THE CALL TO SERVE ================= Course: KGM School of Service (KGM School) Lesson: 1 Scripture: John 13:1-17; Mark 10:42-45; Philippians 2:5-11 Language: English URL: https://kgm-school-preview.netlify.app/lessons/en/kgm-school/01-the-call-to-serve/ WhatsApp: KGM EN 01 LESSON 1 — THE CALL TO SERVE ============================ "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." — Mark 10:45 WHERE THE SCHOOL BEGINS Before we open the books of theology, before we plant a church, before we preach a single sermon — we must answer one question: am I a servant? The KGM School of Service is built on this question because Jesus Himself was built on this answer. He did not come as a celebrity, a scholar, or a strategist. He came as a servant. And the call He places on every disciple is to take the same shape. WHAT THE TOWEL TEACHES In John 13, on the night before His death, Jesus rises from supper, lays aside His outer garments, and ties a towel around His waist. He kneels and washes the feet of the men who will deny Him, betray Him, and abandon Him within hours. He says afterward: "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:14). Notice three things in this single act. First, the towel comes before the title. Jesus is already Lord and Teacher. He does not stop being Lord when He kneels. He shows what Lord means. Second, the towel comes before the cross. The foot-washing is a small picture of what the cross is. Jesus stoops in Chapter 13 because He is about to stoop in Chapter 19. Service is the rehearsal of sacrifice. Third, the towel is given to us. "You also ought to wash one another's feet." The towel is not just His. It is ours. It is the uniform of every disciple. THE CONTRAST JESUS REFUSES In Mark 10, James and John come asking for seats of honour. Jesus answers them with one of the sharpest lines in the Gospels: "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you." (Mark 10:42-43) But it shall not be so among you. This is a line every pastor must memorise. The world has one way of being great — pulling power upward, surrounding yourself with importance, demanding to be served. Jesus rejects that pattern completely. Greatness in His kingdom moves the other direction: downward. You cannot serve God and look like Caesar at the same time. PHILIPPIANS 2 — THE SHAPE OF CHRIST Paul gives us the theological frame in Philippians 2:5-11. Christ Jesus, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. The Greek word is kenosis — pouring out. Jesus did not stop being God. He poured Himself out as a servant while remaining fully God. And Paul says: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus." If you are in Christ, this mind is already yours. The work of discipleship is to walk in what is already true. FOR THE VILLAGE PASTOR Brother, sister — you may be reading this on a small phone, in a small village, with no salary, no platform, no recognition. Hear me: you are not behind. You are exactly where Jesus started. The towel is in your hand right now. Whose feet has God placed in front of you this week? The widow you visited. The orphan you fed. The neighbour you helped pull water. The young couple you counselled. These are not preparation for ministry. They are the ministry. The school of service does not start when the building is built. It starts the day you tie on the towel. REFLECTION QUESTIONS 1. Where in your life are you still trying to be served rather than to serve? 2. Whose feet has God placed in front of you this week? 3. What would it look like to "empty yourself" in your current ministry context? PRAYER Lord Jesus, You knelt for me when I would not kneel for You. Teach me the towel. Take from me the desire to be seen, and give me eyes for the ones You have placed in front of me. In Your name, amen. ========== Next lesson: The Servant's Foundation — Knowing God. ---------- KGM School of Service — Knowing God Missions · Tumenyimana https://kgm-school-preview.netlify.app