Discuss: 1) What surprises you about Jesus’ heart? 2) Who are people you know who have hearts like Jesus? What attracts you to them? 3) What does it look like to serve out of your purpose rather than your agenda? 4) Write a prayer thanking Jesus for His heart of humility and service. Ask God to give you a heart like His.
Introduction Peter leads a large group of disciples to an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting where Jesus will once again give them their marching orders. Then they make their way back to Jerusalem to await the coming Holy Spirit as the movement switches into its...
Introduction After rising from the dead, Jesus appears to His disciples on several occasions. Paul lists the appearances in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. He appeared to many people individually — to His leaders on several occasions and even to a group of disciples numbering...
(from Roger)
1) what surprises me most abt Jesus’s heart is the depth of his humility and the selflessness. His steadfast love for others even in the most dire of circumstances is inspiring and if I may say so, almost hard to believe. That someone with so much power and wisdom and ordained by our creator himself could be so humble even in the face of death is truly mind blowing. 🤯
2) pastor bumble and don quickly come to mind. I’m still looking for the angle or their angle and quite frankly, still haven’t found one. People who are so selfless with their time and have so much patience and wisdom to share have been invaluable to me thus far. What attracts me to them is the kindness and the fact that they seem to serve with no agenda. They have a warmth to them that I know comes from their faith and the Holy Spirit. Whereas before I would have ran as far away from people like this because it would have served as a reminder of how far I had fallen from a righteous path and from humanity, today I want to befriend them and glean some of their secrets from them. Unfortunately I’ve also learned that that cannot be done through osmosis. It requires practice and work on my end.
3) working on this one. I have found that I can serve but I want and crave the validation that comes with it. Perhaps as I practice more, I will be able to not serve without my own agenda. I know that when I’m able to, I feel good. I feel like I’m part of the human race. I feel a bit of humanity awakened within me that makes me grateful for what I have and for the breath I breathe. And then I quickly go back to my self centered ego driven ways. Progress not perfection.
4) god, please continue to allow my spirit to awaken. Thank you for the example you’ve shown us through your works of humility and service to fellow man. I pray that my heart softens and that my ego subsides so that I too can serve with purpose instead of agenda. I want a heart of gold like yours. I pray for the willingness to continue to reach f
(Brandon)
There is not much that surprises me about Jesus’s heart. I knew that even though he had power and control over many individuals he did not act on this power in a negative way. He used his power to teach others to be kind and to care for others. Some of my family and friends have a heart like Jesus’s. I feel attracted to them because that is the people I want to be around. People who care for others and don’t act only on their agenda. I try my hardest to be like this as well. To serve out of purpose instead of agenda looks like helping others when there is no benefit for you or even giving something up for others. I thank you Jesus for having a heart full of humility and service. I pray that God may give me the opportunity to have a heart like His.
Not much surprised me about Jesus’s heart to be honest but more of what He did. Understanding who He is, all powerful, but willing to stoop down and serve. This wasn’t out of an agenda but out of love for humans. To me, people I see that have hearts like Jesus can be the leaders of the church in how they give so much time and energy to help the whole body grow. Serving out of purpose is serving God but agenda tends to align with certain results we want to see whether it be in people or life. Thank you Lord for today’s reading, please help me to develop the spiritual disciplines and build the relationship with You. To soften my heart to ask for help and lean on You in times of temptation. Mold my heart in a way that represents You with my actions. To serve out of love like Jesus instead out of my own desires.
What amazes me is the depth of Jesus’ humility. Despite having every reason to hold a position of power and authority, he willingly descended to serve humanity and save them. It’s intriguing that I know a few individuals who have hearts like Jesus, yet I also see others who serve with an agenda. The distinction between these two groups lies in their relationship with Jesus. What attracts me about the first group is that their actions speak louder than their words. They prioritize others’ interests above their own and are willing to tolerate people whom we may not give much regard to. Serving out of purpose means loving people for who they are, even if they have a different point of view from yours. It’s about prioritizing the interests of others and recognizing that we ourselves are in need of the same grace.
Dear Jesus, thank you for showing us the way of humility and sacrificial love. I humbly ask that you give me a heart like yours. Help me to serve others with the same humility and compassion that you demonstrated during your time on earth. Guide me in my journey to become more like you each day. May I follow your footstep and bring glory to your name. In your precious humble name I pray Amen.
What amazes me about the heart of Jesus is that he loves us no matter what we do or who we are. That’s something I can’t do right now. The question of who I know who has a heart like Jesus’ is a tough one. But I have found a wonderful side to the person from RP. I can decide who I want to be involved with. If we don’t want to be involved, I don’t have to be involved. But Kathy was different. I can say that she has never been involved with me, but she greets me with a big smile, taps me on the shoulder, says bye-bye, etc. She is always so sweet. I have since felt her kindness. And I can think that God has a wonderful heart to make her do that. It seems very difficult to serve out of purpose. But when I see people acting for the church and for God, I feel the answer to this question. I feel that to serve for a purpose, you have to have a heart like Jesus. Dear God, I admire your humility and your heart of service. And I thank you. How happy I would be if I could have a heart like yours. I pray that you will give me that opportunity.
1) Reading Philippians 2:6 again was very powerful — how Jesus didn’t use his power to his advantage. Instead he made himself nothing. He sacrificed so much for us, though sinners — it’s truly amazing how much love He has for us who are undeserving.
2) My great uncle and aunt Ong Cau Nghia and Ba Co Hoa who were missionaries in Mongolia for a good portion of their lives. They truly have a heart for service. I don’t get to spend that much time with them, but when I do, it’s always such a joy. I believe it’s because they are so in love with Jesus and it out pours onto others.
3) I think serving with purpose rather than agenda looks like listening to the needs of others and not just about what we think is needed. It also looks like understanding why we are serving — for God’s glory, not our own.
4) Lord, thank you for your heart of service and for your grace and for your example. Forgive me for my selfishness, self-centeredness and pride. I pray that you continue to teach me to love like you do.
1) Jesus’ total surrender to God the Father’s will is astonishing to me. Most poignantly at the garden at Gethsemane, just before going to be crucified, when he asked his father if there be any other way, to take the cup of God’s wrath from him. But “not my will but thine be done.” There was no other way to satisfy God’s holy and righteous wrath to make payment for our sins.
2) My friend Mike who was my accountability partner for years, left his career as an engineer to serve with his wife and kids in the missions field in Tibet. Mike demonstrates a similar surrender of his will to God’s will. One of my classmates from medical school, James also served overseas in China, but it’s not his service that inspires me. He just craves more and more time with Jesus because he adores his savior.
2) I think the question should be more aptly juxtapose agenda with gratitude. Serving with an agenda makes people a means to an end. Serving out of gratitude loves people because of the love that we’ve been lavished upon.
3) “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
Matthew 16:25 Lord Jesus, help me to lose myself in you and in the process, find myself in you.”
1. It’s surprising that Jesus has the heart to wash our feet no matter how stinky and dirty our feet are. No one wants to smell feet. But Jesus had the will to wash our feet, and it signifies Him cleansing our sins. Our sins are nasty, and it is surprising to see that Jesus is humble and loving enough to cleanse our sins and wash them away no matter how stinky and nasty our sins are.
2. People I know who have hearts like Jesus are probably Brandt and Diesel because no matter how tiring it gets, no matter how much time is lost, they still make time to care for the students at Cru no matter who the students are, where the students come from, and what the students have done.
3. I think to serve out of your purpose rather than your agenda is to just live out and do the work that God has prepared for you, and to serve others not to gain anything, but to serve due to our love for God.
4. Dear God, I really don’t understand Your humility. You would do lowly things like washing people’s feet but somehow You are still above all. Thank You Jesus, for Your heart of humility and service to care for Your sheep. I pray that You could give me a heart to serve others and be humble, just as You are humble and serving to others. I pray in Jesus Name, Amen.
What surprises me about Jesus’ heart is that he loves those of us who are unlovable. Not only that he loves us but the King of kings humbled himself to die so we could have life and be co-heirs with him. That idea is so counterintuitive. People I see have hearts like Jesus are those who serve and care for the needy and marginalized like at the old Mary’s Kitchem, Coastal’s spaghetti dinners, hearing about missionaries that give up their comforts to go reach the lost. Their obedience to God’s call and selflessness is encouraging and inspiring. I also see those people setting an example for me of what it is to serve out of purpose rather than having an agenda. Thank you, Jesus that you give me the ultimate example of humility and servanthood through the life you lived on earth. You cared for the marginalized, you met the needs of those around you either through healing, comforting, showing compassion, you humbled yourself in obedience to death on the cross. Help me to have a heart that is aligned with yours and would reflect your love to people around me.
I’m surprised Jesus even has a heart, all things considered. Like with everything going on in the world, it’s a wonder that someone like Him can go and look at this and think any of it is redeemable or worthy of sacrifice. But that just goes to show you the depth and strength of His heart that He can do something like that, genuinely. Like, for me, I’m a flawed human being but I can’t even fathom the idea of having a heart for others. I can try and pretend, but to lay my life down for another is hard for me to justify. I guess that’s why we strive to be like Christ, to have a heart like His. My father has a heart like Jesus. I’ve always seen him as stern but considering how many times I’ve messed up, he’s always had my back. And his grace for me, as his son, gives me somewhat of a glimpse of the grace Jesus had for us.
And there’s no agenda from Jesus. We have nothing of worth to offer to Him so there’s no reason for Him to pour out His heart for us the way He did. So, I think that this is the ultimate display of serving out a purpose. Like, I feel that we all do things with an agenda in mind, even if we don’t think so initially. Because we get something out of doing something, regardless of our intentions. You can be serving out of the goodness of your heart, but there can still be lingering feelings of fulfillment. Which isn’t wrong, but it served an agenda, albeit unconsciously. But what Jesus did on the cross, I can’t see the need. He doesn’t owe anything to us. For me, I pray for as close a heart to Jesus as possible, regardless of whatever underlying agendas I fulfill for myself. I pray that with a heart like Jesus I can look at this broken world and see the goodness that needs serving. And I pray at the end of the day I can do my due diligence for whatever purpose He gives me and say to Him, “Here I am, your good and faithful servant.”