1 April 2010 - PLMC

Pastor Christopher Chin brought props with him
Clean water and a towel, but not on a whim

He read from John chapter thirteen
Verses one through eighteen
In which Jesus provided lessons four
None of which we should ignore
Humility was the first he did discuss
No task should be beneath any of us
Second is servanthood
Being selfless is good
Third is leadership by example
To "walk the talk" is more than ample
Dealing with sin was number four
Pastor talked about this a whole lot more
Verse ten talks of filth from within
We must be cleansed from our sin

He then spoke of the disciples' sins two
And later about what Jesus did then do

The first sin mentioned was contempt
None of the disciples seemed to be exempt
From John chapter twelve and Matthew twenty six
On Jesus the leper Simon and Mary's honor did transfix
The disciples were a bit indignant
Their dishonor was malignant
They started taking Jesus for granted
Ditto for the grace he had implanted

The second sin was that of pride
In heaven, who would sit by Jesus' side?
This was seen in Mark chapter ten
Luke twenty two talks of the sin again
Peter's humility was false and somewhat dangerous
Having a hierarchical view meant he could not lead us

Jesus dealt with these sins as from above
Verse one mentions "the full extent of His love"
And now Pastor's props came into use
A nice linkage he did produce
For the sin of contempt there was no rebuke
Jesus used clean water (this was not in Luke)
The disciples were treated like VIPs
As Jesus was the one on His knees
For the sin of pride there was no use of a firm rod
Jesus used a clean towel on which none had trod
The disciples were treated as precious loved ones
As parents would do for their daughters and sons

As the clean water and towel can wash the outside
Our sins were cleansed when on the cross Jesus died
He also left us with his "towel" of loving action
And his "water" of words that need no retraction
We should use these to love even our enemies
This idea Jesus clearly wants us to seize

And then with loud voices we did sing
Graham Kendrick's hymn "The Servant King"

"From heaven you came, helpless babe,
Entered our world, Your glory veiled;
Not to be served but to serve,
And give Your life that we might live.

This is our God, The Servant King,
He calls us now to follow Him,
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King.

There in the garden of tears,
My heavy load He chose to bear;
His heart with sorrow was torn,
'Yet not My will but Yours,' He said.

Come see His hands And His feet,
The scars that speak of sacrifice;
Hands that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered.

So let us learn how to serve,
And in our lives enthrone Him;
Each other's needs to prefer,
For it is Christ we're serving"