PICK UP THE TOWEL

More Than Sundays — Home Group Discussion

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

1. STARTING WITH IDENTITY

Romans 1:1

Paul introduces himself:

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus…”

Before Paul tells us what he does, he tells us whose he is.

The sermon began here:

  • Servanthood begins with identity.
  • I belong to Jesus.
  • Therefore I serve Jesus.
  • Serving isn’t primarily a church position.
  • It isn’t a lanyard.
  • It isn’t volunteer hours.
  • It isn’t something we do only on Sundays.

TALK ABOUT IT

When you think about who you are, what identities come to mind first?

Work?

Husband or wife?

Parent?

Grandparent?

Friend?

Christian?

Servant of Jesus?

What changes when “I belong to Jesus” comes before the other descriptions?

2. WE WERE MADE FOR GOOD WORKS

Ephesians 2:8–10

We are saved:

  • by grace
  • through faith
  • not by works

And yet:

“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

We don’t serve to earn God’s love.

We serve because we have received God’s love.

Good works aren’t the price of admission.

They are the overflow.

TALK ABOUT IT

What’s the difference between serving because you feel you ought to and serving because something in you genuinely wants to?

Have you experienced both?

What does each one feel like?

3. JESUS PICKS UP THE TOWEL

John 13:1–17

Before Jesus washes anyone’s feet, John tells us something remarkable.

Jesus knew:

  • where He had come from
  • where He was going
  • that the Father had given all things into His hands

Jesus knew who He was.

Then:

  • He got up.
  • He laid aside His outer garment.
  • He took a towel.
  • He poured water into a basin.
  • He knelt.
  • He washed their feet.

The person with the greatest authority took the lowest position in the room.

The hands that made those disciples washed their dirty feet.

TALK ABOUT IT

Why do you think John tells us that Jesus knew who He was immediately before telling us that He washed their feet?

Could knowing who we are make it easier to take the lower place?

What makes humble service difficult for us?

4. LOOK AT WHO JESUS SERVED

Jesus served:

  • His Father — John 6:38
  • hungry and hurting people — Matthew 14
  • children — Mark 10
  • the Samaritan woman — John 4
  • Zacchaeus — Luke 19
  • His disciples — John 13
  • His enemies — Luke 23:34
  • us — Mark 10:45

Jesus didn’t simply teach servanthood.

He lived it.

And He didn’t restrict it to convenient people.

TALK ABOUT IT

Which of these examples catches your attention? Why?

Who is easy for you to serve?

Who is difficult?

5. PICK UP THE TOWEL

The sermon gave us a powerful picture:

We often talk about taking up our cross and following Jesus.

But perhaps every morning we also need to:

Pick up the towel.

That could happen:

  • at home
  • at work
  • at school
  • in church
  • with a neighbour
  • with a stranger
  • with someone irritating us
  • with someone hurting
  • with someone who simply needs another person to notice them

Serving doesn’t always mean doing something dramatic.

Sometimes it might mean:

  • listening
  • making room
  • noticing
  • encouraging
  • carrying something
  • feeding someone
  • praying
  • staying
  • showing up

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Where did you have an opportunity to “pick up the towel” this past week?

Don’t worry about whether you actually did it.

What happened?

6. WHAT IS YOUR TOWEL?

1 Peter 4:10

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another…”

God has given each of us something.

But perhaps we don’t always need to know what our “gift” is called.

Sometimes the better question is simply:

What do I have that this person needs?

Time?

Experience?

A meal?

Strength?

A listening ear?

Encouragement?

Prayer?

Practical skill?

Presence?

TALK ABOUT IT

What seems to come naturally to you when you’re helping another person?

And perhaps an even better question:

What do the people who know you well tend to come to you for?

7. “WE HAVE ONLY DONE OUR DUTY”

Luke 17:7–10

Jesus tells a rather uncomfortable little story about a servant who simply does what the master has asked.

At the end Jesus says:

“We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.”

Serving isn’t a way of putting God in our debt.

We don’t need:

  • applause
  • recognition
  • a title
  • a ministry position
  • somebody noticing
  • somebody thanking us
  • proof that what we did mattered

Sometimes obedience is simply:

This was mine to do. So I did it.

TALK ABOUT IT

This one may be worth staying with.

How much does being appreciated matter to us?

What happens inside us when we serve and nobody notices?

What happens when someone actually criticizes the thing we were trying to do for them?

Can we serve without keeping score?

8. WE BELONG TO ONE ANOTHER

1 Corinthians 12:12, 18–20

Paul describes the church as a body.

Many members.

One body.

Different abilities.

Different personalities.

Different experiences.

Different ways of seeing things.

But Paul says something even stronger elsewhere:

Romans 12:5

“…individually members one of another.”

Not merely members of an organization.

Members of one another.

That is more than volunteering at church.

It means learning to belong to one another.

TALK ABOUT IT

What does “members of one another” mean to you?

What would a church look like if people genuinely lived that way?

What would our home group look like?

9. THE PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY

Sometimes we can spend years wondering:

  • What’s my calling?
  • What’s my ministry?
  • Where does God want to use me?
  • What am I supposed to be doing?

Meanwhile, people keep appearing in our lives.

Jesus meets a woman beside a well.

Two disciples meet a stranger on the road to Emmaus.

People eat together.

People ask questions.

People tell stories.

People invite one another inside.

And something holy happens.

Perhaps:

The people we’ve actually encountered along the way were never merely the waiting room.

Maybe they were part of the calling.

TALK ABOUT IT

Who has God put along your road?

Don’t try to make it spiritual.

Just think about the people who have unexpectedly entered your life.

What have those encounters given you?

What might you have given them?

10. LISTENING-OBEDIENCE

Maybe the servant’s question isn’t:

“What great thing can I do for God?”

Maybe it is:

“Lord, what are You already doing here?”

And then:

“What is mine to do?”

Sometimes the answer will be action.

Sometimes words.

Sometimes prayer.

Sometimes practical help.

Sometimes silence.

Sometimes staying beside someone.

Sometimes leaving something in God’s hands.

TALK ABOUT IT

How do we tell the difference between serving someone and trying to fix them?

How do we recognize when it’s time to act—and when it’s time simply to be present?

11. THE TOWEL AND THE CROSS

Mark 10:45

Jesus picked up the towel.

And eventually Jesus picked up the cross.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…”

Christian service isn’t ultimately about being useful.

It grows out of relationship:

I belong to Christ.

Therefore:

I can belong to you without possessing you.

I can notice you without needing to fix you.

I can give what I’ve received without needing a title.

I can listen for what God is already doing.

And when love requires it:

I can pick up the towel.

BEFORE WE FINISH

No need for everybody to answer.

No need for the “right” answer.

Take a moment and consider:

Where am I right now?

Who am I?

Who has God placed beside me?

What might be mine to do?

And perhaps this becomes a very simple prayer for the week ahead:

Lord, show me where the towel is.
And when I see it, help me pick it up.