Paster Rose Bib and Apron

The speaker discusses the difference between bib-wearing Christians and apron-wearing Christians. Bib-wearing Christians are only interested in being served and believe that the church exists to meet their needs. Apron-wearing Christians, on the other hand, understand that they are the church and take on the responsibility of serving others. The speaker emphasizes the importance of living out one's faith through service and refers to Jesus washing the feet of his disciples as an example. The speaker encourages listeners to assess the state of their faith and consider their posture in serving others. The speaker also mentions the opportunity for communion and provides instructions for participating. So, let's take a page, Sanctuary, from the Book of Life and be encouraged to be doers of the Word, formed and transformed by its wisdom. Amen. Well, the final question that James prompts for us today in this first chapter, is our faith expressed with a bib or an apron? Is our faith expressed with a bib or an apron? Look, this is, I believe this is why I got sick last week. You know, we need a little bit of time to get here today, right? We need a little, one more week, one more week. In a recent survey of Christians in America, when asked what they thought the church existed for, 88% said the church exists to serve my needs and the needs of my family. Now, that may come to no surprise for some of us, given our consumer-based society that we live in. Everything is curated for our preferences, but Sanctuary, when it comes to matters of faith, this is a crisis in the American church. A crisis. And to name it a little more clearly, this crisis is a crisis of bib-wearing Christians. Guys, speak the word, it's there. This is why Satan's trying to take out my voice, right? Now, what, Sanctuary? Amen. What is a bib-wearing Christian? A bib-wearing Christian is someone who shows up only wanting to be fed. A bib-wearing Christian is more interested in being served than in serving. And a bib-wearing Christian insists that the church exists for them and their needs because they don't understand God's mission for the church, which is to make disciples who make disciples. Apron-wearing Christians, on the other hand, they know they are the church and the work of ministry is entrusted to them. Apron-wearing Christians intentionally feed their own spiritual hunger daily, and from that place of spiritual nourishment, feed others who are hungry and ready to grow. That's discipleship. Apron-wearing Christians have a heart to serve others, especially the most vulnerable, because that was the example Jesus gave us. Now, please hear me. There is an appropriate season for all of us as new followers to definitely take that time to immerse ourselves in our newly growing faith. We all start as baby Christians, right? In that spiritual milk that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians, not ready yet for solid food, but it doesn't end there. Amen? Eventually, we have to have spiritual meat. In that passage, Paul is talking about spiritual maturity. And, in fact, some of the newest Christians in their faith are some of the best examples of this truth of service. Where James, on the other hand, is talking about our posture, our posture, how we show up and live out our faith. In verse 27, James makes it clear when he says, Religion is pure and undefiled before God. The Father is this, to care for the orphans and the widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Church, a living faith is a faith that seeks to serve and not be served. This is our invitation to take off our bibs of complacency and put on aprons of godly service and check how we're showing up, sanctuary. Our commitment to love and serve others is evidence of a living faith. And it should come as no surprise that one of Jesus' final lessons that he taught his disciples was this very example of apron-wearing service. Now, while Jesus and his disciples were in that upper room together as they were spread across a table, instead of expecting to be served in his final moments alive, Jesus instead washed the feet of his disciples. In John chapter 13, verse 4, it says that Jesus got up from the table, that he took off his outer robe, and what did he do? He tied a towel around himself and showed his disciples what an apron-wearing faith was all about. In verse 17, Jesus, in one of his last instructions, his final teachings to his beloved disciples, he says, For I have set an example that you also should do as I have done to you. Our Savior models the kind of living faith through service when he put on his apron to serve his disciples. The sanctuary Jesus calls us to be apron-wearing Christians compelled by a living faith. So as people of the book, we're called not just to study the word, but to live it. And as James challenges us, so today, throughout this whole series, I want you to consider, especially this next week, church, consider the state of your faith. Is it a living and active faith that does something? Or has it lost a little bit of its vitality in this season? Is it on life support right now? Does it need total resuscitation? Or maybe it hasn't actually even been birthed yet. Has your faith been largely shaped by head knowledge, acquiring information for understanding, but it has little practical wisdom in your everyday life? Finally, I want you to consider your posture. Are you showing up with a bib on, expecting to be served, when instead we're called to put on an apron, ready to serve the needs of others? Now, throughout the rest of this series, we're going to have the opportunity to take this deeper look at what it means to have this living faith that's formed by practical wisdom. But Sanctuary, I want you to take a moment today and throughout this week to assess, how's my faith doing? What's the pulse of my faith right now? If you were to take its vitals, what would it say? I want to encourage you, Sanctuary, to take time to listen to the Holy Spirit. Each one of us in our living faith has a next step to take. Even if you've been following Jesus for 20, 30, 40 years, we all have a next step to take in our journey. I want you to consider, what is your next step of obedience, of faithfulness? To have a faith that's marked by vitality. You don't want a faith that's an alive faith. Now maybe, again, maybe you are still wondering about this Jesus. That's okay. Jesus would love to meet you in this space, to become your Lord and Savior, to begin a living faith with you. In just a moment, our prayer team will be up front. Please come. They would love to pray with you. For some of us, we need to take that deeper step to connect with the church. After service today, we'll have a starting point where you get to learn all about Sanctuary and our story. We'd love for you to stay and get connected in that way. You know, I think Pastor Edwin's going to come back. He may not know where he's at. He's going to think that he truly is at, I don't know, Baptist Covenant Church, Sanctuary Baptist Church. Well, Sanctuary, we have the opportunity now to welcome in a time of communion, to prepare ourselves for communion today. Communion is a sacrament here at Sanctuary. It's an opportunity for us to remember, to remember what the Lord has done for us, to remember that we can't do it on our own, that we need the work of the Holy Spirit. We need to rely fully on Jesus to do what we cannot do in our own strength. And so today, we get to gather around the table together. And just a few words of instructions before we begin, but here at Sanctuary, we practice communion by coming forward. And so our hospitality team will be inviting you to come forward from the back and then moving to the front. And so please wait and be seated until they invite you to come forward. As you do come forward, our elders and members of our prayer team will be here up front.