In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Three workmen were working on the same project. Someone asked them what they were doing. The first worker said, "I am earning ten dollars an hour." The second said, "I am cutting wood and hammering nails." The third one said, "I'm serving my Savior by helping to build a new church building." They were all doing the same work, but for different reasons. The first guy was in it for the money. The second guy was doing it because he enjoys the work. But the third one was doing it to serve his Savior. For him, it was an act of faith and a labor of love. Dear Christian friends, today is our Christian Service Festival.

1. MAY THE GOSPEL MOTIVATE YOU!

God is very concerned about why we do what we do. Three men did the same task, but for different reasons. God does care about what we call our motivation for serving. If the reason why you are serving is because you think that you are somehow working your way into heaven, well then, forget it. Because that's all wrong! Works that are done for the wrong motivation are called "glittering vices." They may look good on the outside, but if the motive is wrong, it is worthless in God's sight. Dear friends, may the Gospel motivate you to serve Christ! The gospel is a very powerful motivator! But do we really appreciate what God has done for us?

Perhaps you've heard this story before, but as far as I know, it is true: In the days of the Great Depression, there was a Missouri man by the name of John Griffith. He controlled a great railroad drawbridge across the Mississippi River. One day, he brought his eight-year-old son, Greg, to work. At noon, John put the big drawbridge up to allow the ships to pass and sat on the observation deck with his son to eat lunch. They enjoyed themselves and the time passed quickly. Suddenly, John was startled by the sound of a train whistle in the distance. He looked at his watch at noticed it was a little past one o'clock. The Memphis Express with four hundred passengers was speeding toward the raised bridge! He went back to the control tower as quickly as he could go to throw the master switch and lower the drawbridge letting the train pass without a collision. But just before he threw the master switch, he saw a sight that caused his heart to pound and race. In terror, he saw that his son Greg had slipped from the observation deck and had fallen into the massive gears that operate the bridge. His left leg was caught in the cogs of the two main gears! Desperately John tried to think of a rescue plan. But it was too late. The train whistled again. There was no more time! He would have to choose between the four hundred passengers on the train, and his son down there, caught in the gears. John knew what he had to do, so he buried his head in his left arm and pushed the master switch forward. The massive bridge lowered into place just in time for the Memphis Express to roar across the river. When John Griffith lifted his head with his face smeared with tears, he looked into the windows of the train passing by. There were businessman casually reading their newspapers, finely dressed ladies were sipping tea or coffee in the dining car, children were enjoying dishes of ice cream. No one looked at the control house. No one looked down at the gearbox. With wrenching agony, John Griffith cried out at the steel train: "I sacrificed my son for you people! Don't you even care!" But the train sped on. Nobody noticed. Nobody even heard his cries.

Do you get the point? God has sacrificed his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world! But many fail to notice or appreciate what God has done. Do our lives show how much we appreciate the price that Jesus paid on the cross? Or are we just riding through life, enjoying ourselves, forgetful of Christ's sacrifice? If Christ had never come to save us, if he had never died on that cross, we would all be going to hell forever. Yet, because Jesus did live for us, and die for us, and rise with our forgiveness, God has declared us forgiven. Believe in the Lord Jesus and heaven is yours! And if you really do believe in Jesus as your Savior, you will want to thank and praise, to serve and obey your Savior. That is simply what faith does.

2. MAY YOUR FAITH BE EVIDENT!

The Bible plainly teaches that genuine faith will produce fruits. In fact, Scripture declares that a faith that does not produce works is dead. A faith that does not produce Christian service is a sham! Yes, we are saved by faith alone, but what is faith and what does it do? James chapter two says that "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." God does want us to work, to serve and obey him, but we do not serve the Lord to earn heaven, rather we serve the Lord because Christ won heaven for us. Our works express our thanks to God for saving us, and giving us the gift of eternal life! Sometimes this is called, "thanks-living." God has given us such great gifts, believers want to thank Him. We want to serve him. Faith produces Christian service just as a healthy apple tree produces apples. Luther wrote, Good works follow, or faith is not genuine. Faith is living, energetic, and active! Good works don't produce Christians, but Christians do produce good works! (WLS #1469, 1491, 1497).

That theme runs all through Scripture. On the last day, Jesus will show people that we had faith by pointing to our works! Read Matthew chapter 25 about this! Christ will point to the times when we helped the poor, visited the sick, and other such works, as evidence of faith. He will mention these works to show that we were believers. We can't see faith in the heart, but faith becomes evident in outward actions. Faith moves us to hear God's Word, worship and pray regularly. If we want to worship it is a sign that we have faith, and if we don't want to worship it is a sign of very weak faith, or dead faith, which is no faith at all. There are many other ways that faith becomes evident. For example, faith moves us to serve Christ with the abilities God has given. We can serve Christ here at church, and at home, as well as at work or school or wherever we are. But, know this: real believers will serve Christ! That is what believers do! May we be among those who are known for Christian service.

3. MAY YOUR GIFTS GLORIFY CHRIST!

God wants us to use our gifts! Imagine if at Christmas, when you passed out the gifts to the children, that they would just say, "Thanks" and walk away. Imagine if they never even opened the gifts, but just said, "thanks" half-heartedly, and walked away! You might have planned that gift for months. Perhaps you had hoped that they would enjoy your gift! But they never even opened it. If that seems disappointing, just think how disappointed God must be when Christians fail to serve Him with their gifts. God has given each of us blessings and a way to serve.

Let us thank God for all of the servants that God has provided here. We have believers here who can do just about any task that is needed. Some teach children God's Word in Sunday School. Some help to maintain the buildings and property. Some serve on the Council, boards, or committees. Some encourage. Some serve as ushers, greeters, or prepare God's house for worship. We could go on and on, and might risk forgetting a few. But God doesn't forget, and he's the one we are ALL serving. May we ALL use our gifts to glorify Christ! Serve Christ as a labor of love!

Sometimes, in larger churches, it is tempting to let "the other guy" do the serving. But that is like a car that runs on less cylinders than it has. God didn't give all of us gifts so that some of us could simply sit back and let "somebody else" do the work. There's a poem about this in the bulletin this week. In case you haven't read it, this is what it says.

By the way, we not only have time and talent from God, most of us also have an income. Did you know that I can say the word "money" from the pulpit? I can! Jesus talked about money. It's not a bad word. Money might be a sacred cow, an idol, to some, but it should not be what we worship here! Money is just another blessing from God! It's not even close to our most important blessing! God wants us to use the money that he gives us to serve Christ, wisely managing what he has given us.

In the Bible, God tells us what he wants us to do with the money that he loans to us. God does not demand that you give 100% of your money back to him. He just demands that you remember whose money it is. And the money is God's! That's right, the money in your wallet right now is not yours. It's God's! Yes, God does want us to take care of our families! God does want us to pay our taxes. God does want us to pay the bills that we owe. And God does permit us to have "fun money!" But, God demands to come first! Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well.

How we use our money says something about us. It reveals who we are really serving. Are we serving ourselves, or Christ? Be sure that you serve Christ with your money too. Dedicate to him a generous percentage as a first fruit offering of praise to your Savior. And then, serve Christ by paying taxes, taking care of your family, and even enjoying some recreation. Remember, God saved you in Jesus. He has given you time, talents, and treasures. How thankful we should be! May your gifts glorify Christ. Yes, serve Christ as a labor of love! Amen.