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“Like the One who Serves ”:

“Like the One who Serves ”:. The Imitation of Christ for Real People . Passion for the glory of God Passion for the good of others Patient endurance of hardship Willing denial of self. How We Should Imitate Christ: Four Practical Priorities.

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“Like the One who Serves ”:

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  1. “Like the One who Serves”: The Imitation of Christ for Real People

  2. Passion for the glory of God Passion for the good of others Patient endurance of hardship Willing denial of self How We Should Imitate Christ: Four Practical Priorities

  3. This Week’s Theme:“It’s not what you think it is!”

  4. This Week’s Theme:“It’s not what you think it is!”

  5. This Week’s Theme:“It’s not what you think it is!” To imitate Christ’s passion for the good of others, we have to imitate his hospitality. And hospitality is not what we think it is. To imitate Christ’s willing denial of self, we have to know what self-denial is. And self-denial is not what we think it is.

  6. A Key Mark of Christlike Passion for the Good of Others: Hospitality • What do the following images say about our culture’s views of hospitality? • Who is showing hospitality? • Who is receiving hospitality? • What is being assumed?

  7. Christlike Hospitality • Luke 19:5-10 "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Not: welcoming people into a home But: welcoming people into a family Turning strangers into “brothers” and “sisters” A heart for “strangers” and “aliens” An eye for insider-outsider boundaries

  8. A Key Feature of the Imitation of Christ: Self-Denial • Luke 9:20-24 20 Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God." 21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." 23 ¶ And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

  9. Problem: Self-denial is not what we think it is We think self-denial is: In Scripture, self-denial is: Saying no to a desire The opposite of self-indulgence “I don’t get to have what I want.” Hard—maybe even oppressive. Saying no to a person The opposite of self-definition “I don’t get to say who I am.” Even harder—but liberating.

  10. Problem: Self-denial is not what we think it is We think self-denial is: In Scripture, self-denial is:

  11. So what does it mean to deny a person? • Luke 22:56-62 56Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, "This man also was with him." 57 But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him." 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not." 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean." 60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

  12. So what does it mean to deny a person? • Luke 22:56-62 56Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, "This man also was with him." 57 But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him." 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not." 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean." 60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." 62 And he went out and wept bitterly. To deny yourself means to treat yourself the way that Peter treated Jesus in this text. So…how does Peter treat Jesus here?

  13. Self-Denial: • “I have no allegiance to myself. My fundamental allegiance is to Jesus.” • “I do not determine my own identity. Jesus does.” • “I do not shape my own ways of thinking and living. Jesus does.” • “I do not define myself. Jesus does.” • “I do not say what is most important about me. Jesus does.” • “I am not my own disciple. I am a disciple of Jesus.”

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