Christ Church Sermon, Unsung: Service, September 13th, 2026

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weekly worship at Christ Church in Bethl

Park, Pennsylvania. We're a United

Methodist congregation with the mission

of building inclusive community, sharing

Christ's transforming love. To learn

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can join us for worship online or in

person, visit christummc.net.

Thank you for listening.

Good morning.

>> Today's scripture is Markap

10 verse 45 and John 13:16-17.

John 13:16–17

For even the son of man did not come to

be served but to serve and to give his

life as a ransom for many. Very truly I

tell you, no servant is greater than his

master, nor is a messenger greater than

the one who sent him. Now that you know

these things, you will be blessed if you

do them. Hear what the spirit is saying

to the church.

>> Thanks be to God.

Well, good morning everyone.

>> Good to see you. You know, there are

some jobs in this world that we don't

notice until they're not done, right?

Think about it. Nobody walked into

church this morning and thought to

themselves, "Wow, somebody unlocked that

door beautifully this morning." Right?

Nobody walks into church and say, 'Wow,

look at how well somebody put the chairs

in the the room for worship this

morning. Nobody walked into the restroom

and say, "I'd really like to meet the

person that made sure there was toilet

paper on the roll in the restroom." We

don't notice those things until they

don't happen. Then everybody notices,

right? We notice the singers. We notice

the preacher. We notice the people in

the front. But there are dozens and

sometimes even hundreds of things

happening around a church like ours

every week that most of us never even

realize. Somebody prepares the room.

Somebody unlocks the door. Somebody

welcomes a guest. Somebody checks on a

child. Somebody makes the food. Somebody

cleans the kitchen. Somebody runs the

sound or answers the phone or visits the

hospital. Somebody sends the card.

Here's my favorite. Somebody moves the

table and then moves it back again after

the fact because no matter where the

table is in the church, it's never in

the right place when you need it, right?

Somebody needs to meet somebody's need

and they just do it without anybody

knowing. No microphone, no spotlight, no

applause, no recognition.

They're unsung. And that's what this

whole series is about. And over the

upcoming weeks, we're going to be

looking at behaviors and qualities like

service and leadership and uh humility

and healing and courage and wisdom and

love, you know, which are all unsung

qualities. Continuing on what Pastor

Kelly preached on last week, we're going

to look at the people and the qualities

that don't always get the attention.

Now, I've been around the church long

enough to realize that some of the

people that are making the biggest

difference in the church are people

whose names we may never know. And this

week, I want to look at one of the most

important qualities that Jesus teaches

us as an unsung follower of his.

And that quality is service. Jesus says

something in Mark 10:45 that completely

Mark 10:45

uh rearranges our understanding of what

greatness is. He says, "For even the son

of man did not come to be served but to

serve and to give his life as a ransom

for many." You see, Jesus tells us why

he came and his answer is I came to

serve. Now that is not normally how we

think about greatness. Our world has

taught us a completely different

definition of greatness. In our world,

great up. Greatness means becoming

successful. It means getting the

promotion. It means having influence. It

means having people listen to you when

you speak. Greatness means getting to

the place where somebody else does the

things you don't want to do. And in

fact, we have a whole phrase for that in

our culture. We call it climbing the

ladder, right? We spend our entire lives

trying to move up the ladder. And as

people are doing that, I'm pretty sure

they're not thinking in their head, my

lifelong goal is to climb the corporate

ladder so eventually I can be the person

who cleans up after everyone else.

Right? That's not generally the plan.

The plan is to get high enough up the

ladder that somebody else cleans up for

us. But then Jesus shows up and he flips

that corporate ladder completely upside

down. He says, "The son of man did not

come to be served but to serve." So in

other words, Jesus is telling us

greatness is not about how many people

serve you. Greatness is how willing we

are to serve others. And that's a

completely different way to look at it

because if we're going to follow Jesus,

we got to allow Jesus to redefine our

definition of greatness. Otherwise,

we're going to spend our whole lives

trying to live up to the worldly

definition of greatness, and we're going

to completely miss what Jesus says is

important? I mean, what if greatness

actually looks ordinary? What if some of

the greatest things we ever do don't

actually look all that great? What if

greatness looks like taking the time to

listen to someone who is hurting? What

if greatness is noticing a person who is

standing or sitting all alone? What if

greatness is taking food to someone

who's going through a difficult season

in their life? What if greatness is

sitting with someone in a waiting room?

What if it's volunteering with children

when we could be doing something else?

What if it's driving someone else's kids

to their events because their parents

just need a break? What if greatness is

stacking chairs or or washing dishes or

cleaning tables or making one more phone

call or just staying 10 minutes later

because somebody needs help? No one's

going to do a documentary on those

things. You're not going to go viral on

social media, but you maybe just maybe

has have done something that looks a lot

like Jesus because Jesus said, "I came

to serve." You know, one of the things

that I love about the church is that so

much ministry happens that nobody sees.

I mean, when we gather here for worship,

we see what happens in the front. But

this doesn't happen with what hap if it

doesn't happen behind the scenes. Have

you ever thought about everything that

goes into having worship happen at a

church like Christ Church? I mean before

you all arrive, there are people already

here. Rooms are being prepared.

Technology is being checked. Children's

spaces are getting ready. Music is being

rehearsed. Doors are being opened.

People are getting into position. And

then when you all leave, there are

people still here cleaning and resetting

and turning things off and locking

things up. That's just worship. Think

about everything else that happens

during the week here. People are serving

meals, caring for children, working with

youth, which by the way, if you're a

youth, it's no longer in the lower

parking lot. It's now in here tonight

for your party because the weather is

just awesome this weekend.

People are helping with mission

projects. People are praying. People are

answering the phone. They're making

phone calls. They're visiting people who

can't get here anymore. They're

preparing Bible studies. They're helping

with community events. People are doing

things that other people will never know

happened. And I think it's important for

us to remember that the ministry of the

church is much, much bigger than what

happens in the front. In fact, I would

say some of the most important ministry

that happens at Christ Church happens

nowhere near this platform. It happens

in hallways and in classrooms and in

kitchens and in parking lots and in

waiting rooms and in hospital rooms and

in homes and in the middle of

conversations.

It happens when somebody notices

somebody else and most of it is unsung.

But unsung does not mean unimportant and

unsung does not mean unseen.

Because if Jesus served, service can

never be beneath us. Listen to what he

says in John 13:16. Very truly I tell

John 13:16

you, no servant is greater than his

master, nor is a messenger greater than

the one who sent him. Now, there is

something painfully simple about that

statement. Jesus is saying, remember who

you are. Because if Jesus is our master

and Jesus served, then serving can't be

beneath us. Now, this is where it gets a

little bit uncomfortable because all of

us have things that we think are beneath

us. We may never say it out loud, but

but we think it, right? We think

somebody else can do that. That's not

really my responsibility. That's not my

job. I already did my time. I already

served on that committee. I did youth

ministry 20 years ago. I'm retired. I've

already raised my kids and I'm not going

back into a room full of preschoolers. I

barely survived the first time. And I

kind of get it. My daughter's getting

ready to have twins. I thought that was

done. I'm a little bit panicked.

But what if we've been asking the wrong

question? What if the question isn't

whose job is this? What if the question

is how can I help? Because that's a

completely different posture. Whose job

is this? Means we're looking for the

person responsible.

How can I help means we're looking for

an opportunity. And as followers of

Jesus, we ought to be people who are

looking for opportunities.

Maybe you could think about it this way.

How many of you have driven down Route

19 over the past four to six months and

you got to the point where two lanes

become one? Drivers handle that one of

two ways. They either say, "Sure, you

can merge in front of me." Or they say,

"We're both going to hit the concrete

barrier because there's no way in the

world I'm putting one car in front of

where I am." Right? It's my lane. It's

my place. It's my schedule. It's my

time. It's my convenience. And

unfortunately, we sometimes bring that

mentality into the rest of our lives.

This is my time. This is my seat. This

is not my responsibility. This is

someone else's problem. And then Jesus

comes along and says, "That's not how my

kingdom works. In my kingdom, we make

room. We notice. We help. We serve." But

here's the problem. Service sounds great

in a sermon,

but actual service is inconvenient.

We love the idea of serving people until

people need to be served because rarely

do they need us in our time, right?

Nobody ever calls and says, "Hey, do you

have 45 minutes some point in your

schedule where you can come and help

me?" That is not how it works. People's

needs often interrupt our stuff,

which means serving cost us something.

It cost us time. It cost us energy. It

may cost us money. It cost us

convenience. It costs us the night at

home that we thought we had free. It

means staying when we would rather

leave. It means listening when we're

tired. It means doing something we don't

particularly enjoy because it just needs

done. And that's why the second half of

Mark 10:45 is so important. Jesus

Mark 10:45

doesn't just say the son of man did not

come to be served but to serve. He goes

on to say and to give his life as a

ransom for many. So Jesus connects

service to giving. Service costs

something. Jesus doesn't serve from a

distance. He gave himself. Which raises

a question for us. Does our service cost

us anything? Because if I only serve

when it's convenient, if I only serve if

I enjoy it, if I only serve when I'm

thanked, if I only serve if somebody

else notices, eventually I'm going to

stop serving because genuine service

doesn't always get a thank you. And

that's probably the hardest part. What

happens when nobody notices? What

happens when you showed up and nobody

said thank you? Or you helped and nobody

recognized it? or you gave and nobody

knew how much that actually cost you. Or

you stayed late and nobody noticed. Or

you've been doing the same thing

faithfully for years and now you're

thinking, "Well, wonder if anybody even

realizes I do this." Now, I want to be

very clear. Appreciation matters. We

should thank people. We should celebrate

people. We should tell people that their

service makes a difference.

But our service should never depend on

recognition. because if it does, then

that's the reward we're looking for. But

if we're serving simply because we're

following Jesus, something changes.

I don't need everyone to know because

Jesus knows. I don't need my name

announced because Jesus knows. I don't

need somebody to take a picture because

Jesus knows. I don't need everyone to

understand what it costs me because

Jesus knows. And that makes someone

unsung. Their praises might not ever be

sung publicly, but their faithfulness

isn't unseen. And then Jesus says

something else in John 13:17 that I

John 13:17

think is especially important for people

who have been following Christ and

coming to church for a long time. He

says, "Now that you know these things,

you will be blessed if you do them."

Now, did you catch that? He does not say

we will be blessed because we know these

things. He said, 'Will we be blessed

because we do them. And that is a big

distinction because those of us that

have been ra around the church for a

long time. We know things, right? We

know the stories. We know the songs. We

know the scriptures. We know when to

stand up. We know when to sit down. We

even know the words to the Lord's

Prayer. Some of us know how church is

supposed to work. I know that you know

because if we do something differently,

you let me know that's not how it's

supposed to work.

We're especially good at knowing how

everybody else should be doing it. But

Jesus says knowing isn't the goal. Doing

is. You see, there's a difference

between knowing people need

encouragement and giving encouragement.

There's a difference between knowing

loneliness is a problem and sitting

beside someone who's lonely. There's a

difference between knowing that children

need people to care for them and

actually showing up to care for them.

There's a difference between knowing the

church needs people to serve and putting

your name on a list. There is a

difference between saying somebody

should do something and saying maybe I'm

the somebody. And that's one of the

biggest shifts that Jesus is asking us

to make. Instead of walking around and

identifying all the things that somebody

else should do, we should start asking

what is God asking me to do? Because

there is a danger for everyone in every

church to slowly become consumers.

We start to evaluate church the way we

evaluate everything else. Did I like the

music? Did I like the sermon? Don't

answer that one. Was the temperature

right? Was the coffee good? Were the

programs offered the ones I wanted? Did

I get what I needed? And none of those

questions are bad. In fact, some of

those are good questions because we want

to do ministry well contrary to what it

feels like sometimes. We want the

temperature to be right every week. We

want people to have a meaningful

experience. But Jesus never called us to

just consume church. Jesus called us to

be the church.

And being the church means eventually we

have to move from what am I getting to

what am I giving from who is serving me

to who can I serve to is there something

here for me or is there somewhere here

that needs me. Now I want to make this

really clear for us as Christ Church

because those things are true

disciplehip. And here's the thing. I

want to let you all know there is a

place for you here to serve. I don't

care if you've been here for 30 minutes

or 30 years. There is a place for you.

Now, you might be sitting there saying,

"Chris, I can't preach." Well, listen,

that's fine. There's already too many

people here that talk too much already,

right? You might say, "Chris, I can't

sing." Well, the people sitting next to

you are glad that you recognize that and

that you just listen to the music.

I'm one of those that can't sing. But

can you smile? Can you welcome somebody?

Can you hold a door open? Can you

listen? Can you pray? Can you make a

phone call? Can you answer the phone?

Can you help a child? Can you encourage

a teenager? Can you prepare a meal? Can

you move a chair? Can you help at an

event? Can you visit someone? Can you

serve behind the scenes? Can you give an

hour of your time? Can you notice

someone that no one else is noticing? I

promise you, if you can do any of those

things, there is a place for you. Now,

please hear me when I say this. We're

not asking you to serve because Christ

Church needs free labor. We are asking

you to serve because Jesus says serving

is part of following him. And that is

the difference. The goal is not just

filling volunteer slots. The goal is

forming disciples

because something happens inside of us

when we serve. We start to notice people

other than ourselves. Our world gets

bigger. Our hearts get softer. We begin

building relationships. We begin

discovering gifts that we didn't know we

had. And little by little, we begin

looking more like Jesus. So, here's what

I want to challenge us to do. Actually,

I want to give us two challenges. First,

I want to challenge you to do something

for somebody this week who can't repay

you. And then don't tell anybody. Do

something that is completely unsung.

Help somebody. Encourage somebody. Give

something. Clean up after somebody even

though you didn't make the mess. Carry

something that isn't yours to carry.

Solve a problem you didn't create. Help

to make somebody's day easier. But then

don't post about it. Don't tell your

friends about it. Don't work it into a

conversation three days later like,

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything,

but

just serve. Let it be between you and

Jesus."

Now, here's the second challenge, and

this one's for us as a church. Find

somewhere to serve. Now, if you're

already serving, please allow me to say

thank you. I mean, I really mean it. We

sincerely recognize and appreciate what

people do to serve. And if you're not

serving here right now, please know I'm

not interested in making you feel guilty

about it. I'm interested in inviting you

to be who God created you to be. So find

your place. You don't have to do

everything. In fact, I would encourage

you to not try to do everything. Find

one place where your gifts, your

experience, your personality, your

availability can make a difference. and

then ask someone, "Where can I help?"

Those four words can change a church.

Where can I help? Imagine if hundreds of

people started asking, "Where can I

help?" Not, "Why isn't somebody doing

this?" But where can I help? Not why

don't we have more volunteers, but where

can I help? Not somebody should really

do something about that, but where can I

help? Because maybe the somebody God has

in mind is you. And remember, we are

unsung but we are not unseen.

Mark 10:45 says, "The son of man did not

Mark 10:45

come to be served but to serve." And

then in John 13:16, we hear, "No servant

John 13:16

is greater than their master." And then

in verse 17, now that you know these

things, you will be blessed if you do

these things. Jesus served, which means

we're not above serving. And knowing

that we need to serve is not enough. We

actually have to do it. Some of the

greatest followers of Jesus I have ever

known were not famous. They never wrote

books. They never preached sermons. They

never had thousands of followers. Most

people outside their church or their

community never even knew their name. If

I said the name Gary Bloom, none of you

would know who that is.

But he just kept serving. He just kept

loving. He just kept giving. He just

kept encouraging. He just kept serving.

And eventually his life became a sermon.

It was a quiet sermon. It was an unsung

sermon. It was a sermon that said,

"That's what Jesus looks like. That's

what I want us to be as a church. People

who are aren't asking who's going to

serve me, but who can I serve? People

who don't need the spotlight. People who

don't need the applause. People who

don't need the credit. People who simply

see the need and then get to work.

Because our goal is not for people to

know our name. The goal is for people to

experience Jesus through us.

So this week, fill the need. Serve

somebody. And if nobody notices, that's

okay because we may be unsung,

but we are never unseen. And ultimately,

we are following the one who said, "For

the son of man did not come to be

served, but to serve." May the same be

said about us because we came to serve.

Let's pray. Lord, we are so grateful for

the example that you've given to us.

the fact that your son came to this

earth not to be served but to served.

And if that's who we are patterning our

life after, then we should do the same.

Help us to be willing to just ask the

question, where can I help? Because that

question makes all the difference in the

world.

And if we get to the point where all of

us ask that question and follow your

example,

not only will this church be a different

place, but this world will become a

different place.

It's awesome that we are unsung. And

it's even better that we're not unseen

because you see what we do. And may we

continue to serve for an audience of one

and that one being you. We ask all this

in your son's name. Amen.