on and meaningful.
Well, here's a specific one.
(30:01):
If you didn't have an idea,we'll call this the community
encouragement project.
It's still a little flexible asto who you're going to do this
for, so this could be for anursing home, it could be for
assisted living, it could be forhospital, it could be even the
fire department down the street.
Here's the activity Gather yourgroup, get your people together
(30:25):
and write an encouraging note.
Okay, I don't always knowexactly what to say.
What do you say?
Well, you don't really have tocome up with something.
You could just write down aBible verse, an encouraging
Bible verse, or maybe write aprayer.
Maybe say the prayer as you'regathered around.
What would our prayer be for?
I don't know one of the firemen.
(30:47):
Yeah, I prayed for you for thenext time you fight a house fire
that you are safe.
I gave thanks to God that youare in our community and are
there to keep our homes safe.
Or maybe it's to a nurse Thankyou for your work, and you're
going to take it to the hospital.
Maybe you write three, four,five verses or prayers, just
(31:11):
these are I pray to God, andmaybe you write it out I thank
God for you, for the work thatyou do in our community, working
every day to save lives.
You prayed it and then youwrote it down and put that in a
card.
Or it could just beparticularly if you've got
younger kids and we'll talkabout in an upcoming episode how
to involve your kids in goodworks kind of setting that
(31:34):
example.
You could just pick out someBible verses and have them, just
copy the Bible verse onto acard and then go, you know,
deliver those and if you wantkind of a just to add a little
bit to it, maybe you bake somecookies or some cupcakes or buy
them, whatever, and bring those,with the cards you know, again
to the nursing home or to ahospital or to the, you know,
(31:57):
the fire department.
But it's, it's very simple andI guarantee you're going to have
fun doing it, Seeing kids lightup when you see their work in
the kingdom.
It's just, it's very, veryspecial.
I think it's good maybe, beforeyou go to deliver them is to
pray as a group for the peoplethat you're going to encourage.
(32:17):
And if you want kind of a bonus, like we do sometimes a bonus
challenge is, bring somebodyinto that group that you don't
normally serve with.
Maybe it's a more shy person,maybe a little more introverted,
maybe a college student ormaybe a widow, someone who's
(32:40):
possibly lonely, maybe theirfamily doesn't live in our
community and they're kind of bythemselves.
So invite them to come in anddo that.
So you've got this smallergroup of people writing notes
and delivering to one of thesegroups of people, either at a
nursing home, assisted livinghospital or fire department.
So that's the specificcommunity encouragement project.
(33:04):
Again, it doesn't have to bespecific to this.
It could be something else thatyou've already thought of.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
By the way, I love that you said invite someone
that you don't know as well.
You know, um, and there's nobetter way to build a
relationship with someone thanserving with them.
Yeah, and so this is an awesomeadded piece to this, and I hope
that people don't forget that.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Okay, so that's the, that's our, that's our mission
challenge for the week andactually that's it for the whole
episode.
Thanks for tuning in, listeningin, clicking on play for this
episode of made for good.
If this conversation encouragedyou or challenged you, be sure
to subscribe so you don't missthe next one.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Well, we hope you found this helpful.
Consider sharing it with afriend.
Until next time, gather yourgroup, serve together and
remember you were made for this.
You Thank you.
Welcome to Made for Good, a podcast where we explore
how to live out our purposethrough good works out of a
biblical truth.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey, I'm Josh and I'm Mark.
Today we're talking aboutserving together.
You know, good works are notalways meant to be done in
isolation.
We're called to encourage andto inspire one another to make a
greater impact in God's kingdom.
So, Josh, I got a question foryou today.
Have you ever noticed how mucheasier and really more enjoyable
(00:36):
it is when you work with otherpeople, Even if it's the church
workday?
You know where you're shovelingthe mulch and cutting grass and
trimming the shrubs, howthere's a sense of joy in
serving together.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's interesting how you feel during it and after
relationships being strengthened.
You feel a sense of being moremotivated when you're together.
I can think about a couple ofrelationships that I have you
and I have some other closefriends as well that I think
about, and there is this thing.
This is a sense of spiritualcompetition, and I don't mean
(01:13):
that in an ugly way I know thatsounds ugly when I say that but
there's a sense of excitementthat happens and I want to do
something more because you'redoing something more.
That motivation that happensand it happens because we're
together.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, that's really.
I think that that's biblical.
I think that's exactly whatHebrews 10, 24 is talking about.
It says let us consider how tostir one another up to love and
good works.
So you know, serving togetherdoesn't just help other people.
You know the recipients of thework, the beneficiaries of the
work.
It inspires and it strengthensthe people who are doing it.
(01:51):
Yeah, not just in our faith butin our relationships.
You know, I'm seeing you dogood and you're seeing me do
good, and we can show each otherthat we're living out our faith
, that we're on the path, andplus the fact that some things
are heavy and we need two peopleto carry them, yeah, that's
(02:12):
both physically andphilosophically.
You know, josh, you mentionedtheir spiritual competition.
That's a concept that's in theBible.
I mean, if you look at the ESVversion of Romans 12, verse 10,
it says love one another withbrotherly affection, and here it
is outdo one another in showinghonor.
(02:33):
So I think maybe that it'sobviously lighthearted in a way.
But if you're outdoing oneanother, trying to show each
other honor, man, that's just anupward spiral of a relationship
.
You also have the concept ofiron sharpening iron in Proverbs
27, 17.
As iron sharpens iron, so oneperson sharpens another.
(02:55):
If we're serving together,we're actually sharpening each
other as well.
So I really love that elementof serving together.
Our starting point in thisepisode today is going to be in
Hebrews 10, 24.
And it's a verse for those whoare Bible students very familiar
Let us consider how to stir oneanother up to love and good
(03:17):
works.
So there's two elements to this.
There's the goal, and that'slove and good works.
The goal and that's love andgood works.
But there's a, an instigator,um, an action to take to cause
those things to happen.
And it's really, in a lot ofcases, serving together.
Now I could cause you to dosomething by saying something to
(03:37):
you and you go off and you doit by yourself.
But that does this does notexclude us getting together and
doing it together.
So when you do it together, aswe talked about, we strengthen
each other, we sharpen eachother.
It inspires us in our own faith.
So we're going to talk moreabout that, this power of group
service.
But we want to go back toHebrews 10, 24 and look at the
(03:58):
context.
In what context are we stirringone another up to love and good
works?
If you go look at Hebrews 10and just go back a little bit in
the other verses there.
Hebrews 10, starting in verse19, you see that the Hebrews
(04:20):
writer is saying Therefore,brothers, since we have
confidence to enter the holyplaces by the blood of Jesus I'm
reading from the ESV and by thenew and living way that he
opened for us through thecurtain that is, through his
flesh, and since we have a greatpriest over the house of God,
(04:41):
all these things are true.
Verse 22.
Verse 23.
(05:02):
Let us consider here we are,let us consider how to serve one
another up to love and goodworks.
And then verse 25, I think,gives us the context Not
neglecting to meet together, asis the habit of some, but
encouraging one another all themore as you see the day drawing
near.
Okay, so let's unpack verse 25a little more.
(05:26):
So there's two elements to thatverse.
I think.
It's talking about meetingtogether.
This is when the churchfamilies together for Bible
study, for worship service.
The things that we're going totalk about today should be
happening in that environment.
And just to complete thethought, the other part of that
is it's all the more as you seethe day drawing near.
(05:48):
What's the day?
Well, it could be judgment day.
Some versions have the word daycapitalized.
I think it could be the day ofthe end of our life, as our life
closes.
Or it could be the first day ofthe week, which I believe is
what this verse is talking about, when they assemble together.
(06:09):
So it could be that day.
It's one of those three.
The idea is we ought to bemeeting together.
We're going to encourage oneanother and strengthen one
another, and we're going to talkabout what those spiritual
benefits are in being togetherand doing these good works
together.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We're going to get into our Bible basis segment now
.
The Bible is clear that servingtogether brings spiritual and
relational benefits.
We're going to look back atreally where our podcast was
built off of, and that'sEphesians 2.10, where it reminds
us For we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
(06:50):
in them.
We aren't just called to dogood works.
God's already preparedopportunities for us to serve.
But what's interesting aboutthis is our lights can shine
even brighter when we worktogether.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
That idea is clearly conveyed in the Old Testament as
well.
If you look at Ecclesiastes 4,verse 9 and 10, it tells us why
working together is so important.
It says two are better than onebecause they have a good reward
for their toil, for if theyfall, one will lift up his
fellow, but woe to him who isalone when he falls and has not
(07:26):
another to Now.
There's some really interestingelements here.
The two are better than onebecause the first thing is they
have a good reward for theirtoil.
It's almost like they'recelebrating together.
You know the reward is we didthis together and like you know,
good job, good job, and there'sa reward from the work that's
(07:49):
shared between the two.
And then the other is havingsomebody there to pick you up
when you fall, and not havingthat is very lonely, of course.
So serving with others providessupport.
If you fall, it suppliesencouragement.
(08:09):
I think you see that in thegood reward for their toil.
And something we really haven'thit on it provides
accountability.
Show up at 7.30 to work onsister so-and-so's yard and you
agree to that.
I'm like, okay, well, I need tobe there.
(08:32):
I mean, that's a really simpleexample.
But accountability, it keeps usfrom, I think, burning out, and
I think that it shows thebigger picture of God's work in
having his people workingtogether in the kingdom.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
That's really interesting.
Just the thought was you weretalking, I was just thinking how
Jesus also sent folks out twoby two.
So there's, we just see thisall throughout the Bible.
Let's shift into our missionprofile and let's talk about why
group services matter, and Iwant to work shop these together
.
We have kind of really built tothis moment If we think about
(09:03):
all of the episodes we've hadbefore, and we're going to touch
on some things of why thesethings matter, but in context
now to us doing things together.
So the first one let our lightshine so that we can glorify God
.
What does that look like?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Going back to our Hebrews 10 context, where we've
assembled together, we're at ourworship service, we're at a
Bible study.
There's an element of lettingour light shine that almost
conveys our demeanor, right?
So if you show up sad anddowncast, somebody may ask hey,
are you fasting?
No, that's actually not whatwe're supposed to do.
(09:38):
You know what's going on.
So if you want to go to theworship service, to the Bible
study, you're going to have togo to the Bible study and let
your light shine.
Number one you need to be there, Right?
Because in Hebrews 10, 25, theyweren't showing up, they were
forsaking the assembly.
So be there and be happy.
(09:59):
You're meeting with your people, Right?
You're meeting with fellowtravelers on this journey of
sanctification towards a home inheaven.
So letting your light shine,being positive and being
encouraging to other people, man, you can do that when you walk
in the front door, greetingpeople, smiling and just exuding
(10:19):
, I am happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I agree with that, and one of my favorite things
we've talked about from thebeginning is love and compassion
turning into action rather thanus just feeling it.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Well, you know.
And so when you see that person, you're coming in, you're happy
, you're up, you're charged,you're excited about being
together with fellow believers,and you see someone who's not
someone who is downcast.
They're there, great, maybethey're there because they need
the boost, yeah, and if you lovethem and you have that
(10:54):
compassion for them in otherwords, as we've talked about,
you have a relationship withthem Stop and ask them how
they're doing.
Fine, I'm okay.
Why don't you tell me what'sgoing on?
We'll get into this, but youknow, ask the question Right,
(11:20):
and not just see it and go.
Man, they look really sad.
I wonder what was going on andyou're having this conversation
in the car, going home ratherthan seeing it and, in the
moment, taking action and going,going to the person and going
how are you doing?
Maybe they just got a baddiagnosis of cancer?
You can very quickly andclearly see where they are and
those who need compassion andlove go, surround them and boost
them.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I can see how some of these are easier in our comfort
space of the building, for sure, but think about serving as a
group or serving, you know, witha friend or brother.
In regards to redeeming thetime, what does that look like?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Well, I think you're redeeming the time in the
context of worshiping togetheris understanding, making a
commitment in your schedule tobe at these scheduled times of
assembly.
Sunday, first day of the week,there's a time to gather and
worship and remember Jesus'sacrifice.
On the first day of the week.
There's a time to gather andworship and remember Jesus'
sacrifice on the first day ofthe week when he arose.
(12:14):
It might be a midweek Biblestudy sometime.
These are times that areestablished and redeeming the
time.
There's, in my opinion, nobetter use of the time than
studying God's Word.
I mean, we don't do that 24seven, but redeeming the time is
making time for that.
And just I'll add a littlebonus to that Part of the
(12:37):
redeeming of the time is showingup prepared.
So if you've got a Bible study,read the chapter.
I mean, go over.
If there are questions theteacher's prepared.
Go over those questions.
I'll admit I don't always dothat, but I should always do
that.
Let's say, you and I have a roleof leading a public prayer or
reading scripture.
Commit the time to prepare forthat ahead of time,
(13:00):
understanding that you're notjust praying for yourself.
You're praying for 20, 30, 50,100, 200, 300, 400 people.
You're leading all those peopleConceptually.
You're leading all those peopleto the throne of God and to
give him praise and to make apetition, to give him
(13:22):
thanksgiving for the things he'sprovided.
We need to be prepared, so weneed to put in the time for the
preparation, same way we do.
You know the sports analogy isyou put in the time in the gym
so that shows, you know, in thegame, putting in the time ahead
of time for something that's soimportant when you are leading
other people in worship.
(13:42):
I'm going to read through thatthree, four, five times so that
I get.
I don't stumble over.
You know Sentai's name and andso you know, just to make sure
that I knew how to how to say itcorrectly.
But it's preparation and it'sputting in time to prepare.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I can see how we can do that on a number of levels.
You know, even sometimes Ithink when, when I think of a
group, I'll think of certainbrothers and sisters that I may
do things with at the building,but even within our own homes,
we can set the bar, as a husband, as doing the things you just
talked about preparing for Bibleclass, making that a priority.
Make sure your kids have theirBible lessons as a mom and a dad
, letting them know why thingsare important and redeeming that
(14:25):
time that's very special andprecious with your children, so
that they know that they'll beready for Bible class as well.
Love all that.
A couple weeks ago now, wetalked about the poor, and you
made the comment that the Bibletalks about the poor over 200
times, which is really wild,right, when you think about that
.
And so in that same context andeven in that same episode, we
(14:48):
did talk about the widows aswell, and James 1, I think it's
verse 27.
And so, when it comes toremembering the poor and the
widows and others in need, whatdoes that look like?
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Well, unfortunately, sometimes the poor, and almost
always widows, are right therein the assembly with us, right,
you know that could look like.
Sometimes maybe your churchfamily helps out financially a
poor family that's in your midst.
But it doesn't always have tobe money, you know from the
(15:21):
church assembly.
It could be something so simpleas bringing a meal or giving
somebody some money.
Hey, I know that you got a lotof expenses going back and forth
to the doctor, maybe in anothercity here's $50 for some gas.
Just do that privately, do thatoff, but you can do that and we
(15:42):
see it at our church family.
We see people in the parkinglot going from one car to the
other where they're sharingproduce.
I mean, sometimes we've got abasket outside our, the entrance
to our, the building, andthere's, there's fruit and
vegetables there that one of themembers brings and shares.
(16:03):
And so those who are poor andthose who are widows, and just
let's combine those poor widowswho have the need and they don't
have anybody necessarily toprovide that, I mean what a
blessing.
You know, it's just there, it'sjust free.
This meeting together is such agreat time to do that, because
(16:23):
you can, if you're observant, ifyou're aware, you can see the
potential need around you withthe people that you worship with
.
I mean, when we're called toaccount on the day of judgment.
We've talked about this beforein other discussions where when
we stand before Jesus at thejudgment day, he's going to ask
(16:47):
did we visit the sick in theiraffliction?
He's going to ask did we helpthose who are in prison?
He's going to ask if we've donethese things in our lifetime.
It doesn't say that.
He's going to ask can you nameall 14 apostles?
Not that those things are notimportant, but the focus why we
(17:12):
are created in Christ Jesus isto do good works, and the good
works is again to reflect theglory of God on others around us
.
Being aware and knowing thepoor and the widows in your own
church family and theministering to those needs, I
think is very, very important.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
One of the things you touched on in that was being
discreet.
I really appreciate you sayingthat.
I think that there will betimes where, if you were to ask
someone who you perceive to needsome help, they may tell you
they're fine.
They may say that we're okay,thanks for asking because you
they're fine.
They may say that we're okay,thanks for asking because maybe
they're uncomfortable.
(17:52):
In those moments we still cando good even when they say
they're okay.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Yeah, that leads me to a thought, sometimes, asking
the question we feel we've doneour part.
Do you guys need anything?
No, we're good.
Okay, I think it's better tojust do the good.
Amen.
If you did it for someone whoreally probably was okay, who
(18:18):
probably didn't, maybe didn'tneed the financial help or
whatever, is it still a blessing?
Yeah, you still bless thosepeople with whatever action that
you took to help them.
So maybe do it without askingBecause, as you said, a lot of
people, their pride, would causethem to say, no, no, really I'm
(18:39):
good.
In other words, I'm going tosuffer through.
I absolutely could use the $50.
Have you seen the price of gas?
I absolutely could use themoney for gas, but I'm not going
to convey to you my situation.
The reason behind that, I think, is there's probably not a
level of trust or a strongenough relationship between the
two people.
(19:00):
And if there, if there were, I'mlike yeah, man, you know you,
you know, you know what's goingon.
I mean, you know I'm, I'mhaving to go take my wife, you
know, four times a week to, youknow an hour and a half away,
for chemo treatment.
Yeah, absolutely, you know Ican use it and I appreciate it.
So just just do the good andmaybe even without asking,
(19:21):
Agreed, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
What brings us to the next one that I have as far as
why group service matters isjust something simple.
At least it can be Encourageand uplift fellow believers.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yeah, I think our very presence at a worship
service or a Bible study can beuplifting and encouraging to
other people.
And what we do while we'rethere, our presence, is the
first thing Show up, participateenergetically participate,
engage with others there.
These are things that doencourage and uplift fellow
(19:56):
believers.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Last episode we talked about how things can be
therapeutic when we do good.
Specifically, we can improveour emotions and our spiritual
well-being.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Well, I don't know about you, but if the singing
has been exceptionally good at aworship service or someone's
come up to me and said man, Ireally appreciate that prayer.
I really appreciate how youtried to paint a picture of us
this morning at this worshipservice, all standing before the
(20:29):
throne of God.
You tried to paint that picturein your prayer.
When I get in the car to gohome, I feel good.
I feel that my emotional andspiritual well-being has been
boosted just by being there, andmaybe at that particular time
all I did was sit in the pew andsing.
(20:50):
Maybe I didn't do anything.
Maybe somebody said somethingfrom some other time where you
or I had served in a public wayin the worship service.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
And the last thing is just building close
relationships within the body ofChrist.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, I mean familiarity, getting to know
people you know builds strongerbonds, particularly if you're in
a Bible class and you knowyou've had a really deep
biblical discussion and someonehas made a comment and you're
like, oh man, that is soinsightful.
I really appreciate that I'venot thought of that aspect
(21:29):
before.
There's a mutual respect thereand there's almost an
interdependency on their faiththat now you can rely, maybe
trust, that person a little moreto help you.
They demonstrated some wisdommaybe in that comment and so
(21:49):
that can be so helpful.
And, again, just a reallyreally close relationship.
We've mentioned the termencourager and we've likened it
in our class that we taught toan encourager, to a person who's
got this thread, and thatthread represents the love that
(22:11):
we're to have for one anotherand that encourager goes and
talks to this person and talksto that person and encourages
this person, and what they'rereally doing is stitching that
love.
They're stitching all thesepeople together.
Oh, josh said that to you, hesaid that to me too, and if you
do that enough and you threadthat needle around through all
(22:33):
the people attaching each othertogether with love, then you
become closer and closer andtighter and tighter, and I think
that that's an element ofassembling together that God
really expects from us.
You know these are great, josh,going through this and looking
at how, when we meet together,how we can serve and do good
(22:54):
works at the assembly, you know,before the assembly, during the
assembly and even after theassembly in the parking lot
potentially, during the assemblyand even after the assembly in
the parking lot potentially.
But I don't think that weshould limit what Hebrews 10 is
talking about.
It's certainly, I believe,talking about these things as it
pertains to assembly, but thereare other passages that we can
(23:26):
talk about and other exampleswhere the good works were not
confined to the four walls ofthe church building.
A lot of congregations willdivide up, particularly larger
ones, into working groups orsmall groups, whatever you want
to call them.
It's a subset of the assemblywhere they go out and they do
good together.
Sometimes that's social,sometimes that's meeting
(23:46):
together and just praying for along list of people who need
prayer.
Sometimes that's going andmaybe singing at an assisted
living home or a nursing home,or getting together and writing
cards and mailing them out tovisitors.
There's so many ways that wecan serve really outside the
building and it could be anorganic thing where we could
(24:08):
just get a group together.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe the same group of people
every time, and we're going totalk in a moment about what that
might look like.
But let's look at one morepassage.
We had mentioned Romans 12earlier about outdoing one
another.
In Romans 14, verse 19,.
It says let us make everyeffort to do what leads to peace
(24:30):
and mutual edification.
There's that word effort.
We talked about this before.
It doesn't require a lot ofeffort for me to eat a bowl of
ice cream.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
By the way, twice you've mentioned that, so I
think you like ice cream.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
That is true.
I am my father's son.
If we are looking to dosomething good, this is work.
We also talked about that aswell.
Serving together is work, butit creates a lasting impact.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
But it creates a lasting impact and it's not just
for the people who benefit fromit, but for the people who
serve as well, right, let's getinto our reality check and with
our focus really being and we'vegotten to a point now where we
can get more in the weeds on itcommitment to group service.
So I think we often have goodintentions when it comes to
(25:20):
serving, but without commitment,those intentions fade.
And here's what commitment togroup service looks like.
Three things making time forservice it's not going to happen
if you don't prioritize itRight Joining or organizing a
service project.
Be proactive in finding ways toserve.
And the third thing beingencouraging others to join.
(25:42):
Bring people together so thatyou can strengthen the
experience.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Sometimes just putting it out there, saying it,
causes it to happen.
If you say, for instance, to afriend maybe named Josh, what do
you think about doing a podcast?
Okay, now it's out there and itbegins to be worked towards a
(26:07):
manifestation, it starts toactually happen.
So if you say, if you, if inyour mind, without saying
anything to anybody you knowwhat I heard the other day on
the news that the food bank isreally cutting back because they
don't have a lot of volunteersand you think to yourself, man,
I should get four or five ofthese guys and we just go one
(26:30):
morning and work there.
You think it and it just sitsthere and you'll never do it.
Do those guys know about thatopportunity?
They don't about thatopportunity, they don't.
If you open your mouth and sayit and speak it, then now you've
(26:52):
made it visible and you've alsomaybe created a little bit of
accountability, not just to youto follow through, but you
challenged maybe some of yourbuddies to go with you as well
and putting it out.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
There is a way to cause it to happen.
We need to do that in allaspects of our lives,
spiritually.
There's been times where well,here's an example I needed to
talk, I needed to have adifficult conversation with
someone.
I knew it and there had beentimes in my life as a young man
where it, as we talked aboutearlier, started to fade because
I didn't act on it.
But as soon as I talked to mycore people about what I needed
(27:24):
to do, they knew.
So I spoke it into existence.
As you mentioned earlier, theystarted to pray about what I
needed to do and there wasaccountability.
I did have that conversationbecause people knew I was not
going to come back to those coregroup of people and then ask me
how did I go?
And then we have an excuse.
So I know that we are talkingabout serving as a group, but I
(27:47):
just think it's important tojust kind of stop and pause for
a minute and think, wow, wereally need to do this, to put
pressure on ourselves so we staymotivated and doing things in
the kingdom.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Yeah, you know.
Let's look at Ephesians 4,verse 16.
This is really talking abouthow the church works best
Ephesians 4, 16.
For whom the whole body, joinedand held together by every
joint with which it is equipped,when each part is working
properly, makes the body grow sothat it builds itself up in
(28:18):
love.
We were talking about beforethe encourager and kind of
stitching together love.
You know, that's how that verseends up.
But the whole body workingtogether, joint, held together
by every joint with which it isequipped.
I think that God has designedthe church to work together as a
(28:38):
multi-part organism, if I canuse that word.
It's designed to work together.
We should be working togetherin the kingdom and it's very,
very powerful for us to do thatbecause of all the reasons we've
talked about and encouragingone another.
But when we commit to serving,then we're going to grow
(28:58):
together.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
We obviously have talked about our mission profile
.
Let's get into your challengethis week, your mission
challenge, and it's going to bea group service activity.
So here's the challenge for theweek.
It's time to get together witha group and serve, and here's
how we want you to do it.
We want you to organize a groupproject and, by the way, this
can be with friends, it can bewith your family, it can be with
(29:22):
extended family, it can be withsome folks you know from church
and get a group of thosetogether, people that you love,
and pick a service activity.
And the second part of this iswe want you to make it hands-on
and meaningful.
Meaning, choose something thatrequires teamwork and has a
lasting impact.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Let's give our listeners a specific.
Okay, those are great conceptualideas and maybe, as you were
saying, that people alreadystarted formulating what they
may want to do and they'vealready got, even now, what they
want to go.
Maybe they've already beenthinking about it, right, and it
just popped in their head whenyou were going through a group
project, hands-on and meaningful.
Well, here's a specific one.
(30:01):
If you didn't have an idea,we'll call this the community
encouragement project.
It's still a little flexible asto who you're going to do this
for, so this could be for anursing home, it could be for
assisted living, it could be forhospital, it could be even the
fire department down the street.
Here's the activity Gather yourgroup, get your people together
(30:25):
and write an encouraging note.
Okay, I don't always knowexactly what to say.
What do you say?
Well, you don't really have tocome up with something.
You could just write down aBible verse, an encouraging
Bible verse, or maybe write aprayer.
Maybe say the prayer as you'regathered around.
What would our prayer be for?
I don't know one of the firemen.
(30:47):
Yeah, I prayed for you for thenext time you fight a house fire
that you are safe.
I gave thanks to God that youare in our community and are
there to keep our homes safe.
Or maybe it's to a nurse Thankyou for your work, and you're
going to take it to the hospital.
Maybe you write three, four,five verses or prayers, just
(31:11):
these are I pray to God, andmaybe you write it out I thank
God for you, for the work thatyou do in our community, working
every day to save lives.
You prayed it and then youwrote it down and put that in a
card.
Or it could just beparticularly if you've got
younger kids and we'll talkabout in an upcoming episode how
to involve your kids in goodworks kind of setting that
(31:34):
example.
You could just pick out someBible verses and have them, just
copy the Bible verse onto acard and then go, you know,
deliver those and if you wantkind of a just to add a little
bit to it, maybe you bake somecookies or some cupcakes or buy
them, whatever, and bring those,with the cards you know, again
to the nursing home or to ahospital or to the, you know,
(31:57):
the fire department.
But it's, it's very simple andI guarantee you're going to have
fun doing it, Seeing kids lightup when you see their work in
the kingdom.
It's just, it's very, veryspecial.
I think it's good maybe, beforeyou go to deliver them is to
pray as a group for the peoplethat you're going to encourage.
(32:17):
And if you want kind of a bonus, like we do sometimes a bonus
challenge is, bring somebodyinto that group that you don't
normally serve with.
Maybe it's a more shy person,maybe a little more introverted,
maybe a college student ormaybe a widow, someone who's
(32:40):
possibly lonely, maybe theirfamily doesn't live in our
community and they're kind of bythemselves.
So invite them to come in anddo that.
So you've got this smallergroup of people writing notes
and delivering to one of thesegroups of people, either at a
nursing home, assisted livinghospital or fire department.
So that's the specificcommunity encouragement project.
(33:04):
Again, it doesn't have to bespecific to this.
It could be something else thatyou've already thought of.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
By the way, I love that you said invite someone
that you don't know as well.
You know, um, and there's nobetter way to build a
relationship with someone thanserving with them.
Yeah, and so this is an awesomeadded piece to this, and I hope
that people don't forget that.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Okay, so that's the, that's our, that's our mission
challenge for the week andactually that's it for the whole
episode.
Thanks for tuning in, listeningin, clicking on play for this
episode of made for good.
If this conversation encouragedyou or challenged you, be sure
to subscribe so you don't missthe next one.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Well, we hope you found this helpful.
Consider sharing it with afriend.
Until next time, gather yourgroup, serve together and
remember you were made for this.
You Thank you.
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